Freedberg, David A.

My intervention starts from the assumption that, albeit to a different extent, an art historian must also be an anthropologist. The main topics of interest in the history of art concern the production, consumption and traffic of works of art within the societies, therefore in their specific social context. We ask ourselves about the practice and practices of art, whether it is those of the artist's workshop or those of the market; on problems relating to the aesthetic status of works of art in society, on their use and the relationship between them and between other types of images that circulate within a company or that are imported from outside. 

At the same time, the history of art can legitimately shift attention to other types of images and to other works that do not qualify as true works of art, thus following the methods of the new discipline of visual culture. I will return to this point later. I have never had too much sympathy for the theory, once mastered, of the autonomy of art. I prefer to leave this subject to the philosophers. Although I was once firmly opposed to formal analysis, especially in its more traditional aspects, over time I have become less critical, particularly appreciating cases where it can be used as a support to examine the dynamics between the ap- . transparency of images and the reaction of spectator

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Antropologia e storia dell'arte: la fine delle discipline?

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Antropologia e storia dell'arte: la fine delle discipline?

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