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But this book has its weaker points. Mr. Christopher Wood does not specify what he means by "Pre-Rafaelite style"; sometimes it appears as he only means close adherence to nature and precise detailing. But what would he say then about German Biedermeier or French Neo-Grecs? The text overall is too smooth, it does not take into consideration newer approaches to art history (Norman Bryson's studies of pictures as sign systems, for example). So if you want a problem book, a challenging essay, you better look to Elizabeth Prettejohn's study. This one is just an introductory survey aimed at a general reader -- but a pretty good introduction, I might add.
If you have even the slightest interest in Pre-Raphaelite art, you simply must own this book. It's both the PRB Primer and Bible, as far as I'm concerned.
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The only criticism is the scarcity of fliers from parts of the country outside the east and west coasts. However, fans of Raymond Pettibone's amazing art will be pleased to revisit his early work. An added bonus is the written commentary by local scenesters and musicians who were there when these fliers first appeared. This is juxtaposed by the merciful lack of pompous art historical/criticism blather. Props to the editors/designers who put the whole thing together: the overall layout and design mirrors the art presented: immediate, spontaneous and in your face.
This is also an exceptional historical document. The history of the margins is lost so easily -- a book like this does a tremendous service to posterity.
As to the guy from SF who says that this book distorts history and gives "unnatural significance to marginal bands..." Well, it probably does, and so what??!! [....]
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I thought that the authors comments on someones readiness to date were right on. The test in the book on someone's readiness to date I also found to be helpful, so you know that your reasons for dating are proper.
About the best thing, that I found in this book, was the ideas it gives for someone going out on date on what to do on the date.
Another, book that I also found helpful was, I Gave Dating A Chance, if you want to do some additional reading on the subject.
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This book is written by and for educated man. The translation is great and I finished the book in one reading because it was so compelling. It is above and beyond the mere mechanics of horizon lines and vanishing points.
The end notes are great too.
A must read for all art lovers.
a) ancient perspective is the perspective of angles, not of distances. This is hard to explain without a diagram, but basically an object at a 45 degree angle is 3/4 as large as an object at a 60 degree angle. This is in contrast to modern perspective, where size is in inverse proportion to distance, not angle. The idea that the ancients did not have perspective is simply false. Modern perspective as a third antiquity.
b) the grid of perspective preceded the abstract space of the cartesian grid. The equivalence of extension and object or mass is already present in kpainting before it was ever devised by Descartes.
c) the "vanishing point" is the "actual infinite," the infinite in this world. A theological point.
d) modern perspective is actually a falsification of the "psychophysical" perception of the world, which is really curved. We live in a curved world. Comets tails, for instance, look curved even though they are straight. Buildings look curved likewise. See Vitruvius for the ancient discussion of this phenomenon.
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What makes this material so fascinating is that wrapped up in an academic debate one would normally consider to be a dry and remote subject - art historical methodology - are enormously important philosophical and political issues that are just as vital today as when the debate originally took place (the 1930s).
Wood does an absolutely singular job of delineating the cast of characters, setting the stage and describing the plot. To his great credit, he has also selected essays for translation, many of which appear for the first time in English, that illustrate the issues in compelling ways. One only wishes that more could have been incorporated - especially translations of Hans Sedlmayr's 1929 introduction to Riegl's Collected Essays, his 1925 piece on "Shaped Vision," and Otto Pächt's article on Michael Pacher.
What Wood demonstrates is that continuing interest in the Vienna School of Art History, and its primary protagonist Alois Riegl (three of whose main books were finally translated into English nearly a century after their original publication), constitutes a curious demand for more translations of these vivid, multivalent texts after decades of relative neglect.
I must confess that Wood does not see the full range of political issues imbedded within these writings. This is somewhat odd, because in a previously edited volume on Otto Pächt's own art historical methods in which these issues are brought right to the surface, Wood avoided a thorough discussion as well. Perhaps he is uncomfortable with this material, or perhaps he is simply "politically tone deaf." All interpretation is through the typically Leftist academic lens, but not surprisingly, the material is far too nuanced for so puerile an instrument. In short, much remains to be said about this material, and why it still fascinates modern collectivists on the political Left.
Read it yourself and see if you agree. You will not regret the time spent. If you are an art history "buff," student or professor, this is simply MUST reading.
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