The Social History of Art, Volume 4: Naturalism, Impressionism, The Film Age

Rating:
Summary: Proves that intellectual history has advanced since 1950
Review: A very nice introduction to the volume points out the intellectual confusions and tensions throughout. A crude marxism and psychologism overlies a fairly traditional stylistic chronology. One realizes how important are later studies that emphasize patronage and actual political power as opposed to disembodied "forces" and "spirits."

Hauser is always provocative and sometimes amusing. There are surprisingly few examples or paintings analyzed in any detail and sometimes he goes off in such detail on literature that one wonders where the focus of the book truly lies.

This book is worthwhile reading to understand the roots of modern art history - for Hauser is responding to 19th century writers and sees Impressionism as the great watershed in his discipline. He is thus aware of the importance of his own historical nexus, yet is caught up in a kind of analytical conformity that all too often seems like a grey flannel suit imposed upon the art in question.

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Summary: A Sweeping Insight into Art
Review: [e-mail]
When I purchased The Social History of Art I had never intended to read it from cover to cover. It is, in fact, a bulky book, which covers the history of art from pre-historic to contemporary times. I thought it would be one of those books you place on your bedside table and from time to time, have a look at it, and read bits and pieces when you are sleepless in the small hours. Surprisingly, I started reading it from the very beginning and couldn't stop till I reached the final sentence. I still cannot make out how a single author managed to cope with such an ambitious project.

Unlike other books of art, which stick to the description of each style, and some artists' works as something divorced from other events that took place at the time when they were produced, this book contextualises all the art productions according to the philosophical principles that underlie them, establishing the necessary link with the historical panorama and the social and political backdrop at the time that each artist lived and produced his/her works. Above all, Hauser's The Social History doesn't stick to the analysis of the visual arts as most art books do, but on the contrary, his broad scope extends to literature, drawing, paintings and even films. Never had I dreamed of understanding art as I could understand after reading Hauser's book.

Besides, as an amateur admirer of art, I was thrilled to realise that I could read and grasp his meaning with no extra effort; even so, he never patronises the reader. After reading this book, I realised that concepts I had always taken at face value and had never disputed, had gone down the drain. To my surprise, artists such as Shakespeare and Michelangelo are, in his book, not Renaissance artists but Mannerist artists. So, you learn to evaluate the artists and classify them using a different criterion. Well, this book is good value for money!

Rating:
Summary: After Reading This You Do Not Need A Liberal Arts Education
Review: Well, that is almost the case. In this four volume set, Hauser accomplishes a concise but sweeping survey of art and society from the Neolithic Age through mid-twentieth century film and the dadaist movement. The references do require some basic familiarity with the literary, artistic, and musical titans, but not expertise. And a reader armed with such a basic familiarity quickly realizes that Hauser succeeds admirably in untangling the complex relationships between the political, social, and religious elements of a culture and artists of genius. After the initial publication of the series, Thomas Mann commented that Hauser provides deep insight into Shakespeare and Goethe. I would add that the same can be said of Dante, Giotto, Beethoven, and a host of others. These volumes may have fallen out of print or may be hard to find, but they are well worth the search.

Rating:
Summary: After Reading This You Do Not Need A Liberal Arts Education
Review: Well, that is almost the case. In this four volume set, Hauser accomplishes a concise but sweeping survey of art and society from the Neolithic Age through mid-twentieth century film and the dadaist movement. The references do require some basic familiarity with the literary, artistic, and musical titans, but not expertise. And a reader armed with such a basic familiarity quickly realizes that Hauser succeeds admirably in untangling the complex relationships between the political, social, and religious elements of a culture and artists of genius. After the initial publication of the series, Thomas Mann commented that Hauser provides deep insight into Shakespeare and Goethe. I would add that the same can be said of Dante, Giotto, Beethoven, and a host of others. These volumes may have fallen out of print or may be hard to find, but they are well worth the search.