From Memory to Marble: The historical frieze of the Voortrekker Monument Part I: The Frieze

— —

Elizabeth Rankin Rolf Michael Schneider

From Memory to Marble

The historical frieze of the Voortrekker Monument Part I: The Frieze

Elizabeth Rankin, Rolf Michael Schneider

$463.95 $371.17

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

De Gruyter
10 February 2020

Sculpture; Memorials, monuments; African history; History of religion

"For the first time, the 92-metre frieze of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, one of the largest historical narratives in marble, has been made the subject of a book. The pictorial narrative of the Boer pioneers who conquered South Africa’s interior during the 'Great Trek' (1835-52) represents a crucial period of South Africa’s past. Conceptualising the frieze both reflected on and contributed to the country’s socio-political debates in the 1930s and 1940s when it was made. The book considers the active role the Monument played in the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and the development of apartheid, as well as its place in post-apartheid heritage.

The frieze is unique in that it provides rare evidence of the complex processes followed in creating a major monument. Based on unpublished documents, drawings and models, these processes are unfolded step by step, from the earliest discussions of the purpose and content of the frieze, through all the stages of its design, to its shipping to post-war Italy to be copied into marble from Monte Altissimo, up to its final installation in the Monument. The book examines how visual representation transforms historical memory in what it chooses to recount, and the forms in which it is depicted. The second volume expands on the first, by investigating each of the twenty-seven scenes of the frieze in depth, providing new insights into not only the frieze, but also South Africa’s history.

François van Schalkwyk of African Minds, co-publisher with De Gruyter writes: From Memory to Marble is an open access monograph in the true sense of the word. Both volumes of the digital version of the book are available in full and free of charge from the date of publication. This approach to publishing democratises access to the latest scholarly publications across the globe. At the same time, a book such as From Memory to Marble, with its unique and exquisite photographs of the frieze as well as its wealth of reproduced archival materials, demands reception of a more traditional kind, that is, on the printed page. For this reason, the book is likewise available in print as two separate volumes. The printed and digital books should not be seen as separate incarnations; each brings its own advantages, working together to extend the reach and utility of From Memory to Marble to a range of interested readers.

For more material you can browse at Stanford's database ""Voortrekker Monumentality: a digital archive""."

By: Elizabeth Rankin, Rolf Michael Schneider
Imprint: De Gruyter
Country of Publication: Germany
Dimensions: Height: 280mm, Width: 210mm,
Weight: 2.314kg
ISBN: 9783110615227
ISBN 10: 3110615223
Pages: 522
Publication Date: 10 February 2020
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rolf M. Schneider, LMU Munich, Germany; Elizabeth Rankin, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Reviews for From Memory to Marble: The historical frieze of the Voortrekker Monument Part I: The Frieze

This is interdisciplinary research at its best: an art-historical approach with emphasis on historical documentation, on interpretation of narrative and style and an archaeological approach to the artifact itself, its material quality and technical execution, as a point of departure for appreciating every aspect of the process of transforming the raw material of marble into memory. The book is beautifully produced with excellent new photographs by Russell Scott as well as diagrams of the distribution of the panels in the Hall of Heroes and fold-out illustrations of the frieze in its entirety. Jane Fejfer in: The Burlington Magazine, 2021/11 *** But what really stands out in the analysis is the 'unconditional collaboration' (5) between an art historian and a classical archaeologist: on the one hand, the project showcases how a broader art-historical training can enrich the traditional sorts of questions posed by classical archaeology, especially when it comes to issues of pictorial narrative; on the other, it demonstrates what classical archaeological formalism can offer to contemporary art history, and indeed larger debates about cultural history and contemporary identity politics. The result will be essential reading for anyone concerned with the legacy of classical ideas and imagery in South Africa. Michael Squire in: Greece & Rome, 2022/1