Liegel and the Science of Art

Author: Chen Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: Alois Riegl (1858-1905), a renowned Austrian art historian in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was a key figure in the Vienna School of Art History and one of the founders of modern Western art history. During his relatively short academic career, he dedicated himself to theoretical exploration in art science, achieving remarkable accomplishments. He was hailed by the contemporary Western art history luminary Ernst Gombrich as "the most original thinker in our discipline." Riegl revolutionized the writing of art history in the 19th century. Each of his works opened a new field in the history of art, and he is widely recognized as a milestone in the history of modern art history. This book is a specialized study on Riegl's theory of art history, tracing his three major works—The Problem of Style, Late Antique and Early Christian Art, and The Group Portraits of the Dutch Masters—to review his main academic ideas and their connections to the Western academic tradition. It summarizes the positive significance of his theories in the establishment of art history as an independent discipline and offers a preliminary critique of his famous concept of the "will to art." The author, Chen Ping, received a master's degree from the China Academy of Art in 1990 and a doctorate in 2001. He is currently employed at the China Academy of Art Press and has published over one million words in academic articles and translations.