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Sculpture: Some Observations on Shape and Form from Pygmalion's Creative Dream
"The eye that gathers impressions is no longer the eye that sees a depiction on a surface; it becomes a hand, the ray of light becomes a finger, and the imagination becomes a form of immediate touching."—Johann Gottfried Herder
Long recognized as one of the most important eighteenth-century works on aesthetics and 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 of 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. One of the key articulations of the aesthetics of Sturm und Drang, Sculpture is also important as an anticipation of subsequent developments in art theory.
Jason Gaiger's translation of Sculpture includes an extensive introduction to Herder's thought, explanatory notes, and illustrations of all the sculptures discussed in the text.
Long recognized as one of the most important eighteenth-century works on aesthetics and 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 of 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. One of the key articulations of the aesthetics of Sturm und Drang, Sculpture is also important as an anticipation of subsequent developments in art theory.
Jason Gaiger's translation of Sculpture includes an extensive introduction to Herder's thought, explanatory notes, and illustrations of all the sculptures discussed in the text.
141 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Johann Gottfried Herder
1,605 books80 followersTheory of culture and advocacy of intuition over rationality of German philosopher and writer Johann Gottfried von Herder greatly influenced Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and formed the basis of German romanticism.
The periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar classicism associate this theologian, poet, and literary critic.
In 1772, Herder published Treatise on the Origin of Language and went further in this promotion of language than his earlier injunction to "spew out the ugly slime of the Seine. Speak German, oh you German." Herder then established the foundations of comparative philology within the new currents of political outlook.
The periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar classicism associate this theologian, poet, and literary critic.
In 1772, Herder published Treatise on the Origin of Language and went further in this promotion of language than his earlier injunction to "spew out the ugly slime of the Seine. Speak German, oh you German." Herder then established the foundations of comparative philology within the new currents of political outlook.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 7, 2017
There's a beautiful line early in Herder's "Sculpture" that sums up most of his argument--"Sight gives us dreams, touch gives us truth."
Herder focuses in this book on the merits of sculpture and how our (the viewers) experience of sculpture differs from our experiences with painting and poetry. In the first half he starts from the metaphor of a blind man whose sight was restored to explore how we learn to use our senses to experience the world around us, and how sight/vision becomes a shorthand for so many other senses that--the flower we see and assume smells good, the food we see and assume tastes good, etc. Sight especially becomes a shorthand for touch, and paired with imagination it allows us to look at well-done sculptures and see that they could be human. Instead of touching them with our hands, we become able to touch them with our souls, and in that way they go beyond mere visual art and become truth.
The first three chapters were written and then a large gap of time happens before the last two, which makes them feel slightly off-balanced. Herder's ideas changed somewhat, but he apparently did not go back and edit them much, so there's a bit of tension between the first half of the book and the second, which makes it more interesting.
This particular edition is also accompanied by a great introduction by Jason Gaiger which is worth perusing in it's entirety, as he sums up Herder's life and philosophy well.
Herder focuses in this book on the merits of sculpture and how our (the viewers) experience of sculpture differs from our experiences with painting and poetry. In the first half he starts from the metaphor of a blind man whose sight was restored to explore how we learn to use our senses to experience the world around us, and how sight/vision becomes a shorthand for so many other senses that--the flower we see and assume smells good, the food we see and assume tastes good, etc. Sight especially becomes a shorthand for touch, and paired with imagination it allows us to look at well-done sculptures and see that they could be human. Instead of touching them with our hands, we become able to touch them with our souls, and in that way they go beyond mere visual art and become truth.
The first three chapters were written and then a large gap of time happens before the last two, which makes them feel slightly off-balanced. Herder's ideas changed somewhat, but he apparently did not go back and edit them much, so there's a bit of tension between the first half of the book and the second, which makes it more interesting.
This particular edition is also accompanied by a great introduction by Jason Gaiger which is worth perusing in it's entirety, as he sums up Herder's life and philosophy well.
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February 23, 2019herder knows his art history
May 7, 2024
I’m gonna touch you lil statue
September 10, 2016
Demasiado remilgado para el pensamiento actual del común de los mortales, pero tiene pese a todo un pensamiento aceptable sobre la escultura clásica. Es fácil de comprender y poco más, no es un ensayo imprescindible.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews