Aesthetics and Painting

(Hardback)

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Description

Aesthetics and Painting introduces and opens up current debates and ideas in the aesthetics of painting. At the book's center is an investigation of the complex relationship between what a painting depicts and the means by which it is depicted. The book looks at: how and why painting may be distinguished from other art forms; the relationship between the painted surface and the depicted subject; the "rules of representation" specific to painting; abstract art and nonrepresentational painting; the most recent technological and aesthetic developments and their implications; the role of the artistand that of the spectator. A sophisticated treatment of major ideas in art and philosophy, Aesthetics and Painting remains highly readable throughout, offering a clear and coherent account of the nature of painting as an art form.

Reviews

"This book shines a much needed clear, intelligent light on the central questions of the meaning and value of painting, proving that philosophy and art can know and illuminate one another." - John Armstrong, Melbourne University, Australia

Author Bio

Jason Gaiger is Professor of Aesthetics and Art Theory and a Fellow of St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford, UK.