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This is the second of two volumes of the only English edition of Hegel's Aesthetics, the work in which he gives full expression to his seminal theory of art. The substantial Introduction is his best exposition of his general philosophy of art. In Part I he considers the general nature of art as a spiritual experience, distinguishes the beauty of art and the beauty of nature, and examines artistic genius and originality. Part II surveys the history of art from the ancient world through to the end of the eighteenth century, probing the meaning and significance of major works. Part III (in the second volume) deals individually with architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature; a rich array of examples makes vivid his exposition of his theory.
List of contents
- VOLUME II. Part III: The System of the Individual Arts; Section I: Architecture; Section II: Sculpture; Section III: The Romantic Arts; Index.
About the author
G. W. F. Hegel (1770 1831) is one of the great figures in the history of Western thought, and the most important philosopher of his time. He spent his life in his native Germany, elaborating an enormously ambitious and broad-ranging philosophical system which has exerted a continuing influence on European and Anglo-American philosophy.
Sir Malcolm Knox was Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews from 1936 to 1953, and then Principal of that university until 1966. He published translations of many of Hegel's philosophical, theological, and political writings. He died in 1980.
Summary
Hegel's "Aesthetics" gives full expression to his theory of art. He considers the nature of art, surveys the history of art from the ancient world through to the romantic movement, criticizes major works, probing their meaning and significance and deals individually with different art forms.
