Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012
German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism discusses the relation between art history and the human and natural sciences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All contributions in this volume highlight the way in which this exchange affected art history on a practic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Art History, University of Birmingham
2012-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Art Historiography |
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| Online Access: | http://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/witte-review.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818581888799866880 |
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| author | Arnold Witte |
| author_facet | Arnold Witte |
| author_sort | Arnold Witte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism discusses the relation between art history and the human and natural sciences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All contributions in this volume highlight the way in which this exchange affected art history on a practical and methodological level, but at the same time illustrate how the quest for objectivity and scientific methods was accompanied by an irrational search for essential characteristics of art through race. Especially the exchange with psychology, physiognomy, and psychophysiology supported this kind reasoning in circles in which objectivity was related to holistic explanations. This led to a rhetoric of objective Kunstwissenschaft that spoke in terms of rational facts, but in which the concepts of character and evolution resulted in highly ideological interpretations, which became discredited after 1945. However, the post-war reaction to this in itself again affected another turn towards the ‘objective’ which goes to show how external, political, changes affected the relation between art history and the sciences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:40:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62414a0003404c458e0b2c16ed5e5201 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2042-4752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:40:39Z |
| publishDate | 2012-12-01 |
| publisher | Department of Art History, University of Birmingham |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Art Historiography |
| spelling | doaj.art-62414a0003404c458e0b2c16ed5e52012022-12-21T22:39:05ZengDepartment of Art History, University of BirminghamJournal of Art Historiography2042-47522012-12-0177AW/1Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012Arnold WitteGerman Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism discusses the relation between art history and the human and natural sciences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All contributions in this volume highlight the way in which this exchange affected art history on a practical and methodological level, but at the same time illustrate how the quest for objectivity and scientific methods was accompanied by an irrational search for essential characteristics of art through race. Especially the exchange with psychology, physiognomy, and psychophysiology supported this kind reasoning in circles in which objectivity was related to holistic explanations. This led to a rhetoric of objective Kunstwissenschaft that spoke in terms of rational facts, but in which the concepts of character and evolution resulted in highly ideological interpretations, which became discredited after 1945. However, the post-war reaction to this in itself again affected another turn towards the ‘objective’ which goes to show how external, political, changes affected the relation between art history and the sciences.http://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/witte-review.pdfGermany 1880-1955biologyKunstwissenschaftphysiognomicsNazismscience |
| spellingShingle | Arnold Witte Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 Journal of Art Historiography Germany 1880-1955 biology Kunstwissenschaft physiognomics Nazism science |
| title | Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 |
| title_full | Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 |
| title_fullStr | Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 |
| title_short | Formalism in the first half of the twentieth century: ‘pure science’ or a case of effective rhetoric? Mitchell B. Frank and Daniel Adler (eds), German Art History and Scientific Thought – Beyond Formalism, Ashgate, 2012 |
| title_sort | formalism in the first half of the twentieth century pure science or a case of effective rhetoric mitchell b frank and daniel adler eds german art history and scientific thought beyond formalism ashgate 2012 |
| topic | Germany 1880-1955 biology Kunstwissenschaft physiognomics Nazism science |
| url | http://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/witte-review.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT arnoldwitte formalisminthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcenturypurescienceoracaseofeffectiverhetoricmitchellbfrankanddanieladleredsgermanarthistoryandscientificthoughtbeyondformalismashgate2012 |