The Muse

"Recent art history writing and literary criticism has made strikingly little use of psychoanalytic thought. The impressively original, continuously absorbing nine essays collected in this volume will change that situation. Building upon the scholarly traditions of their disciplines, yet accessible to the general public, this collection demonstrates the considerable contribution that erudite contemporary psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically informed academics can offer to the understanding of the relationships that nourish creativity-and thereby to the understanding of creativity itself."-David Carrier, author of Principles of Art History Writing; A World Art History and Its Objects; Poussin's Paintings: A Study in Art-Historical Methodology.

"What is a muse? Adele Tutter's captivating volume expands the concept of the artist-muse relationship through psychoanalytic exploration. Interpretive essays by psychoanalysts, art historians, and literary scholars on the biographies of well-known artists and writers, from Nicolas Poussin to Alison Bechdel, demonstrate the way in which the phenomena of identity and creativity spring from the same waters. Nine authors bring their own deep artistic, cultural, historical, and social erudition to the penetrating psychoanalytic exploration of creative lives. These highly original and provocative essays about artists, collectors, models, and muses stimulate the imagination. This is a truly compelling work."-Mary Bergstein, Professor of History of Art and Visual Culture, Rhode Island School of Design.

"Recent art history writing and literary criticism has made strikingly little use of psychoanalytic thought. The impressively original, continuously absorbing nine essays collected in this volume will change that situation. Building upon the scholarly traditions of their disciplines, yet accessible to the general public, this collection demonstrates the considerable contribution that erudite contemporary psychoanalysts and psychoanalytically informed academics can offer to the understanding of the relationships that nourish creativity-and thereby to the understanding of creativity itself."-David Carrier, author of Principles of Art History Writing; A World Art History and Its Objects; Poussin's Paintings: A Study in Art-Historical Methodology.

"What is a muse? Adele Tutter's captivating volume expands the concept of the artist-muse relationship through psychoanalytic exploration. Interpretive essays by psychoanalysts, art historians, and literary scholars on the biographies of well-known artists and writers, from Nicolas Poussin to Alison Bechdel, demonstrate the way in which the phenomena of identity and creativity spring from the same waters. Nine authors bring their own deep artistic, cultural, historical, and social erudition to the penetrating psychoanalytic exploration of creative lives. These highly original and provocative essays about artists, collectors, models, and muses stimulate the imagination. This is a truly compelling work."-Mary Bergstein, Professor of History of Art and Visual Culture, Rhode Island School of Design.

"Tutter presents us with an expanded notion of the muse function that goes beyond that of offering artistic inspiration. She shows us that a muse may serve as a provider of physical and emotional security, a base from which to dream and create, and a source of wisdom, insight, and reflective capacity." - Dr. Pamela McCrory, Psychologist, UCLA, Dr. Tobi Zausner, Psychotherapist, NYC, NY