Since Cézanne

Arthur Clive Heward BellProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 310K words
Chapters: 32

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.Since Cézanne by Clive BellAuthor: Bell, Clive, 1881-1964,Language: English, Class: N: Fine Arts, Release Date: Sep 7, 2004

Editor's review

Clive Bell's Since Cézanne is a key text of early twentieth-century British art criticism. Bell is known for the idea of "significant form," and this book continues his concern with the formal value of visual art, offering commentary on Cézanne and the development of painting since Post-Impressionism. It combines judgments on individual painters and works with a picture of how the British intellectual world of the time understood the turn toward modernist painting. Its value lies not in a complete art-historical narrative but in showing one critic's theoretical stance and aesthetic taste in the face of new art, in prose that is polemical and full of personal judgment. For readers studying the history of modern art criticism or interested in how Post-Impressionism was received in the English-speaking world, this book is valuable primary material; general readers can treat it as an introduction to the formalist approach to criticism.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of modern art criticism and formalist theory
Art lovers who want to know how Post-Impressionism was first received in the English-speaking world
Students of art history or literary criticism who need primary critical texts
Readers who enjoy polemical art essays with strong, clear judgments

Not a good fit for

Beginners looking for a systematic general art history or painters' biographies
Visual readers who need abundant high-quality plates alongside the text
General readers with no interest in the early twentieth-century British critical context

Reading tips

Learn the basic background of Cézanne and Post-Impressionism first; Bell's position will then be clearer.
Note Bell's judgments on individual painters as you read, and pay attention to his grounds and tone.
Read alongside an album of Post-Impressionist paintings to make up for the lack of plates in the electronic text.
Treat the book as material for the history of criticism rather than as an appreciation guide, and focus on how its theoretical framework took shape.

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

Does this book give a systematic history of art after Cézanne?

No. It is a collection of Bell's critical essays, offering commentary and argument on Cézanne and related Post-Impressionist painters from a strong personal theoretical standpoint. If you need art history organized by period and school, read it alongside a dedicated art-history work; this book is better used as material for critical viewpoints.

Are there illustrations? Do I need plates to read it?

The Project Gutenberg edition is mainly text and generally does not provide high-quality plates. Bell discusses specific works, so understanding suffers without a corresponding album of paintings at hand. It is advisable to have a Post-Impressionist album or reliable online images for comparison while reading.

What is "significant form," and do I need to understand it before reading?

"Significant form" is the core idea of Bell's art theory: combinations of line, color, and other formal elements can in themselves evoke aesthetic emotion. This book continues that line of thinking in its commentary on painting. Knowing the concept in advance helps grasp his criteria, but you can also come to understand it gradually while reading; there is no need to read a theoretical monograph first.

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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.