The Uses of Images: Studies in the Social Function of Art and Visual Communication [Hardcover]

E.H. Gombrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 1999

In this volume Professor Gombrich returns to themes that have long preoccupied him in his study of visual imagery of all kinds. Central to these essays is a consuming interest in the functions of images, and how these functions - and the images - change over time. In wide-ranging studies of both "high" and "low" art, from fresco painting, altar painting, the International Gothic Style and outdoor sculpture to doodles, pictorial instructions, caricature and political propaganda, Gombrich discusses the role of supply and demand, competition and display, the "ecology" of images and the idea of "feedback" in the interplay of means and ends, as developing skills in turn stimulate new demands. He also explores further aspects of the uses of images in essays on the hanging of pictures and on the use (or misuse) of images as historical evidence. Gombrich writes in a clear style, without losing his reader in jargon, and in this volume he discusses some of the most fundamental and contentious issues: how and why does art change and develop?; what does the idea of "progress" mean in art?; and can art be used as evidence of the "spirit" of an age? His answers emerge not through abstract formulations but through an empirical and undogmatic attempt to understand what has actually happened in the history of art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Gombrich, perhaps the most celebrated art historian of our time, presents his tenth collection of essays. Through an examination of frescoes, altar paintings, luxury objects, pictures for the home, outdoor sculpture, pictorial satire, doodles, and pictorial instructions, he encourages us to view "art as task," a notion put forth by historian Jacob Burckhardt. The function assigned by society to an image will affect its shape and appearance. What we see as stylistic change and artistic interpretation is really an artist's adaptation to this assignmentAeach work of art meets a demand of some sort. Gombrich states in his introduction that readers can consider each chapter separately or view the book as a whole, with Burckhardt's notion in mind. More connective material would have been welcome, though, or at least a stronger conclusion. Any work by this master historian helps shed light on the place of art in the human experience, but this volume is only a necessary purchase for art and art history collections.ANadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

This is a collection of essays by the world's most famous art historian E.H. Gombrich. In this wide-ranging volume (the tenth in the series), Professor Gombrich focuses on the role of supply and demand in the creation of images of all kinds. In so doing, he brings together and develops many of the ideas and themes in the social history of art that have preoccupied him through a lifetime of research and reflection. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (January 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714836559
• ISBN-13: 978-0714836553
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,761,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE (30 March 1909 - 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian who spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom. He is the author of many works of art criticism and art history. (Photograph: Pino Guidolotti)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven essays, June 30, 2002

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I. Rodden "dir4" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Uses of Images (Paperback)

Gombrich is obviously an intelligent essayist well versed in the history of art and culture. Unfortunately, he knows a lot more than most of us. He too often refers to art, movements and people that the even more familiar art reader may not be very familiar with.

Many of these essays bring up interesting ideas and they are worth reading. However, the essays often read incomplete. The editor and/or author should have worked more on integrating, expanding or updating the information in book form.

Just take a look at the library and you will probably be satisfied.