Art

Arthur Clive Heward BellProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 340K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Art by Clive BellAuthor: Bell, Clive, 1881-1964,Language: English, Class: N: Fine Arts, Release Date: Oct 21, 2005

Editor's review

This is a representative work by the British art critic Clive Bell, centering on core questions of the visual arts; its exposition of "significant form" has had a far-reaching influence. The book does not follow a chronological history of art but asks why art moves us and what aesthetic experience consists of, then assesses works of different periods and schools. Bell's prose carries the argumentative temper of the Bloomsbury circle: sharply defined views, occasionally incisive judgments, never dull. Its value lies in offering a way of looking at painting: set aside attention to subject matter, technique, and story, and return to the expressive force of line, color, and composition themselves. For readers seeking to build a framework of aesthetic judgment, or to understand the context of early twentieth-century British art criticism, this is a short treatise worth close reading. Note that the original is a public-domain English e-book, and some arguments bear the limitations of their time; critical reading is advised.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to understand modern art criticism and formalist theory
Those interested in painting and the visual arts who wish to sharpen their appreciation
Students and teachers of fine arts, aesthetics, or literary and art theory
Enthusiasts with English reading ability willing to read the original treatise

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting a systematic general history of art or biographies of painters
Readers who prefer a Chinese translation and do not wish to read the English original
Those seeking practical knowledge of the contemporary art market and curating

Reading tips

Read the whole book first to grasp the core arguments, then return to the chapters on aesthetics and form
Keep images of the paintings mentioned at hand while reading, comparing works with arguments
Jot down reasons for judgments you disagree with, forming your own aesthetic position
The English original can be read in close segments; with many long sentences, slow down to follow the argument

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is this book mainly about? Is it an art history?

It is not a chronological art history but a critical treatise on aesthetic experience and the nature of the visual arts. Bell discusses why art evokes feeling and how formal elements work, and on that basis assesses works and schools; its core is to propose a way of seeing and judging art.

Are the book's views still applicable today?

Bell's formalist claims were highly influential in the history of art criticism, but some judgments bear the context and limitations of the early twentieth century—for example, his evaluations of certain art movements may not accord with later scholarship. Read it as an entry point to the tradition of modern criticism, while remaining skeptical rather than accepting it wholesale.

Can I understand it without a background in art history?

The book is short and its argument is mainly conceptual, not dependent on a mass of historical facts, but it involves a number of painters and schools, and complete unfamiliarity would feel alienating. It is advisable to learn the basic outline of Western painting first; the book will then read much more smoothly and its claims will be easier to judge.

Is this the original English edition, and how difficult is it?

This is a public-domain English e-book. The language is early twentieth-century critical prose, with flexible syntax and dense argument; it is not light reading. Readers with university-level English can finish it with a dictionary; proceed in segments and reread argument-dense passages before judging.

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About the author

Arthur Clive Heward Bell Author · British · 1881–1964

Clive Bell (1881–1964), born Arthur Clive Heward Bell, was a British formalist art critic and aesthetician and a central member of the Bloomsbury Group. In Art (1914) he put forward the theory of "significant form," arguing that combinations of line and colour can directly arouse aesthetic emotion—a view that had a lasting influence on modern art criticism. Together with Roger Fry he helped promote Post-Impressionist painting in Britain. His other works include Since Cézanne and Pot-Boilers, and three of his books are held in this collection. Public information is limited; his writing is known for clear argumentation and for its focus on the relationship between form and aesthetic experience.