Art in Theory 1648-1815
An Anthology of Changing Ideas
1. Edition January 2001
1244 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Art in Theory (1648-1815) provides a wide-ranging and
comprehensive collection of documents on the theory of art from the
founding of the French Academy until the end of the Napoleonic
Wars. Like its highly successful companion volumes, Art in
Theory (1815-1900) and Art in Theory (1900-1990), its'
primary aim is to provide students and teachers with the
documentary material for informed and up-to-date study. Its' 240
texts, clear principles of organization and considerable editorial
content offer a vivid and indispensable introduction to the art of
the early modern period.
Harrison, Wood and Gaiger have collected writing by artists,
critics, philosophers, literary figures and administrators of the
arts, some reprinted in their entirety, others excerpted from
longer works. A wealth of material from French, German, Italian,
Spanish, Dutch and Latin sources is also provided, including many
new translations.
Among the major themes treated are early arguments over the
relative merits of ancient and modern art, debates between the
advocates of form and color, the beginnings of modern art criticism
in reviews of the Salon, art and politics during the French
Revolution, the rise of landscape painting, and the artistic
theories of Romanticism and Neo-classicism.
Each section is prefaced by an essay that situates the ideas of
the period in their historical context, while relating theoretical
concerns and debates to developments in the practice of art. Each
individual text is also accompanied by a short introduction. An
extensive bibliography and full index are provided.
For more details of our book and journal list in Art, visit
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/arttheory
A Note on the Presentation and Editing of Texts.
General Introduction.
Part I: Establishing the Place of Art:.
Introduction.
Part II: The Profession of Art:.
Introduction.
Part III: Judgement and the Public Sphere:.
Introduction.
Part IV: A Public Discourse:.
Introduction.
Part V: Nature and Human Nature:.
Introduction.
Part VI: Romanticism:.
Introduction.
Part VII: Observation and Tradition:.
Introduction.
Bibliography.
Copyright Acknowledgements.
Index.
private library concerned with Art. For the reader who comes a
novice to this discipline they provide a superb first entry point
to an otherwise bewildering array of publications concerned with
the theory of art. Rather like a jigsaw puzzle they encourage the
reader to make the connections that will complete the picture. But
more importantly, what each of these anthologies does brilliantly
is to tempt the relative novice to go further with their research.
By presenting an overview of the evolution of a set of ideas within
defined parameters and over a specified period of time through the
erudite selection of sensitively edited primary texts, the reader
is subtly invited to seek out the originals and flesh out their
understanding. For those who are more experienced in the field they
cleverly provide a means of prompting new ideas within the reader's
field of enquiry."
--Journal of Art & Design
1990 (Blackwell, 1992) and of Art in Theory 1815 - 1900
(Blackwell, 1997). He is the author of English Art and Modernism
1900 - 1939 (1994), of Essays on Art & Language, and
of Modernism (1997) in the series "Movements in Modern Art".
He has lectured widely in England, Europe and the USA and has been
visiting Professor in History of Art at the University of Texas at
Austin. He is currently Professor of the History and Theory of Art
and Staff tutor in Arts at the Open University.
Paul Wood is co-editor of Art in Theory 1900 -
1990 (1992) and of Art in Theory 1815 - 1900 (1998). He
has published widely on modern art and art history in a variety of
journals and exhibition catalogues. He has edited The Challenge
of the Avant Garde (1998) and co-edited Investigating Modern
Art (1996) and has contributed to Realism, Rationalism,
Surrealism, and Modernism in Dispute (both 1993) and to
Critical Terms for Art History (1996). He is Senior Lecturer
in the Department of Art History at the Open University.
Jason Gaiger is co-editor of Art in Theory 1915 -
1900 (1997). He has published various articles in the field of
art history and aesthetics, and has been a visiting lecturer at the
Universities of Essex, York and North London. He is currently
Lecturer in Art History at the Open University.
