Masters of the Classical Period

Author: Zhang Xiaoling
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Since artists could sign their works, art history has almost become the history of masters. Almost every important era is marked by the names of masters. Why do masters deserve this honor? Fundamentally, it is their genius that changes and drives the historical process of world art. From the perspective of the history of art development, the difference between a master and an ordinary artist lies in the fact that masters are good at discovering and creating, while ordinary artists simply repeat. Another difference is that masters regard art as a sacred profession, embodying ideals, passion, and imagination, whereas ordinary artists often treat art as just a means to earn a living. Unfortunately, the latter are far more numerous than the former, often outnumbering them by dozens or even hundreds. Masters are a topic that is always worth exploring—this is also the premise for the establishment of this series. In this series, exploring the creativity of masters and how this creativity has changed the course of world art history is a fundamental objective. One advantage of reading this series is that, in addition to appreciating the legends and secrets behind the masters' historical creations, one can also clearly see the flaws of masters as ordinary people, such as eccentricities, selfishness, arrogance, vanity, and jealousy. After all, masters are also human, and it is inevitable for them to have these flaws. Interestingly, history often excuses their flaws through a kind of admiration for genius. History only chooses masters because history is, after all, created by them. In the history of art, there have been many masters who have influenced the course of world art. Since the formation of the discipline of art history in the West, the research objects have always been painting, sculpture, and architecture within the fine arts, with a particular focus on ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture, Renaissance painting, as well as painting and architecture from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Previous art history divided art into two categories: "high" and "low," and it has always focused only on the "high" art, or what is known as "fine art." The writing of this book also follows this definition of art history, limiting its scope to the creations of painters during the European classical period, which aligns with the overall concept of this series. In fact, the discipline of Western art history has undergone many changes since the 1980s. First, the research objects have become broader, with objects that were previously overlooked, such as comics, illustrations, photography, advertising, decoration, and various crafts, as well as film and television, now entering the field of art history research. Second, the geographical and scope of the research objects have also become wider, with art from Asia, the Americas, and Australia receiving significant attention from art historians. These different genres and regions of art also have specific styles or special historical periods, and many masters who have influenced the course of world art have emerged. Therefore, the range of "masters" who have influenced world art history in contemporary art history research is very broad, and this may be something that those of us engaged in art history research should pay attention to in the future popularization of art education.