The Forms and Fictions of Victorian Art Instruction

Abstract The Victorian period was distinguished by several historical developments that revolutionized art instruction. A growing investment in standardized education, the rise of exhibition culture, and an expanding body of literature devoted to the teaching of art all contributed to very public and sometimes contentious debates about art pedagogy. Surveying a range of instructional scenarios—from the schoolroom to the Royal Academy—The Forms and Fictions of Victorian Art Instruction reveals the creative and even radical approaches nineteenth-century writers brought to questions that inform educational debate to this day. What is the role of art in the learning process? Should art instruction provide students with practical skills, or does art defy such instrumental concerns? Above all, is it possible for art instruction to impose structure on the learning process while also nurturing the creative autonomy art demands? Through an interdisciplinary and deeply historical account of art instruction—one that incorporates fiction, poetry, art manuals, and innovative hybrid genres—this book contends that nineteenth-century writers defended the educational value of art by abandoning expository writing in favor of highly experimental literary forms.