Author: William Henry Goodyear

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2015-06-12

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 9781330049297

Excerpt from A History of Art for Classes, Art-Students, and Tourists in Europe The study of historical art may appear to be unpractical, or, at least, of very limited use, in a country where, relatively, few remains of the older European art are preserved, and where the interests of the nation are attached to the future rather than the past. Hence a few remarks as to the practical uses and bearings of this study are in place here. The training of the taste is not purely a matter of ornamental education; nor does it imply, even indirectly, an affectation of luxury, or of the expenditure of wealth. In most branches of trade, and in many branches of manufacture, an artistic taste is a matter of practical importance in the gaining of ones livelihood. There are few kinds of handiwork in which the element of design does not enter, and wherever the arts of design are in question, taste has to be exercised. The general tendency to introduce the practice of drawing into elementary school instruction, results from a public recognition of these practical uses of art instruction. If, on the other hand, we take the stand-point of the consumer, the question of "household art" is one of comprehensive importance, and the education of taste with regard to it has great value, even as a matter of economy. The tendency to rate things by their expense, or money value, is a very common and very mistaken one. The first condition of good taste is to know how much may be done with little money, and to understand that the manifestation of utility in forms is an elementary principle of art. Moreover, the most practical and hard-working lives ought not to be deprived of mental and spiritual stimulus; and this is to be found in colors and in forms, no less than in music and in books. If we consider the training of taste in art from the stand-point of polite education, there can be no question that, in this sense, it is becoming an undisputed essential. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.