Aesthetics and Painting

Aesthetics and Painting introduces and opens up current debates and ideas in the aesthetics of painting. At the book's centre is an investigation of the complex relationship between what a painting depicts and the means by which it is depicted. The book looks at: classical theories of mimesis ; the relationship between the painted surface and the depicted subject; problems of reference and denotation; the analysis of pictorial style; painting as an historically reflexive and self-critical practice; the emergence of fully abstract art; the most recent technological and aesthetic developments and their implications; the contemporary challenges to painting. A sophisticated treatment of major ideas in art and philosophy, Aesthetics and Painting remains highly readable throughout, offering a clear and coherent account of the nature of painting as an art form.