Who developed modern critical theory of art?

Max Horkheimer first defined critical theory (German: Kritische Theorie) in his 1937 essay “Traditional and Critical Theory”, as a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only toward understanding or explaining it.

Who was the first art critic?

Thus, for Venturi, the Greek Xenocrates of Sicyon (3rd century bce) was the first art critic, for he “tried to fix a relationship between his own artistic principles, as categories of artistic judgment, and some concrete artistic personalities.” In other words, Xenocrates—a sculptor of the school of Lysippus—had a …

Who is an ideal critic?

Characteristics of a good critic are articulateness, preferably having the ability to use language with a high level of appeal and skill. Sympathy, sensitivity and insight are important too. Form, style and medium are all considered by the critic.

Who is the most famous art critic?

16 Critics Who Changed the Way We Look at Art

John Ruskin (1819–1900)
Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)
Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978) and Clement Greenberg (1909–1994)
Linda Nochlin (1931–2017)
Lucy Lippard (1937–)
Rosalind Krauss (1940–)
Jerry Saltz (1951–)

Who is Johann Winckelmann?

Johann Joachim Winckelmann ( / ˈvɪŋkəlˌmɑːn /; German: [ˈvɪŋkl̩man]; 9 December 1717 – 8 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art.

Was Walter Winckelmann a pagan?

Goethe concluded that Winckelmann was a pagan, while Gerhard Gietmann contended that Winckelmann “died a devout and sincere Catholic”; either way, his conversion ultimately opened the doors of the papal library to him.

What is Winckelmann’s Gedanken?

In 1755, Winckelmann published his Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst (“Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture”), followed by a feigned attack on the work and a defense of its principles, ostensibly by an impartial critic.

What did Walter Winckelmann do for art history?

“The prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology “, Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the history of art. Many consider him the father of the discipline of art history.