This edited collection traces the impact of monographic exhibitions on the discipline of art history from the first examples in the late eighteenth century through the present. Roughly falling into three genres (retrospectives of living artists, retrospectives of recently deceased artists, and monographic exhibitions of Old Masters), specialists examine examples of each genre within their social, cultural, political, and economic contexts. Exhbitions covered include Nathaniel Hone's 1775 exhibition, the Holbein Exhibition of 1871, the Courbet retrospective of 1882, Titian's exhibition in Venice, Poussin's Louvre retrospective of 1960, and El Greco's anniversaty exhibitions of 2014.

Preface, Introductory, Monographic Exhibitions and the History of Art I. Living Artist Retrospectives 1. 'Nathaniel Hone's 1775 Exhibition: The First Single-Artist Retrospective' 2. The Degas and Cassat 1915 Exhibition in Support of Women's suffrage 3. Braque, Gris and Léger: Cubism in Switzerland in 1933 4. Bacon at Grand Palais: Echoes and Influences II. Posthumous Retrospectives 5. The First Posthumous Retrospective in France: The Paul Delaroche Exhibition, a New Perception of the Artist's Work 6. Max Jordan's First Monographic Exhibitions at the Royal National Gallery in Berlin - Rewriting the Canon of Art History and Creating the Artist as a National Role Model at the Beginning of the German Empire 7. The Courbet Retrospective of 1882. Harbinger of the Artist's first Major Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné 8. The Critical Reception of Marcello Tommasi's Oeuvre and the Tommasi Family's Artistic Legacy III. Old Master Monographic Exhibitions from before World war II9. The Holbein Exhibition of 1871 - An Iconic Turning Point for Art History 9. The Holbein Exhibition of 1871 - An Iconic Turning Point for Art History 10. 'This is the answer to those who tell us that Reynolds was a snob': The Grosvenor Gallery Exhibition of Works by Joshua Reynolds (1883 - 1884) 11. The Master and Siena: the 1912 Duccio exhibition 12. The Twelve Days of Bartolomeo della Gatta (Arezzo, October 1-12, 1930). A Regional Exhibition of an Old Master during the Era of Fascism 13. Titian's 1935 Exhibition in Venice IV. Old Master Monographic Exhibitions after World War II 14. Poussin in Perspective: The Louvre Retrospective 1960 Above and Beyond 15. Rembrandt and the Polemical Monographic Exhibition: 'Rembrandt, the Master and His Workshop' in Amsterdam, Berlin and London in 1991-92 16. Exploring Michelangelo through Exhibitions. Closer to the Master, Closer to the scholar, Closer to the Public 17. 'Canaletti' and the others. Recent Monographic Exhibitions of Venetian Veduta Painters: Art History and the Market V. Monographic Exhibitions and the 21st century 18. El Greco and the Dynamics of Retrospection in Monographic exhibitions for the Anniversary of his Death in 2014 19. Past Institution's Future: Monographic Exhibitions and Tate Modern's Make-up 20. The Rise of the Monographic Exhibition: The Political Economy of Contemporary Art Afterword: Learning from the Artist's Monograph: Anarchy, Quality, and the Ultimate Noumenon; Epilogue: Epilogue: Some Curatorial Thoughts on the Monographic Exhibition, Bibliography, Biographical Notes on the Contributors, Index