The Art Beholder in Eighteenth-Century French Painting:The Divergence between Michael Fried and Thomas Crow
The concept of the art beholder is fundamental to the historical tradition of Western art historiography.Its origins can be traced back to the 18th-century salon exhibitions of the French Acade-my.Michael Fried and Thomas Crow have examined this concept from the perspectives of form aesthet-ics and sociology of art,sparking discussions and controversies.Their differing views reveal implicit distinctions in the connotations and characteristics of the beholder and the public.Despite this,the appli-cation of these concepts serves the common goal of shaping the narratives of modern art history,indicat-ing a new direction in our understanding of the art beholder.
beholderpublicfrench paintingform aestheticssociology of artMichael FriedThomas Crow