The Meaning Of Art
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What is art, and why does it matter? Herbert Read's The Meaning of Art stands as one of the twentieth century's most lucid and authoritative answers to that enduring question, guiding readers through the full panorama of human artistic expression — from prehistoric cave paintings to the bold provocations of modernism. Read, one of Britain's most celebrated art critics, presents a rigorous yet accessible framework for understanding aesthetics, form, and the creative impulse, arguing that art is not mere decoration but a fundamental mode of human perception and communication. Accompanied by 64 illustrative plates, the text grounds its philosophical arguments in vivid, concrete examples drawn from painting, sculpture, and beyond. Written with the clarity and conviction of a man who devoted his life to championing art's place in society, The Meaning of Art illuminates the relationship between beauty, emotion, and intellect with remarkable economy of prose. Read's critical method bridges the intuitive and the analytical, making complex aesthetic theory feel both urgent and deeply personal. First published in 1931 and revised across multiple editions, this Pelican paperback edition brought serious art criticism to a mass audience — a democratising act entirely in keeping with Read's own humanist convictions. For anyone who has ever stood before a great work and struggled to articulate why it moves them, this book offers not just answers, but an entirely new way of seeing.
Author: Herbert Read
Format: Paperback
Genre: History of arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Markings: Previous owner
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What is art, and why does it matter? Herbert Read's The Meaning of Art stands as one of the twentieth century's most lucid and authoritative answers to that enduring question, guiding readers through the full panorama of human artistic expression — from prehistoric cave paintings to the bold provocations of modernism. Read, one of Britain's most celebrated art critics, presents a rigorous yet accessible framework for understanding aesthetics, form, and the creative impulse, arguing that art is not mere decoration but a fundamental mode of human perception and communication. Accompanied by 64 illustrative plates, the text grounds its philosophical arguments in vivid, concrete examples drawn from painting, sculpture, and beyond. Written with the clarity and conviction of a man who devoted his life to championing art's place in society, The Meaning of Art illuminates the relationship between beauty, emotion, and intellect with remarkable economy of prose. Read's critical method bridges the intuitive and the analytical, making complex aesthetic theory feel both urgent and deeply personal. First published in 1931 and revised across multiple editions, this Pelican paperback edition brought serious art criticism to a mass audience — a democratising act entirely in keeping with Read's own humanist convictions. For anyone who has ever stood before a great work and struggled to articulate why it moves them, this book offers not just answers, but an entirely new way of seeing.