LEONIE GOMBRICH

Available in paperback for the first time, Professor Gombrich’s highly-acclaimed last book offers a revealing insight into the history and psychology of taste. The Preference for the Primitive is a study of the idea that older and less sophisticated (‘primitive’) works are somehow morally and aesthetically superior to later works that have become soft and decadent. Summing up more than 40 years of study and reflection on this theme, this book presents a closely argued narrative supported by extensive quotations that document with precision the role of authors, critics and artists in shaping and changing opinion.

Described by Kenneth Clark as 'one of the most brilliant books of art criticism that I have ever read', Art and Illusion is a classic study of image-making. It seeks to answer a simple question: why is there such a thing as style? The question may be simple but there is no easy answer, and Professor Gombrich's brilliant and wide-ranging exploration of the history and psychology of pictorial representation leads him into countless crucial areas. Gombrich examines, questions and re-evaluates old and new ideas on such matters as the imitation of nature, the function of tradition, the problem of abstraction, the validity of perspective and the interpretation of expression: all of which reveal that pictorial representation is far from being a straightforward matter. First published more than 40 years ago, Art and Illusion has lost none of its vitality and importance. In applying the findings of experimental science to a nuanced understanding of art and in tackling complex ideas and theoretical issues, Gombrich is rigorous. Yet he always retains a sense of wonder at the inexhaustible capacity of the human brain, and at the subtlety of the relationships involved in seeing the world and in making and seeing art. With profound knowledge and his exceptional gift for clear exposition, he advances each argument as an hypothesis to be tested. The problems of representation are forever fundamental to the history of art: Art and Illusion remains an essential text for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of art. For the sixth edition Professor Gombrich has written an entirely new 12-page preface, in which he makes use of the distinction between an image and a sign, so as to clarify his intentions in writing the book in the first place.

Norm and Form is the first volume of E. H. Gombrich's highly influential collected contributions to the study of Renaissance art and thought. Its 11 essays deal with some of the most fundamental questions of style, patronage, taste, working methods and theories of art, presented with the author's customary learning and lucidity. Required reading for all students of the Renaissance, these essays are sure to be enjoyed by all who wish to deepen their understanding of one of the most creative periods of Western art.

In this seventh volume of his collected essays, Professor Gombrich pays tribute to a variety of illustrious figures, to whom we owe the ideas and values that are woven into the fabric of our intellectual life. His bicentennial address on the humanities delivered at the American Academy of Arts and Science is followed by in-depth studies of such momentous figures as G E Lessing, G F Hegel, Lord Leverhulme, Sigmund Freud, Aby Warburg and Otto Kurz. The established author explains that he wanted to introduce such a varied selection of scholars and critics to the non-specialist reader, so as to bring to life the nature and value of branches of learning that are in danger of being squeezed out of higher education. His argument is dynamic and sincere, his writing dextrous and subtle. An essential volume for the scholar and amateur alike, Tributes is a book to which the reader will return, time and time again.