A HISTORY OF SIX IDEAS

AN ESSAY IN AESTHETICS

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL PHILOSOPHY SERIES

VOLUME 5

A HISTORY OF SIX IDEAS-AN ESSAY IN AESTHETICS W. TATARKIEWICZ

Editor: JAN T. J. SRZEDNICKI

Assistant editor: L Y NNE M. B R 0 UGH TON

Editorial Advisory Council:

R. M. Chisholm, Brown University, Rhode Island. Mats Furberg, Goteborg University. D. A. T. Gasking, University of Melbourne. H. L. A. Hart, University College, Oxford. S. Korner, University of Bristol, Yale University. T. Kotarbinski, Warsaw. H. J. McCloskey, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Melbourne. J. Passmore, Australian National University, Canberra. C. Perelman, Free University of Brussels. A. Quinton, New College, Oxford. Nathan Rotenstreich, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Franco Spisani, Centro Superiore di Logica e Scienze, Comparate, Bologna. W. Ta-

tarkiewicz, Warsaw. R. Ziedins, Waikato University, New Zealand.

Communications to be addressed to the Editor, c/o Philosophy Department, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia.

A HISTORY OF SIX IDEAS AN ESSAY IN AESTHETICS

by

WLADYSLAW TATARKIEWICZ

University of Warsaw Polish Academy of Sciences

• MARTINUS NI]HOFF

THE HAGUE/BOSTON/LONDON PWN/POLISH SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHERS

WARSZAWA 1980

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Tatarkiewicz, Wladyslaw. A history of six ideas.

(Melbourne international philosophy series; v·5)

Translation of Dzieje szeSciu poj~c. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Aesthetics-History. 3. Art-Philosophy-

History. I. Title. II. Series. BH8I.T3413 111.8'5 79-16534

ISBN-I 3:978-94-009-8807-1 e-ISBN-I3:978-94-009-8805-7 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-8805-7

Translated from: Dzieje szelciu pojlJc, first published in Polish by Panstwowe Wydaw­nictwo Naukowe, Warszawa 1975.

Translated from the Polish by Christopher Kasparek except Sections IV-VII of Chapter 1, Sections I, II of Chapter 2, Sections I-XI of Chapter 3, Sections I-IX of Chapter 4, Sections I-IV of Chapter 6, Sections I-VI of Chapter 7, Section I of Chapter 9-whicb have been based on the previously published texts, with the permission of the publishers.

Ccpyright © by PWN-Polish Scientific Publishers-Warszawa IQ80. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition I Q80 All rights re­

served, including the right to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form.

TABLE OF CON TEN T S

List of illustrations IX

Foreword XI

Introduction I

Chapter one. Art: History of the concept I I

I. The early concept of art I I

II. The transformation in modern times IS Ill. The fine arts 17 IV. New disputes over the scope of art 23 V. Disputes over the concept of art 27

VI. Renunciation of definition 33 VII. An alternative definition 36

VIII. Definition and theories 41 IX. The present 43

Chapter two. Art: History of classification 50 I. Division of all the arts (Antiquity) 50

II. Division of the liberal and mechanical arts (Middle Ages) 56 III. Search for a new division (Renaissance) 57 IV. Division of the arts into fine and mechanical (The En-

lightenment) 60 V. Division of the fine arts (Recent times) 65

Chapter three. Art: History of the relation of art to poetry 73 I. Our concepts of art and Greek concepts 73

II. The concept of art 78 III. The concept of poetry 83 IV. The concept of beauty 89 V. The concept of creativity 92

VI CONTENTS

VI. Apate, katharsis, mimesis 94 VII. Plato: Two kinds of poetry 98

VIII. Aristotle: First approximation of poetry to art 102

IX. Hellenism: Second approximation of poetry to art 104 X. The Middle Ages: Renewed separation of poetry and art 109

XI. Modern times: Final approximation of poetry to art II 3 XII. New separation of poetry and painting 116

Chapter four. Beauty: History of the concept 121

I. The evolution of the concept 121

II. The Great Theory 125

III. Supplementary theses 129 IV. Reservations 133 V. Other theories 136

VI. Crisis of the Great Theory 138 VII. Other eighteenth-century theories 141

VIII. After the crisis 143 IX. Second crisis 144 X. In conclusion 146

Chapter five. Beauty: History of the category 153 I. The varieties of beauty 153

II. Aptness 159 III. Ornament 165 IV. Comeliness 168

V. Grace 169 VI. Subtlety 170

VII. Sublimity 171

VIII. A dual beauty 174

IX. Orders and styles 176 X. Classical beauty 179

XI. Romantic beauty 187

Chapter six. Beauty: the dispute between objectivism and subjec­tivism

I. Antiquity II. Middle Ages

III. Renaissance IV. Baroque V. The Enlightenment

199 200

205 207 211

21 5

CONTENTS VII

Chapter seven. Form: History of one term and five concepts 220

I. History of form A 222

II. History of form B _ 228

III. History ot: form C 233 IV. History of form D (Substantial form) 234 V. History of form E (A priori form) 236

VI. History of other forms 239 VII. New concepts of form 240

Chapter eight. Creativity: History of the concept 244 I. Art seen without creativity 244

II. History of the term 250

III. History of the concept 251

IV. Creatio ex nihilo 254 V. Contemporary concept of creativity 257

VI. Pancreationism 260 VII. The artist's creativity 261

Chapter nine. Mimesis: History of the relation of art to reality 266

I. History of the concept of (mimesis' 266 II. Other theories of the past 275

III. Some history of the concept of realism 279

Chapter ten. Mimesis: History of the relation of art to nature and truth 290

I. Art and nature 290 II. Art and truth 299

Chapter eleven. The aesthetic experience: History of the concept 310

I. Early history 310 II. Age of the Enlightenment 319

III. The last hundred years 324 IV. The legacy 335

Conclusion 339

Bibliography 349

Index of names 375

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

I. Polyclitus, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), c. 440 B.C. 12 2. Leonardo da Vinci, Bodily proportions corresponding to simple

geometric figures 24 3. Michelangelo Buonarroti, Nude with calculation of proportions

(18th-century copy) 35 4. Le Corbusier, Modulor, illustration from the book Le Modulor,

1950 47 5. Muse, Athenian lekythos, third quarter of the 5th century B.C. 54 6. Apollo and Muse, Athenian bowl from the second quarter of

the 5th century B.C. 64 7. Orpheus among the Thracians, vase from the mid-5th century

B.C. 74 8. Citharist with listeners, amphora by Andokides of Attica, c. 530

B.C. 75 9. Saint Luke, miniature from the so-called Sainte Chapelle Gospel 88

10 •.. Musica mundana, Musica humana, Musica instrumentalis, French 13th-century miniature 100

I I. Pythagoras and Music, drawing from the Aldersbach manuscript, 13th century 110

12. Orpheus and the nine Muses, drawing from the Liber Ponti-fica lis, c. 1200 124

13. Melpomene, Ferrara engraving from the close of the 14th century 131

14. Philosophy and the Liberal Arts, woodcut from early printed book by G. Reisch, Margarita Philosophica, 1504 139

15. Temple of the Muses, title page of M. de Marolles, Tableaux du Temple des Muses, Paris, 1655 147

16. Apollo, engraving by Goltzius, c. 1600 155

17. The Three Graces, engraving by M. Dente after Raimondi, 1590 164

x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

18. The myth of Pygmalion: Galatea come alive, engraving by C. Bloemart after A. von Diepenbeeck, reproduced from M. de Marolles, Tableaux du Temple des Muses, Paris, 1655 177

19. Nymph of immortality (with bust of Shakespeare), engraving by F. Bartolozzi after G. B. Cipriani 188

20. Poetry, engraving by R. Morgheno from a drawing by P. Nocchi after Raphael 197

21. Poetry, engraving by Demarteau after Fran'Yois Boucher 203 22. Muse of the theatre dismissed by Painting, engraving by Lepicie

after C. Coypel, 1733 210 23. Comedy, engraving by F. Bartolozzi after C. Nattier 213 24. Painting, engraving by R. S. Marcourd after G. B. Cipriani 223 25. Music, engraving by F. Bartolozzi after G. B. Cipriani 230 26. The Muses instructing poet (Hesiod), engraving by J. Flaxman,

1823 238 27. Constantin Brancusi, Sleeping Muse, marble 246 28. Giorgio de Chirico, Disturbing Muses, oil, c. 1922 253 29. Paul Klee, The Comic, drawing, 1934 263 30. Paul Klee, Creator, tempera, 1934 278 31. N. Gabo, Linear construction in space, structure of nylon, 1949 285 32. V. Vassarely, Metagalaxy, oil painting, 1959-I961 291 33. Drawing by Wassily Kandinsky, "Necessity creates form" 298 34. Pablo Picasso, Sculptor and kneeling woman, etching, 1933· 312

FOREWORD

The history of aesthetics, like the histories of other sciences, may be treated in a two-fold manner: as the history of the men who created the field of study, or as the history of the questions that have been raised and resolved in the course of its pursuit. The earlier History of Aesthetics (3 volumes, 1960-68, English-language edition 1970-74) by the author of the present book was a history of men, of writers and artists who in centuries past have spoken up concerning beauty and art, form and crea­tivity. The present book returns to the same subject, but treats it in a different way: as the history of aesthetic questions, concepts, theories. The matter of the two books, the previous and the present, is in part the same; but only in part: for the earlier book ended with the 17th century, while the present one brings the subject up to our own times. And from the 18th century to the 20th much happened in aesthetics; it was only in that period that aesthetics achieved recognition as a separate science, received a name of its own, and produced theories that early scholars and artists had never dreamed of.

Still, the new book is close enough to the old one so that it may be regarded as a supplement and conclusion to it - as it were, a fourth volume. As a result also of the partial overlaps in subject matter, some repetition has been unavoidable. In the history of aesthetics, as in other disciplines, there are concepts and theories that cannot be passed over in any treatment of the subject. Here the ancient Empedocles was right, when he maintained that if an idea is worth uttering, then it is worth repeating. Such is the first matter that had to be brought up in the fore­word.

The second question is that of periodization. Any book covering a long span of time must divide it up in some fashion. The present book employs a simple division into four great periods: ancient, mediaeval, modern and contemporary. The boundary between antiquity and the Middle Ages is seen as falling between Plotinus and Augustine, the boundary between mediaeval and modern times - between Dante and

XII FOREWORD

Petrarch. And the boundary between the modern and contemporary periods is taken to be the turn of the 20th century: for that was the breaking point in the continuous train of evolution which, considerable changes notwithstanding, had been indisputable from the 15th through the 19th centuries.

A third matter. In a history of ideas the author could have under­taken either a full inventory or only a selection of what, over the centuries, has been thought and written about these ideas. An inventory would have exceeded the capacity of a single man; and also it seemed a less urgent task than the laying bare of those elements in the successive conceptions of beauty and art, form and creativity, that have been especially cogent, profound or original. On the other hand, he who undertakes a selection is faced with well-known difficulties: he cannot entirely eliminate his own self, his personal biases, his private appraisals of what is eternally important or of what is significant for a given period. The early period of history cared little for aesthetic reflections, and still less of the latter survives, consequently there was no need for selec­tion - virtually all the material could be considered. However, it is other­wise with more recent times. In connection with these the historian has much to choose from, and his task is made the more difficult by the lack of distance and perspective that hamper his view.

There is need likewise' in the foreword for some comment on the bibliography that has been appended to the book. It is not a complete bibliography (a complete bibliography to a work covering the entire history of European aesthetics would be a separate book in itself). On the other hand, the present bibliography contains somewhat more items than are cited in the text. It presents the works that the author m.ade use of and is divided into primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are given in the body of the text, in abbreviated form; the reader will find the full entries at the back of the book.

A final necessary remark concerns the illustrations; a book on art and beauty called for these. A text that discusses only ideas can be illustrated almost exclusively with personifications of ideas, with alle­gories, with representations of patron deities of the arts and beauty. The Greek conception of these deities has been so lasting that it has been possible to reproduce not only ancient images of the Muses and of Orpheus, but also a 16th-century one of Apollo, a 17th-century one of the Three Graces, and a 20th-century Muse. Dominating the illustra­tions are personifications of the arts: of the seven liberal arts, of poetry, painting, theatre. But there is also a St. Luke (patron saint of painters),

FOREWORD XUI

a baroque allegory on the immortality of creative men, and - entitled Metagalaxy - a contemporary allegory on infinity. A separate group of illustrations comprises calculations of perfect human bodily proportions: the well-known drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, a less well-known one by Le Corbusier, and least known, that by Michelangelo, reproduced here after the copy presented to Poland's last king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, incorporated into his collections, and at present the prop­erty of the Engravings Room of the Warsaw University Library. Most of the engravings are drawn from the latter Polish collection.

* * * Thanks are due to the editor of The British Journal of Aesthetics

for the permission to use the article "What is Art? The Problem of Definition Today", Vol. II, No.2, pp. 134-153, London, Spring 1971, and the publisher of Dictionary of the History of Ideas, New York, 1973 for the permission to use the articles: "Classification of the Arts", Vol. I,

pp. 456-462, "Form in the History of Aesthetics", Vol. 2, pp. 216-225, "Mimesis", Vol. 3, pp. 225-230, and the editor of The Journal of Aesthet­ics and Art Criticism for the permission to use the article "The Great Theory of Beauty and Its Decline", Vol. XXXlj2, pp. 165-180, Balti­more, 1972, and the editor of Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, A Quarterly Journal for the permission to use the article "Objectivity and Subjectivity in the History of Aesthetics", Vol. 24, No.2, pp. 157-173, Philadelphia, 1963.