The Analysis of Beauty - Softcover

Hogarth, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300073461 ISBN 13: 9780300073461

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1997

Synopsis

Born three hundred years ago in Smithfield, London, William Hogarth established himself as a central figure in eighteenth-century English culture through his paintings, engravings, and outspoken art criticism. In this new edition of Hogarth’s Analysis of Beauty―a unique work combining theory with practical advice on painting―Ronald Paulson includes the complete text of the original work; an introduction that places the Analysis in the tradition of aesthetic treatises and Hogarth’s own "moral" works; extensive annotation of the text and accompanying illustrations; and illuminating manuscript passages that Hogarth omitted from the final printed version.

In the development of English aesthetics, the Analysis of Beauty takes a position of high significance. Hogarth’s stature in his own time suggests the importance of his attempt to systematize and theorize his own artistic practice. What he proposes is an aesthetics of the middle range, subordinating both the Beautiful and the Sublime to the everyday world of human choice and contingency―essentially the world of Hogarth’s own modern moral subjects, his engraved works.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

English artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) is most famous for his satirical caricatures and moral paintings, the forerunners of cartoons. In this instructive volume, the august painter and engraver discusses and illustrates the use of serpentine lines in the expression of grace and beauty. Hogarth defines six qualities—fitness, variety, regularity, simplicity, intricacy, and quantity—and dramatizes their effective combination in images that employ S-shaped lines.
Originally published in 1753 with the subtitle, "Written with a View of Fixing the Fluctuating Ideas of Taste," Hogarth's book addresses the general public, not just artists and connoisseurs. More than 30 striking black-and-white plates trace visual and formal applications of the serpentine line of beauty, portraying subjects as diverse as everyday objects, examples from nature, and classical sculpture and other works by the great masters. A revolutionary approach to art theory by an experienced painter, this historic book offers fascinating insights into ideals of beauty and aesthetics.
Dover (2015) republication of the edition published by Reilly & Lee Co., Chicago, 1908.
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www.doverpublications.com

About the Author:

English artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) is most famous for his satirical caricatures and moral paintings, the forerunners of cartoons. A skilled painter of portraits, he was also a trained engraver in the Rococo style.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0300073461
• ISBN 13: 9780300073461
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200
• Editor: Paulson Ronald