Customer Reviews

Principles of Art History (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)

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There is really no way to rate this book. It would be like rating Freud or Marx. Wolfflin is one of the cornerstones of art history. This is essential reading for any student of the subject. Although one might see limitations in his theory today, his ideas were revolutionary when first proposed. His theory goes beyond the famous 5 categories to include views on cycles in history and insights on the artist's control of his practice. Related readings are Reigl and Panofsky.

Wolfflin contrasts the styles of the High Renaissance and the Baroque by setting up them up as a system of oppositions. He compares the two time periods according to five sets of categories. He claims that this is what art history should do. In other words, style and not meaning is the criteria according to which art history should be written. A lot is to be learned from this book. However, there are a lot of limitations to Wolfflin's approach. Consequently, it should be read critically or "against the grain" in order to expose some of Wolfflin's biases. Its also a very difficult read. But, its worth it if you get through it.