E. H. Gombrich's numerous essays and his powerful, full-length
study in the psychology of pictorial representation, Art and
Illusion, have nurtured a generation of art historians and
stimulated research and theory well beyond art history. The Sense
of Order, consummating a labor of many years and intended as a
companion to Art and Illusion, carries forward the theme of the
earlier book into the study of non-pictorial art - i.e.,
decoration. As before, Gombrich seeks to explain why different
styles of artwork exist, and his explanation looks to both the
inherent psychology of visual perception and to the changing tastes
of culture. Deocrative art, he finds, arises from the innate sense
of spatial order imposed by the mind upon phenomena. Yet this order
is not simple, for it combines the attributes of economy - quick
comprehensibility, simplicity, predictability, etc. - with those of
intellectual enjoyment: variety, complexity, surprise. Thus the
order at the heart of decoration lies between monotony and
confusion; and the history of that order, several episodes of which
Gombrich narrates, takes in both the "force of habit," which gives
persistence to motifs, and the varieties of taste - usually allied
with morality - which prompt change. Of particular interest here
are Gombrich's remarks on the recurrence of classical ideals
opposing rich ornament as evil - taking the rise of modernist
austerity out of Victorian art criticism as an instance, and the
return of ornament nowadays as the completion of a cultural cycle.
Neatly divided into three sections - on the relation of theory and
practice in decorative art, the psychology of perception, and the
psychological history of decorative motifs - and rhetorically
clear, Gombrich's book is nonetheless exceedingly difficult to
comprehend fully. Gombrich is here, as he admits, working his way
through a forest of ideas, facts, and images in search of a theory,
rather than presenting definitive conclusions. Still, the adventure
affords a superior education in the history and psychology of
non-pictorial art. (Kirkus Reviews)
The Sense of Order provides a comprehensive survey of the rich
history and theory of decorative art. The universal human impulse
to seek order and rhythm in space and time can be seen in an
astonishing range of human activities: children's play, poetry,
dance, music and architecture, as well as art. Its persistent
prevalence in our every activity calls for a rigorous explanation
of this fascinating phenomenon in terms of our biological heritage.
Professor Gombrich in this tome, which he himself regarded as his
most original work, offers precisely this. His characteristic
erudition and expertise signify his writings here as no less than
revolutionary in our perception of art and, in turn, of our very
selves. A pleasure to read, this pivotal book is as accessible as
it is sophisticated, and as engaging as it is idiosyncratic.
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