A Companion to Art Theory (Blackwell Companions in Cultural Studies)

The Companion provides an accessible critical survey of Western visual art theory from sources in Classical, Medieval and Renaissance thought through to contemporary writings. Part. 1. Tradition and the academy. Introduction: Alberti and the formation of modern art theory -- Carolyn Wilde Classical concept of minesis -- Göran Sörbom ; Medieval art theory -- Hugh Bredin ; Neoplatonist aesthetics -- Suzanne Stern-Gillet ; Renaissance art theories -- Francois Quiviger ; Touch, tactility, and the reception of sculpture in early modern Italy -- Geraldine A. Johnson ; Spiritual exercises of Leonardo da Vinci -- Robert Williams ; Academic theory,1550-1800 -- Paul Duro ; Rhetorical categories in the academy -- Caroline van Eck ; Picturesque and its development -- Andrew Ballantyne -- pt. 2. Around modernism. Aesthetics of Kant and Hegel -- Jason Gaiger ; E.H. Gombrich and the tradition of Hegel -- David Summers ; German romanticism and French aesthetic theory -- Wendy S. Mercer ; Expression : natural, personal, pictorial -- Richard Shiff ; Reading artists' words -- Richard Hobbs ; Nietzsche and the artist -- Michael White ; Wittgenstein, description, and Adrian Stokes (on Cézanne) -- Paul Smith ; Modernism and the idea of the avant-garde -- Paul Wood ; On the intention of modern(ist) art -- Fred Orton ; Anti-art and the concept of art -- Paul N. Humble ; Marcel Duchamp's readymades and anti-aesthetic reflex -- David Hopkins -- pt. 3. Critical theory and postmodernism. Marxism and critical art history -- David Craven ; Walter Benjamin and art theory -- Howard Caygill ; Bakhtin and the visual arts -- Deborah J. Haynes ; Peirce's visuality and the semiotics of art -- Michael Leja ; Conceptual art -- Charles Harrison ; Barthes on art -- Margaret Iversen ; Foucault and art -- Roy Boyne ; Derrida and the Parergon -- Robin Marriner ; What consciousness forgets : Lyotard's concept of the sublime -- Renée van de Vall ; Deleuze on Francis Bacon -- Ian Heywood ; Feminisms and art theory -- Marsha Meskimmon ; Psycho-phallus (qu'est-ce que c'est?) -- Mignon Nixon -- pt. 4. Interpretation and the institution of art. Rules of representation -- John Willats ; Gombrich and psychology -- Richard Woodfield ; Hermeneutics and art theory -- Nicholas Davey ; Reciprocity and reception theory -- Michael Ann Holly ; Paradox of creative interpretation in art -- Carl Hausman ; Interdisciplinarity and visual culture -- Charlotte Klonk ; Against curatorial imperialism : Merleau-Ponty and the historicity of art -- Paul Crowther ; Institutional theory of art : theory and antitheory -- Garry L. Hagberg. A Companion to Art Theory 5 Contents 7 Plates 11 Notes on Contributors 12 Preface 18 Part I: Tradition and the Academy 23 Introduction: Alberti and the Formation of Modern Art Theory 25 1 The Classical Concept of Mimesis 41 2 Medieval Art Theory 51 3 Neoplatonist Aesthetics 62 4 Renaissance Art Theories 71 5 Touch, Tactility, and the Reception of Sculpture in Early Modern Italy 83 6 The Spiritual Exercises of Leonardo da Vinci 97 7 Academic Theory 1550„1800 110 8 Rhetorical Categories in the Academy 126 9 The Picturesque and its Development 138 Part II: Around Modernism 147 10 The Aesthetics of Kant and Hegel 149 11 E. H. Gombrich and the Tradition of Hegel 161 12 German Romanticism and French Aesthetic Theory 172 13 Expression: Natural, Personal, Pictorial 181 14 Reading Artists' Words 195 15 Nietzsche and the Artist 205 16 Wittgenstein, Description, and Adrian Stokes (on Cézanne) 218 17 Modernism and the Idea of the Avant-Garde 237 18 On the Intention of Modern(ist) Art 251 19 Anti-Art and the Concept of Art 266 20 Marcel Duchamp's Readymades and Anti-Aesthetic Reflex 275 Part III: Critical Theory and Postmodernism 287 21 Marxism and Critical Art History 289 22 Walter Benjamin and Art Theory 308 23 Bakhtin and the Visual Arts 314 24 Peirce's Visuality and the Semiotics of Art 325 25 Conceptual Art 339 26 Barthes on Art 349 27 Foucault and Art 359 28 Derrida and the Parergon 371 29 What Consciousness Forgets: Lyotard's Concept of the Sublime 382 30 Deleuze on Francis Bacon 392 31 Feminisms and Art Theory 402 32 Psycho-Phallus (Qu'est-ce que c'est?) 419 Part IV: Interpretation and the Institution of Art 431 33 The Rules of Representation 433 34 Gombrich and Psychology 448 35 Hermeneutics and Art Theory 458 36 Reciprocity and Reception Theory 470 37 The Paradox of Creative Interpretation in Art 480 38 Interdisciplinarity and Visual Culture 489 39 Against Curatorial Imperialism: Merleau-Ponty and the Historicity of Art 499 40 The Institutional Theory of Art: Theory and Antitheory 509 Index 527 "This survey of art theory in the context of Western visual art consists of 41 original essays written by experts in the field. Following an extensive introduction on the formation of modern art theory, the Companion is organized chronologically so that readers can trace developments of visual art theory, from classical and Medieval sources and modern conceptions of art as they have been theorized since the Renaissance, through to some current theoretical preoccupations." "In addition to outlining and describing various theoretical positions, the book's chapters articulate some assumptions that underpin them and raise more general questions about the nature of theorizing about art. In this way, the Companion provides both an introduction to main themes of Western art theory and a source for critical enquiry into the purposes, possibilities and limitations of theory in the context of artistic practice." "The work can also be used alongside the three Art in Theory anthologies published by Blackwell, as a further art theory resource."--Résumé de l'éditeur A survey of art theory in the context of Western visual art. It is organized chronologically so that readers can trace developments of visual art theory, from Classical and Medieval sources and modern conceptions of art, through to some contemporary theoretical preoccupations This survey of art theory in the context of Western visual art is organized chronologically so that readers can trace developments of visual art theory through to some contemporary theoretical preoccupations If we ask what a theory of art is, then both terms of our question seem problematic.