{"product_id":"2026100007965-secondhand-patterns-of-intention-on-the-historical-explanation-of-pictures","title":"Patterns Of Intention: On The Historical Explanation Of Pictures","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCondition: Very Good. Jacket: Worn\/faded - no tears. Page Condition: Good. Markings: No markings. Binding: Good. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat does it truly mean to explain a work of art? In Patterns of Intention: On the Historical Explanation of Pictures, Michael Baxandall confronts one of art history's most fundamental and underexamined questions, arguing that our language of criticism is not merely descriptive but deeply inferential — a reconstruction of the intentional processes behind a picture's creation. Drawing on a carefully chosen set of case studies, from Picasso's Portrait of Kahnweiler to the Forth Bridge, Baxandall instructs the reader in a rigorous method of historical interpretation that takes seriously the gap between what an artist intended and what a viewer perceives.\n\nBaxandall's method, which he terms inferential criticism, challenges the comfortable assumptions of both formalist and iconographic traditions, positioning art history as an active, self-aware discipline. His prose is lucid yet demanding, rewarding those who engage closely with its arguments about causality, language, and historical circumstance. A landmark text in the philosophy of art history, Patterns of Intention continues to unsettle and inspire scholars who believe that looking at pictures is only the beginning of understanding them.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130698113243,"sku":"2026100007965-SECONDHAND","price":20.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/ac3d18de-c9d8-42ea-83f5-33b406e3ec39.png?v=1786588767","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100007965-secondhand-patterns-of-intention-on-the-historical-explanation-of-pictures","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}