The first part is about the essence and production of works of art.

Gentlemen.

When I begin my speech, I want to ask you two things first. The first is concern, and the second is your kindness: these are what I really need. Your enthusiasm leads me to believe that you will agree to my request. To this end, I would like to express my warm and sincere thanks to you in advance.

This year, my topic is art history, mainly Italian painting history. Before entering the text, I want to explain the method and theme of my lecture.

The first chapter is the essence of works of art.

one

The starting point of my method is to identify that a work of art is not isolated, find out what the work of art belongs to, and explain the totality of the work of art.

The first step is not difficult. A work of art, whether it is a painting, a tragedy or a statue, obviously belongs to a whole, that is, to all the works of the author. This is very simple. As we all know, many different works of an artist are relatives, just like a father's daughter, which are strikingly similar to each other. As you know, every artist has his own style, which can be seen in all his works. If he is a painter, he has his colors, either bright or dark; He has his favorite typical, noble or popular; He has his posture, his composition, his production method, the thickness of his oil, his realistic way, his color and his technique. If he is a writer, he has his characters, either fierce or peaceful; He has his own plot, complex or simple; He has his ending, either tragic or funny; He has his style, his syntax and the effect of his vocabulary. This is absolutely correct. As long as you show the unsigned works of a quite excellent artist to an expert, he will almost certainly tell the author. If he is quite experienced and sensitive, he can also distinguish which period the work belongs to and which stage the writer develops.

This is the first group to which a work of art belongs. Let me talk about the second one.

The artist himself, together with all his works, is not isolated. There is a whole, including artists, which is wider than artists, that is, the art genre or artist family to which he belongs at the same time and place. Shakespeare, for example, seems to be a miracle from the sky at first glance, a meteorite from another planet, but around him, we have found more than a dozen excellent playwrights, such as Webster, Ford, Mars, Marlowe and Ben? Jonson, Fletcher and Beaumont all write in the same style and with the same thoughts and feelings. The characteristics of their plays are the same as Shakespeare's; You can see the same violent and terrible characters, the same murder and bizarre ending, the same sudden and unrestrained passion, the same chaotic, strange, excessive and brilliant style, the same poetic feelings for fields and landscapes, and the same women who are generally sensitive and deeply in love. -In terms of painters, Rubens seems to be a unique figure, with no teacher and no successor. But as long as you visit the churches in Ghent, Brussels, Bruges and Anglia Vanress, you will find a whole group of painters with similar talents to Rubens: first, Creaer, who was neck and neck with him at that time, and Adam? Van Gogh? Nord, Gila? Ziggy, Rompuz, Abraham? Janssens, Van Gogh? Ross, Van? Deton, John? Van Gogh? Oswald, and the Jordan and Van Gogh you are familiar with? Dyke understands painting with the same thoughts and feelings, and always maintains the face of the same family in their unique differences. Like Rubens, they like to show a strong human body, full of life and trembling, full of blood and sensitivity. The bloodshot and soft flesh fully exposed in human body is realistic and often rough, lively and unrestrained, embroidered with flowers, shining on people's clothes, reflecting silk and red cloth, or floating or wrinkled curtains. Today, the fame of their contemporaries seems to have wiped them out; But to understand this master, we still need to concentrate these talented writers around him, because he is only the highest branch and the most prominent representative of this art family.

This is the second step. Now we must take the third step. This art family itself is included in a broader whole, that is, a society with the same interests around it. Because customs and the spirit of the times are the same for the public and artists; Artists are not isolated people. It was centuries before we heard the voice of the artist; But under the loud sound reaching our ears, we can also distinguish the complex and endless songs of the masses, like a large low hum, singing around the artists. It is because of this harmony that artists become great. Moreover, this is inevitable: phidias, Ektinos, and the people who built the Parthenon and Olympia Cupid, like other Athenians, are pagans and free citizens. They grew up on the training ground, participated in the struggle, participated in sports naked, and got used to the debate and voting in the square; They all have the same habits, interests, beliefs, races, education and language, so in all important aspects of life, artists and audiences are exactly the same.

This consistency is even more obvious. If we look at an era closer to us, such as the flourishing age of Spain, from16th century to1mid-7th century. That was the era of great painters, whose talents were Versace, murillo, Subaland and Francesco Valley? Special? Herrera, Alonso? Kano, Moralance; It is also the era of great poets, and talents are Lopo? Special? Vanga, cathleen, Cervantes, Tiesuo? Special? Molina, Don? Louis? Special? Rayon, Killam? Special? Castelo, there are many others. As you know, Spain at that time was a country with absolute monarchy and religious belief. In Bond, it defeated the Turks, set foot in Africa to establish colonies, suppressed German Protestants, pursued in France, attacked in Britain, subdued blindly worshiped Native Americans and asked them to convert. Expulsion of Jews and Moors from Spain; Destroy China's religious dissidents by burning and persecuting; Abuse of warships and troops, squandering the gold and silver plundered from America, squandering the blood of the best children, and the blood that is vital to the lifeline of the country is spent on the Crusades again and again; That kind of stubbornness, that kind of magic, made Spain lose everything after a century and a half and fell at the feet of Europa. But that kind of fanaticism, that kind of arrogant prestige, that kind of fanaticism about the country, made Spanish subjects obsessed with the monarchy, focused on it, devoted themselves to the cause of the country, and dedicated themselves to it: they wholeheartedly promoted religion and kingship by obedience, and only wanted to unite believers, soldiers and admirers around the church and the throne. The judges and crusaders of the pagan inquisition all retained the chivalrous thought, mysterious atmosphere, gloomy and fierce temper and cruel and intolerant character of the Middle Ages. In such a monarchy, the greatest artist is the person who reaches the highest level with the talent, consciousness and emotion of the public. The most famous poet, Lopo? Special? Fan Jia and cathleen, who used to be Jianghu warriors and volunteers of the "Fearless Fleet", like duels and love; The magical and mysterious concept of love is no less than that of poets and Tang Dynasty in feudal times. Don Quixote, a first-rate figure. They believed in the old religion, and one of them even joined the pagan inquisition in his later years, and several others became priests. One of the most famous poets, the great poet Lobo, fainted at the thought of Jesus' suffering and sacrifice at mass. Examples like this abound, which shows that artists and the masses are closely linked and consistent. Therefore, we can say with certainty that to understand the artist's interest and talent, to understand why he chooses a certain department in painting or drama, and why he particularly likes a certain typical color and expresses some feelings, it is necessary to explore the thoughts, feelings and customs of the masses.

From this, we can make a rule: to understand a work of art, an artist and a group of artists, we must correctly imagine the spirit and customs of the times to which they belong. This is the final interpretation of works of art and the basic reason that determines everything. This has been confirmed by experience; As long as we look at all the important times in the history of art, we can see that some art appeared and disappeared at the same time as the spirit and customs of some times. -For example, the Greek tragedy: the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and euripides were born at the time when the Greeks defeated the Persians, fought bravely with the polis, made great efforts to gain independence and gained a leading position in the civilized world. When the people's prestige was low and Macedonia invaded Greece, and the independence and vitality of the nation were lost together, the tragedy was eliminated. -Similarly, Gothic architecture developed during the period when the feudal system was formally established, and at the dawn of the eleventh century, society got rid of the harassment of Norman and bandits and began to be stable. By the end of15th century, when the modern monarchy was born, the independent system of little princes and all the customs related to it tended to collapse, and Gothic architecture also disappeared. -Similarly, the prosperity of Dutch painting is precisely the time when the Netherlands overthrew Spanish rule with tenacity and courage, and became the richest, freest, most prosperous and most developed country in Europe. /kloc-at the beginning of the 0/8th century, Dutch painting declined, and it was the national situation in the Netherlands that tended to decline, which made Britain sit on the top spot. The country has shrunk into well-organized and well-managed businesses and banks, and the people have lived a well-off life without thanking Mr. Xie and being excited. -Similarly, the emergence of French tragedy happened to be the time when the formal monarchy under Louis XIV established rules and etiquette, advocated court life, and paid attention to beautiful appearance and elegant living habits. The elimination of French tragedy coincided with the time when aristocratic society and court atmosphere were swept away by the Great Revolution.

I want to make a contrast to make the role of custom and the spirit of the times more obvious. Suppose you start from the south to the north, you can find that when you enter a certain area, there are some special plants, special plants. First, aloe and orange trees, then olive trees or vines, then oak trees and oats, then pine trees, and finally bryophytes. Each region has its own special crops and vegetation, which starts and ends together with the region; Plants are connected with regions. Region is the condition for the existence of some crops and plants, and the existence of region determines the appearance of some plants. The so-called region is only a certain temperature, humidity and some important conditions, which is equivalent to what we call the spirit of the times and customs on the other hand. Nature has its climate, and the change of climate determines the appearance of this plant; Spirit also has its climate, and its change determines the appearance of this art. We study the climate of nature in order to understand the appearance of certain plants, such as corn or oats, aloe or pine. Similarly, we should study the spiritual climate in order to understand the emergence of some art, pagan sculpture or realistic painting, mysterious architecture or classical literature, gentle music or idealistic poetry. The products of spiritual civilization, like animals and plants, can only be explained by their own environment.

This year I will study the history of Italian painting with you in this way. I'm having Joe and Bedo? The mysterious environment of Anglia Valley is rearranged for you to see; To this end, I would like to quote the materials of poets and writers to show you people's views on happiness, disaster, love, faith, heaven, hell and all the important interests of life at that time. The sources of these materials are Dante and Cheeto? The poems of Cavalcanti and Franciscan monks include Journey of Saints, Imitation of Christ, Saints? Ji Fang's little flower, with Tino? The works of Gombani and other historians include various chronicles collected by Muldooli. This big book naively describes the deeds of jealousy and killing between small * * * and countries. -and then I'm going to cultivate Leonardo from a pagan environment a century and a half later? Da? Finch, Michelangelo, Raphael, the Iron and Steel Association will reorganize for you. Or can I quote people's memoirs at that time, such as Bevan Nudo? Cerini's autobiography quotes diaries written by some historians in Rome and other important Italian cities, or reports of diplomatic envoys, or describes celebrations, mask parades, and entering the city. Excerpts from important passages show you the vulgarity, unrestrained lewdness and abundant vitality of social customs, as well as people's strong feelings for poetry and literature, their love for dazzling images, their instinct for decoration and their tolerance for pressure. These tendencies exist between nobles and literati, as well as between ordinary people and ignorant masses.

Gentlemen, assuming that our research can be successful, we can clearly point out the spirit of different times that promoted the birth, development, prosperity, change and decline of Italian painting, and assume that our research can also be successful in other times, other countries, other arts, architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry and music; Suppose that because of these discoveries, we can determine the nature of each art and point out the living conditions of each art: then we can have a perfect explanation not only for art, but also for general art, that is, we can have a philosophy about art, which is called aesthetics. Gentlemen, we are pursuing this kind of aesthetics, not another kind. Our aesthetics is modern. Different from the old aesthetics, it starts from history, not individualism, and does not put forward a set of accepted laws, but only proves some laws. In the past, aesthetics first defined beauty, for example, beauty is the expression of moral ideal, or beauty is the expression of abstraction, or beauty is the expression of strong feelings; Then, according to the definition, express your attitude as if it conforms to the norms: tolerance, criticism, warning or guidance. I am glad that I don't need to undertake such a heavy task; I have nothing to guide you, so it is difficult for me to guide you. In my private opinion, there are only two lessons in the final analysis: the first is to persuade people to be talented; This is your parents' business, not mine; The second is to persuade people to study hard and master technology; This is your own business, not mine. My only responsibility is to list the facts and explain how they came into being. What I want to apply, which is also a modern method adopted by all spiritual sciences, is nothing more than taking human undertakings, especially works of art, as facts and products, pointing out their characteristics and exploring their reasons. Science believes that it neither forbids nor forgives anything, but only verifies and explains. Science will not say to you, "Dutch art is too vulgar to be valued, and only Italian art is worth appreciating." I won't tell you: "Gothic art is morbid and should not be taken seriously;" You should only appreciate Greek art "Science allows everyone to love what suits their temperament according to their own hobbies, especially to study what is most speculative with their own spirit. Science sympathizes with various artistic forms and schools, treats completely opposite forms and schools equally, and regards them as different manifestations of human spirit. It believes that the more forms and factions there are, the more antagonistic they are, and the more innovative the human spirit will be. Botany sometimes studies oranges and palm trees, and sometimes studies pine trees and birch trees with the same interest; The same is true of aesthetic attitude; Aesthetics itself is a practical botany, but the object is not plants, but human works. Therefore, aesthetics conforms to the trend that spiritual science and natural science are getting closer and closer. Spiritual science adopts the principle, direction and cautious attitude of natural science, and it can have the same solid foundation and the same progress.

The first and most important problem of aesthetics is the definition of art, what is art? What is the essence? I want to solve this problem in my way at once. -I don't propose any formula, just let you get in touch with the facts. Here, as in other places, there are many exact facts that can be observed, that is, the "artworks" displayed by factions in art galleries are like plants in herbarium and animals in museum. We can analyze works of art and animals and plants; We can not only explore the general situation of animals and plants, but also explore the general situation of works of art. Studying the latter is the same as before, and we don't need to go beyond our experience. All the work is only to expose the similarities and differences of all works of art through many methods of comparison and gradual elimination, and to expose the significant differences between works of art and other human products.

Among the five major arts of poetry, sculpture, painting, architecture and music, the latter two are more difficult to explain and will be discussed later; Now let's look at the first three. You all see that these three kinds of art have one common feature, that is, they are more or less "imitation" art.

At first glance, this feature seems to be the essence of the three arts, and their purpose is to imitate as correctly as possible. Obviously, the purpose of sculpture is to imitate a vivid person realistically, and the purpose of painting is to depict real people and real gestures, and to depict indoor scenery or wild scenery according to the image provided by reality. It is also clear that a drama and a novel are all trying to show some real characters, actions and words correctly, and give people the clearest and most faithful image as much as possible. If the image is not fully or correctly expressed, we will say to the sculptor, "A chest or a leg is not shaped like this." We will say to the painter, "The characters in your second scene are too big, and the color of the tree is not true." We will say to the writer, "A person's feelings and thoughts are never what you assume."

But there is stronger evidence, first of all, daily experience. Just look at the artist's life, and you will find that it is usually divided into two parts. The first part is youth and maturity: artists pay attention to things, study things seriously and enthusiastically, and put things in front of them; He tries his best to show things, and his loyalty is not only at home, but even excessive. At some point in his life, the artist thought that he knew enough about things and there was nothing new to see, so he left the living model and relied on the know-how collected from experience to create plays, novels, paintings and statues. The first period is the period of true feelings; The second period is estrus and recession. Is the greatest writer, his life has almost two parts. The first stage of Michelangelo is very long, not less than sixty years; All the works at that stage were full of strong feelings and heroism. The artist is immersed in these feelings and has no other thoughts. Many autopsies he made, countless sketches he drew, frequent internal dissections of himself, and the study of tragic emotions and expressions reflected by his body are all just means for him, with the aim of expressing the brave fighting power he loves. The whole zenith and every corner of Sikeshtin church [works between 33 and 37 years old] give you such an impression. Then you might as well walk into the nearby Paulina church and have a look at his later works (between the ages of 67 and 75): Saint? Paul's conversion and holiness? Peter on the cross; You might as well look at the mural he made at the Sikh Pavilion at the age of 67: The Last Judgment. Not only experts but also laymen will notice that the two murals were drawn according to certain procedures; Artists have mastered a considerable number of forms, are biased, have more and more amazing postures, and the perspective technology to shorten the distance is becoming more and more ingenious; However, under the condition that the abuse of law and skills are above all else, all vivid creations in early works are natural and enthusiastic.