Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation

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Pantheon Books, 1960 - Art - 466 pages
Considered a great classic by all who seek for a meeting ground between science and the humanities, Art and Illusion examines the history and psychology of pictorial representation in light of present-day theories of visual perception information and learning. Searching for a rational explanation of the changing styles of art, Gombrich reexamines many ideas on the imitation of nature and the function of tradition. In testing his arguments he ranges over the history of art, noticing particularly the accomplishments of the ancient Greeks, and the visual discoveries of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, as well as the impressionists and the cubists. Gombrich's triumph in Art and Illusion arises from the fact that his main concern is less with the artists than with ourselves, the beholders.

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About the author (1960)

Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, born March 30, 1909, in Vienna, Austria, was educated at Vienna University where he earned a Ph.D. His career includes terms as Slade Professor of Fine Arts at Oxford and Cambridge universities and as Andrew D. White Professor-at-large at Cornell University. Gombrich's books on art and art history have sold as well as some works of fiction. One of his most popular titles is The Story of Art, which has been translated into 18 languages and sold more than two million copies. Other titles are; Looking for Answers: Conversations on Art and Science (with Didier Eribon), Shadows: The Depiction of Cast Shadows in Western Art, and Gombrich on Art and Psychology. His numerous awards include the Erasmus Prize in 1975, the Hegel Prize in 1976, and the International Balzan Prize in 1985. He holds honorary degrees from various universities, among them Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard, and from the Royal College of Art (London), 1981.

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