Art History Versus Aesthetics

This stimulating volume in a new series presents not one, but many answers to the question: does philosophy have anything to say to art history?

These two very distinct academic fields offer very different ways of understanding artworks.

In this unprecedented collection, over twenty of the world's most prominent thinkers on the subject - including Arthur Danto, Stephen Melville, Wendy Steiner, Alexander Nehamas and Jay Bernstein - discuss the disconnect between these two disciplines.

With a radically innovative structure, the book analyzes the commentary by twenty scholars on an animated conversation among ten scholars and aestheticians.

The range of responses examined is diverse, from informal letters to full essays with footnotes, and the volume ends with two synoptic essays, one by a prominent aesthetician, and the other by a literary critic.

Raising interesting issues, and answering so many questions, "Art History versus Aesthetics" will be an absolute must on the shelves of all art history students.