What We Are Reading Today: Painting as an Art

What We Are Reading Today: Painting as an Art
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Updated 20 September 2023
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What We Are Reading Today: Painting as an Art

What We Are Reading Today: Painting as an Art

Author: Richard Wollheim

“Painting as an Art” is acclaimed philosopher Richard Wollheim’s encompassing vision of how to view art.

Transcending the traditional boundaries of art history, Wollheim draws on his three great passions — philosophy, psychology, and art — to present an illuminating theory of the very experience of art.

He shows how to unlock the meaning of a painting by retrieving—almost re-enacting—the creative activity that produced it.

In order to fully appreciate a work of art, Wollheim argues, critics must bring a much richer conception of human psychology than they have in the past.