Have historical artists really been promoted from minor to major because "they came to reflect the economic, social, and cultural circumstances of its audience"?
If by "audience", you mean those who shared the same time and place as the artist, then you would have explain how Rembrandt, for example, was reflecting anything more than Lievens about the audience which they shared. Can you list even one, small circumstance ? Or, on the other hand, If, by "audience", you mean those who, in subsequent centuries are doing the promoting - then you have to account for the incredible diversity of things that have been promoted in the same time and place. For example -- not only were Velasquez and Vermeer promoted in late 19th C. France, but also early Italian painting, Ukiyo-e, and all that oriental stuff that went into the Guimet Museum. What does any of that stuff reflect about the specific "economic, social, and cultural circumstances" of late 19th C. France? -- other than it was a period of prosperity and French aesthetes had access to the rest of the world. While today -- yes, "something" still rings true of a Manet, and the Dutch (Vermeer and Hals) and the Spanish (Valesquez" -- but something also "rings true" of selected objects from thousands of different cultures, encircling the globe and spanning 10,000 years. Which of our "economic, social, and cultural circumstances" does all of that stuff reflect ? Rather any specific detail of our "economic, social, and cultural circumstance", what rings true about all this stuff is something aesthetic -- something that can be felt rather than explained. (even if this is the kind of truth that Heidegger specifically attacks) Which is not to say that aesthetic truth can be felt by everyone. Not everyone can see that Manet was a much better painter the other French artists born in 1832 (Christian Eckardt, Hypolyte Moulin, Paul Pascal, Leon Perrault, Jules Worms, Auguste Allonge etc) Not even if they are professors of art or art history. ____________________________________________________________ Be a Certified Nursing Assistant. Get local training today. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxefUMjnwaKTrnc51JV2YC9ej 26JjDbaaDm8VdP63uMRIq5DR8gxmo/
