The first book to explore the role of images in philosophical thought
and teaching in the early modern period Delving into the intersections
between artistic images and philosophical knowledge in Europe from the
late sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries, The Art of
Philosophy shows that the making and study of visual art functioned as
important methods of philosophical thinking and instruction. From
frontispieces of books to monumental prints created by philosophers in
collaboration with renowned artists, Susanna Berger examines visual
representations of philosophy and overturns prevailing assumptions
about the limited function of the visual in European intellectual
history. Rather than merely illustrating already existing
philosophical concepts, visual images generated new knowledge for both
Aristotelian thinkers and anti-Aristotelians, such as Descartes and
Hobbes. Printmaking and drawing played a decisive role in discoveries
that led to a move away from the authority of Aristotle in the
seventeenth century. Berger interprets visual art from printed books,
student lecture notebooks, alba amicorum (friendship albums),
broadsides, and paintings, and examines the work of such artists as
Pietro Testa, Léonard Gaultier, Abraham Bosse, Dürer, and Rembrandt.
In particular, she focuses on the rise and decline of the "plural
image," a genre that was popular among early modern philosophers.
Plural images brought multiple images together on the same page, often
in order to visualize systems of logic, metaphysics, natural
philosophy, or moral philosophy. Featuring previously unpublished
prints and drawings from the early modern period and lavish gatefolds,
The Art of Philosophy reveals the essential connections between visual
commentary and philosophical thought.
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Visual Thinking in Europe from the Late Renaissance to the Early Enlightenment
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400885121
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter