Nineteenth Century Research Centre

Invented Art in Fiction analyses the ways in which fictional artworks have been used to explore issues of gender, sexuality, and authenticity. From Greek sculpture and neo-classical art of the nineteenth century to Oscar Wilde and Vernon Lee’s use of invented paintings and sculptures, this project explores how invented art has functioned to challenge the dominance of the ‘straight male gaze’.

To accompany this critical project, Julia Clayton is also writing a novel about the murder of the art historian Johann Winckelmann in Trieste 1768 – which will of course feature several examples of invented art.