The Conversation Piece

Shortlisted for the 2018 Apollo Book of the Year award Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697-1764) and his peers in the early 18th century, and then revitalized by Johan Zoffany (1733-1810), the conversation piece was an innovative mode of portraiture, depicting groups posed in landscape or domestic settings. These artists grappled with creating complex multi-figured compositions and intricate narratives, filling their paintings with representations of socially, nationally, and temporally precise customs. Paying particular attention to the vibrant (and at times fabricated) interior and exterior settings in these works, Kate Retford discusses the various ways that the conversation piece engaged with the rich material culture of Georgian Britain. The book also explores how these portraits served a wide array of interests and concerns among familial networks and larger social groups. From codifying performances of politeness to engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, the conversation piece was a complex and nuanced expression of a multifaceted society. Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

A lavish volume celebrating the award-winning classic film Conversation Piece, featuring the costumes designed by Fendi and including an exclusive DVD with a newly restored version of the film plus extras. This volume presents Conversation Piece, the iconic movie from 1974 by Luchino Visconti, and includes a newly restored version of the film plus numerous interviews on a special DVD available exclusively in the U.S. as part of this book. Conceived by Visconti as a critique of the jet set similar to Fellini's La Dolce Vita, the film features a star-studded international cast including Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, and Helmut Berger. The book showcases the beautiful set designs from the movie and the costumes designed by Fendi, and chronicles how pleased Visconti was with the designs for the film. It includes important documents and behind-the-scenes information about the creation of Silvana Mangano's chic costumes and the appearance of Fendi furs in several key scenes.

What one Christmas tradition would you never want to give up? If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you most want to be? If you could have visited the Christ child just as the Three Kings did, what would you have brought as a gift? You've been chosen to host a sensational Christmas celebration on TV: What three guests would you choose to make it the best Christmas special ever? The Christmas Conversation Piece offers these and many other questions to pose and ponder during a season of both deep reflection and unabashed merriment. This charming volume--the perfect stocking stuffer--will provide you, your family, and your friends with twelve days of surprising and amusing Yuletide questions. Who would you most like to meet under the mistletoe? Your answer just may change by Christmas Eve!

"The 'Conversation Piece' is an intriguing contradiction - the high-life group, but caught informally, off-guard. Popular in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, it developed to include sporting events and 'Grand Tourists', and reached its apogee in the eighteenth century in the masterpieces created by Johan Zoffany for his English patrons, including George III." "This new publication accompanies the first exhibition on this subject for over thirty years, presenting early Dutch and Flemish genre paintings against their successors in the informal portraiture of Stubbs and Hogarth, as well as iconic works by Zoffany himself. It also provides a unique opportunity to connect the study of the 'conversation' in eighteenth-century English art to its seventeenth-century European predecessors." --Book Jacket.

This collection of intriguing questions encourages individuals to express their preferences, ideas, and opinions without divulging sensitive personal information, making it the ideal choice for groups who want to promote discussion and avoid friction.

The Conversation Piece Too gets people talking about everyday opinions, life changing moments and everything in between. If you had to write a one sentence mission statement for your life, what would it be (22)? Thinking back to all the TV series finales that you've seen over the years, which show do you think had the best final episode (3)? If you could be a contestant on any game show, past or present, which show would you pick (253)? The Conversation Piece Too gives you a chance to find out what people think about the big questions and the little ones. In one sentence, what do you believe is the secret of life (97)? In your opinion, what flavor of ice cream would best describe your disposition (298)? Get to know your family and your friends--even yourself--a lot better.