Walter Pater was a well-known British art critic in the second half bet365 offers 19th century,His critical writing about the Renaissance has unique spiritual content and formal expression。Compared to the art critic Ruskin in the 19th century English-speaking world,And the 19th-century German-speaking world art historian Burckhardt,Pater’s critical writing seems less brilliant,But it has a stronger individual aesthetic expression and a tendency towards historical awareness。Inspection of his artistic concepts,Helps us more fully understand the relationship between art theory and historical consciousness in the 19th century。
From "history" to "bet365 offers and poetry"
Pater’s research on the Renaissance was published in 1873,Book title "Study on Renaissance History",Mainly compiled from his previous essays published in newspapers。From the second edition of 1877,The title bet365 offers book was changed to "Renaissance: A Study of Art and Poetry" (hereinafter referred to as "Renaissance"),There are also partial structural adjustments,For example, the conclusion about the body as aesthetics and human freedom has been deleted。1888,The third edition bet365 offers book is published,Conclusion section restored,And added a chapter "Giorgione School"。1893,Fourth edition published。In these four versions,The fourth edition is the most widely circulated,Generally considered to be the final version closest to his thoughts,For example, "Renaissance" edited by 20th-century art historian Clark in 1961 was based on the fourth edition,Attached is an article by Pater on Raphael。Clark pointed out,Pater's book "The slow flow of sentences produced an imperceptible revolution in the hearts of thousands of young people"。At least in the UK,The situation is like this。
Via Pate's description,We see that his Renaissance is a "diversified but unified movement",This is an emphasis on the perceptual freedom bet365 offers Renaissance,And the mainstream aesthetic rationalization or moralization theory bet365 offers British Victorian period,Differences arose between Ruskin’s and Arnold’s ideas on art and culture。Here at Pate,"See" more as "eyes desire" and direct perception,Rather than an intellectual or ideological grasp。
Meanwhile,What needs to be noted is,Under the condition that the content of each edition remains basically unchanged,The first edition of this book was titled "Studies in the History bet365 offers Renaissance",Changed from the second edition to "Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry"。The most obvious and most explorable thing is the disappearance bet365 offers word "history"。According to scholars’ research,Reason for change of book title,Mainly due to the critical opinions after the first edition was published,Accusing that the word "history" in the title bet365 offers book is misleading,The most lacking and weakest part bet365 offers book is "history"。So the name change after the second edition,Seems like he responded to the criticism by changing his name,Highlight the key points。The question is,Pater’s change of title under critical pressure,Between Pater’s own historical consciousness and public conceptions of history,What kind of tension will continue to exist?Further,From "history" to "art",What did later researchers see from it?
Historical understanding bet365 offers Renaissance
In an 1888 article "On Style",Pater pointed out the inseparable relationship between expressive content and form,"Unique words、phrase、sentence、Paragraph、Article or song,A single mental representation or visual perception entirely suitable therein"。This can be seen as Pater's deep understanding of his "bet365 offers" as "history"。
Ruskin pointed out,Art serves as a “recorder of character” rather than a “recorder of events”,Has more genuine humanistic care。Burckhardt thinks,Individual historians provide only one bet365 offers "different pictures" bet365 offers vast ocean,Therefore, we have a prudent attitude towards exploration。Pater's "Renaissance" continues Ruskin's critical approach,The tendency is Burckhardt-style emotional identification,That is, the "psychological expression and visual perception" bet365 offers Renaissance as a comprehensive revival and rebirth movement。And Pater's "Renaissance" is the most unique expression of historical consciousness,It is reflected in the chapter "Winckelmann" in the book。
Everyone knows,Winckelmann lived in the 18th century,Follow the ideals of ancient Greece,Writing the History of Ancient Art,But in Pater he is attributed to the Renaissance,Is "the final fruit bet365 offers Renaissance,And explains the motives and purposes bet365 offers Renaissance in a compelling way"。Here,Pater places Winckelmann and the 15th-century humanists in a "close spiritual connection",We all belong to the "complete" era bet365 offers Renaissance。From the general historical staging rules,Pater’s classification is obviously inconsistent with common sense。Regardless of whether Pate’s defense is justified or not,It can be seen that Pater’s stage classification bet365 offers Renaissance is different from the traditional narrative view of history,It is also different from Ruskin and Burckhardt’s staged understanding bet365 offers Renaissance。Pater showed his more personal and psychological awareness of history。In Pater’s narration of Winckelmann’s life course and art history research,Contrast and communication are always the core elements bet365 offers poet Goethe。Between Germany in the north and Italy in the south,Between the Renaissance bet365 offers past and the Romanticism bet365 offers present,Goethe’s Transcendence and Winckelmann’s Return,Interweaving and converging on Pater’s history、Unique thinking about geography and time。
Journey of Discovery: bet365 offers’s “Fun”
In the context of British and European art and cultural history in the 19th century,The description of Leonardo da Vinci in Pater's "Renaissance" can be said to be a "journey of discovery" to some extent。In the era of Pater's writing,The acceptance of Leonardo da Vinci by British cultural and intellectual circles is far less than the general respect we have for Leonardo da Vinci today。Ruskin affirmed Leonardo da Vinci’s outstanding techniques in painting techniques such as chiaroscuro,But in terms bet365 offers presentation of artistic effects,But I have many doubts about Leonardo da Vinci、Places of confusion and denial。In the painting "Mona Lisa",Ruskin believed that Leonardo da Vinci’s representation of his mysterious smile and the mysterious scenery behind it,Is "artificial and grotesque",Has an “unfortunate impact” on art。Pate also noticed this,But his evaluation is exactly the opposite of Ruskin。Pater pointed out that the interest in "fantasy" or "sculpture" in landscapes first appeared in the works of Leonardo da Vinci,Such as "The Madonna bet365 offers Rocks", "Mona Lisa" and "Santa Anna"。Compared to other artists bet365 offers Renaissance,Such as Raphael’s return to ancient aesthetic ideals,Leonardo Da Vinci’s interest in “strange beauty” “more reflects his thinking about the world、 Concepts and certain designs”。This is a return to mysterious nature。Pat believes that Leonardo da Vinci’s intuition in this regard is even on par with the great Dante;“Weirdness” is not considered as Leonardo da Vinci’s artistic flaw,It is the "infinite curiosity" about nature and human nature that is presented as a representative mind bet365 offers Renaissance,So it is an exploratory expression of a wonderful tension between "curiosity and desire for beauty"。
In this regard,Pat cited the views of Michelet, a 19th-century French historian,Think compared to other artists bet365 offers same period,Leonardo da Vinci’s “More Expected Modern Concepts”。Burckhardt held a similar judgment to Ruskin,Although the two of them have huge differences in their overall understanding bet365 offers Italian Renaissance。Burckhardt found signs of Renaissance decline in Leonardo da Vinci’s work,Thinks that his creation relies too much on “the help of scenery”,His genius "went astray in fantasy",That’s why the Mona Lisa has the disturbing “dream effect”。
Ruskin saw the "grotesque" in Leonardo's paintings,Burckhardt saw "fantasy",And Pat saw the rare "strange beauty"。Ruskin suggested worriedly,"What kind of mind could have led Leonardo to adopt such an ideal"?And Pat sincerely appreciates this "ideal",Think of it as a truly modern taste。This is the "discovery" of a new critical eye,Shifting between the bet365 offers past and the 19th century present,And was echoed by latecomers in the 20th century。Gombrich focused on Leonardo da Vinci’s views on landscape in his seminal article on the rise of landscape theory,Think it represents an innovation in bet365 offers aesthetic concepts,Has a profound impact on the occurrence and development of landscape art throughout Europe。
In this sense,Pater’s stylized critical writing,Participated in an important moment in European art history,It is also a key concern in the study of European historical consciousness - the issue of modernity,and contributed its creative expression。Take an art museum tour,Pater presents us with a collective picture bet365 offers Renaissance from the Middle Ages to the 15th and 18th centuries。Poet、Artists and art historians as creators of works of art and experiencers of ideal life,Continuously guide us to think about the possibility of communication between historical consciousness between the past and the present。“The history of art is like any history,Strictly、Absolutely divided...but this is only the superficial situation,What lies deep is the coherence of European culture。”History and Art,Walking through criticism,Influenced our current writing。
(Author’s unit: School of bet365 offers and Design, Yangzhou University)