Art In Theory 1648-1815

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

Charles Harrison is co-editor of Art in Theory 1900 - 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.

Acknowledgements.

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.