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Wölfflin's Style
Wölfflin's Style
On Wlfflins style
The privileged status of Heinrich Wlfflins Principles of Art History (1915) is proved
by its twenty-four translations into different languages. Contrasting a spread of the
original German edition (fig. 1) with a spread of its Hebrew translation (fig. 2) shows
the global extent of the book, but also allows a visual insight into the authors thought.
By reversing the images in relation to the original, the Hebrew version shows the viewer
the opposite ways of seeing of two different cultures. Critics had signaled the
metaphysical nature of Wlfflins pairs of concepts, and related to that, the lack of
social or political context in his analysis. However, were those pair of concepts
relevant by themselves, or were they instrumental to his style of analyzing through
visual comparison?
The book starts with a comparison between Sandro Boticellis Birth of Venus and
Lorenzo di Credis Venus. According to the author, the spread fingers in Boticellis
Venus radiate with activity, while in di Credis painting the fingers display a restful
appearance. Beyond their differences in personal style, both Florentine painters are
similar in contrast to a Flemish painter such as Peter Paul Rubens. They have a different
national style, in the same way that a female nude drawn by Drer differs in period
style from a nude drawn by Rembrandt.
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