Gerhard Gietmann

“ It is the duty of æsthetics always to seek the deepest grounds of the pleasure derived from art, not only in the laws of nature, but, above all, in those of the mind, and thus to come in touch with philosophy; but the fruitful source of sound judgment is to be found in a correct view of the world of art itself. ”

“ Subjectivism threatens scientific æsthetics with an entirely new danger. The forcible emphasis of the subjective side of art, and of the psychological and physiological conditions of artistic expression, is undoubtedly an advance—provided objective conditions and norms suffer no diminution of their rightful sphere. Yet there is a growing tendency to regard all æsthetic principles and judgments as mere fluctuating opinions, and reject all that constitutes system, principle, or definition. Such scepticism, born of spiritual weakness and cowardice, makes an end, once for all, of all science. ”

“ Artistic expression is indeed neither the act of a blindly toiling genius nor that of an understanding governed by its own laws, but is the act of a free, responsible will. It affects not only the sight and perception of the spectator, but also his mental disposition and his will. It is in this respect that the laws of morality apply to art as a practical calling. Likewise, as against Naturalism, a moral and religious aim in art must be recognized. "Art is its own aim" (art for art's sake) , is a principle which holds true only of the immediate or inner aim (finis operis) . ”

“ For this reason various methods and systems have grown up in it, as in art itself, which lay stress on one aspect rather than on another. Idealism loves great subjects, a lofty conception, monumental execution; it looks to find the divine and the spiritual in all things, be it only allegorically and symbolically. It treats æsthetics from above, and guards most effectually against the debasement of art, but is exposed (as was Platonism in philosophy) to the risk of losing itself in abstraction and, moreover, of not giving due importance to the form of art. ”

“ The student of æsthetics, though he cannot wholly dispense with an insight into the technique of artistic production, or with a knowledge of the varied manifestations of beauty in nature and life, or even with an actual exercise of one kind of art or another, must rely chiefly on a quick perceptive faculty, systematizing talent, and an intelligent appreciation. In this respect æsthetics will, on the one hand, offer more, on the other hand, less than technical treatises on any one art, practical instruction in the exercise of the same, or illustrated art books for everyone. ”

“ The Philosophy of Æsthetics.—Æsthetics, as a general science, takes no account of the individual arts. It investigates the physiological and psychological principles of art, the conceptions of art, of beauty, and of the beautiful in art, and develops the universal laws of artistic activity. Clear and orderly thinking, the presupposition of all scientific discussion, is indispensable in æsthetics, the more so because, otherwise, aimless circumlocution and serious errors are unavoidable. All ideas, moreover, concerning æsthetic beauty and the aim of art need to be carefully examined into. ”

“ Form, however, without content would be empty; it should be rather, as it were, the blossoming of the idea, and a great subject, unless, indeed, it surpass the powers of the artist, gives his genius an impulse towards the highest possible expression. Realism brings into prominence only the truth and palpable actuality of this content. ”

“ Not anatomical and organic fidelity of presentation, but the nude, with its allurement, then easily becomes of chief importance, and the artistic conception sinks likewise, with regard to other things, to the level of crude naturalism and sensuous pleasure. In so far, however, as Naturalism holds aloof from this abyss, it champions the autonomy of art in order to maintain its independence of religion and morality. It thereby sets itself in open contradiction to Christianity; since all things human, even art, are subject to the eternal law. ”

“ As a matter of method, it is advisable to set poetry in the foreground of any discussion concerning art, since it is thereby easier to keep the æsthetics of the other arts from becoming mere technique. ”

“ Mere sense-training, however, leads, in its turn, to very superficial knowledge; it is the chief function of perception to prepare the way for mental insight and ideal conception. Nor can we dispense with either the systematic arrangement of the history of art, or the quasi-philosophical basis of æsthetics. ”

“ According to him the first and most important point in works of art is the idea embodied, whether original or partly borrowed; the second is beauty, that is, the variety in the simplicity; the third, technic. In the second part of the history, Greek art alone is discussed and it is brought down to the time of the Emperor Severus and Constantinople. Winckelmann's "Monumenti antichi inediti" (2 vols., with 216 plates, Rome, 1767) is a masterpiece of interpretation and explanation. ”

“ Having at first been mainly a social movement of revolt (in Munich) , it has tended to eschew learning and aspired to create all things anew, with results which are sometimes original, sometimes astonishing, and occasionally ludicrous. Whether the new style sought for will develop from this, is more than doubtful; never, certainly, from the purely negative theory of the tendency, since it tends to do away with ideas, form, and style. ”

“ From him, then, is derived the abstract idealism of Schelling and Schopenhauer, wherein the general idea of beauty is not sufficiently absorbed in the form of its manifestation. Concrete idealism also (that of Hegel and Schleiermacher) owes its origin to Kant. It regards beauty not as a universal idea, but as an individual-evolution. To him, too, may be traced the æsthetic formalism of Herbart and Zimmermann, and "æsthetics of feeling" (Kirchmann) . ”

“ Man, however, soon progresses to the use of musical instruments and gives his artistic productions a permanent existence by means of written notes or marks. The constructive arts, on the other hand, always make use of extraneous material, such as colour, wood, stone, or metal, with results that are not at the same time complete and visible. ”

“ In 1754, after Winckelmann had become a Catholic, the king, to whom he had dedicated the work just mentioned, took more interest in him and granted a pension which enabled Winckelmann towards the end of 1755 to undertake his long-desired trip to Rome. By a careful study of the collections of paintings at Rome, the libraries, the remains of ancient architecture, and especially the collections of anticiuities at the Capitol, the Vatican, and the villas of the Borghesi, Medici, Ludovisi, etc. Winckelmann became the greatest authority in archæology, a position which he maintained for many years. ”