Long recognized as one of the most important 18th-century works on the aesthetics of the visual arts, Johann Gottfried Herder's "Plastik" ("Sculpture", 1778) has never before appeared in a complete English translation. In this landmark essay, Herder combines rationalist and empiricist thought with a wide range of sources - from the classics to Norse legend, Shakespeare to the Bible - to illuminate the ways we experience sculpture. Standing on the fault line between classicism and romanticism, Herder draws most of his examples from classical sculpture, while nevertheless insisting on the historicity of art and the senses themselves. Through a detailed analysis of the differences between painting and sculpture, he develops a powerful critique of the dominance of vision both in the appreciation of art and in our everyday apprehension of the world around us. Jason Gaigers translation of "Sculpture" includes an extensive introduction to Herder's thought and illustrations of all the sculptures discussed in the text.
- ISBN10 128315076X
- ISBN13 9781283150767
- Publish Date 1 January 2011 (first published 15 October 2002)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 9 June 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Chicago Press
- Pages 152
- Language English