Fundamental Concepts of Art History

Fundamental Concepts of Art History — one of the main works of Wölfflin, first published in 1915 and still regularly reissued in all major languages of the world, as its importance for students, art historians, and simply people interested in the theory and history of art cannot be overstated. In this work, which has become a kind of sacred book of the formal method in art history, the author presents and describes his theory of art without a name — a theory that requires the study of works of art outside of personalities», completely detached from the names and identities of their authors. For traditional art history, which is based, not least, on the connection between the biography of the creator and his individual creative style», Wölfflin's work was a shock and almost a slap in the face. However, it later became the foundation for a different, broader, and more comprehensive scientific perspective, without which modern art history and theory would be unimaginable.