The Preference for the Primitive: Episodes in the History of Western Taste and Art (Paperback)

E.H. Gombrich

ISBN 10: 0714846325 / ISBN 13: 9780714846323

Published by Phaidon Press, London, 2006

About this Item

Paperback. Available in paperback for the first time, Professor Gombrich s highly-acclaimed last book offers a revealing insight into the history and psychology of taste. The Preference for the Primitive is a study of the idea that older and less sophisticated ( primitive ) works are somehow morally and aesthetically superior to later works that have become soft and decadent. Summing up more than 40 years of study and reflection on this theme, this book presents a closely argued narrative supported by extensive quotations that document with precision the role of authors, critics and artists in shaping and changing opinion. Professor Gombrich's last book and first narrative book in over 20 yearsStudies the idea that older and less sophisticated (i.e. 'primitive') artworks are somehow morally and aesthetically superior to later works that have become soft and decadentTakes a long view of the subject, finding the theme expressed in key documents in Classical Antiquity, resuming the debate in the 18th century, and culminating in an examination of the radical expressions of primitivism in modern timesSumming up more than 40 years of study and reflection on this theme, the book presents a closely argued narrative supported by extensive quotations that document with precision the role of authors, critics and artists in shaping and changing opinionImportant both as a personal testament and as a documentary anthology, this long-awaited book fittingly provides a deep and revealing insight into the history and psychology of taste Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780714846323

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Preference for the Primitive: Episodes in the History of Western Taste and Art (Paperback)
• Publisher: Phaidon Press, London
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0714846325
• ISBN 13: 9780714846323
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Available in paperback for the first time, Professor Gombrich’s highly-acclaimed last book offers a revealing insight into the history and psychology of taste. The Preference for the Primitive is a study of the idea that older and less sophisticated (‘primitive’) works are somehow morally and aesthetically superior to later works that have become soft and decadent. Summing up more than 40 years of study and reflection on this theme, this book presents a closely argued narrative supported by extensive quotations that document with precision the role of authors, critics and artists in shaping and changing opinion.

About the Author

Sir Ernst Gombrich was one of the greatest and least conventional art historians of his age, achieving fame and distinction in three separate spheres: as a scholar, as a popularizer of art, and as a pioneer of the application of the psychology of perception to the study of art. His best-known book, The Story of Art - first published 50 years ago and now in its sixteenth edition - is one of the most influential books ever written about art. His books further include The Sense of Order and Art & Illusion, as well as a total of 11 volumes of collected essays and reviews.

Gombrich was born in Vienna in 1909 and died in London in November 2001. He came to London in 1936 to work at the Warburg Institute, where he eventually became Director from 1959 until his retirement in 1976. He won numerous international honours, including a knighthood, the Order of Merit and the Goethe, Hegel and Erasmus prizes.

Gifted with a powerful mind and prodigious memory, he was also an outstanding communicator, with a clear and forceful prose style. His works are models of good art-historical writing, and reflect his humanism and his deep and abiding concern with the standards and values of our cultural heritage.