Art in Crisis: The Lost Center

333 Pages·2007·28.068 MB·English

by  Hans Sedlmayr, Roger Kimball (new introd.)

R T
in
C R I S I S
GOY A: DRAWING FOR TITLE PAGE OF LOS CAPRICHOS
'When reason dreams, monsters are born.' (See page 141.)
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With a new Introduction by Roger Kimball
Hans Sedlmayr
R T
-
1n
C R I S I S
The Lost Center
Translated by Brian Battershaw
~~ ~~o~;~~~~~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
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Originally published in 1957 by Hollis and Carter limited, London.
Published 2007 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
New material this edition copyright © 2007 by Taylor & Francis.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
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Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2006050058
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sedlmayr, Hans, 1896-
[Verlust der Mitte. English]
Art in crisis : the lost center / Hans Sedlmayr ; with a new introduction by Roger
Kimball; translated by Brian Battershaw.
p. cm.
Translation of: Verlust der Mitte. Salzburg : O. Miiller, 1951.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-4128-0607-0 (alk. paper)
1. Art, European—19 century. 2. Art, European—20th century.
3. Art—Philosophy. I. Title.
N66757.S4413 2006
709'.03—dc22 2006050058
ISBN 13: 978-1-4128-0607-7 (pbk)
Publisher’s Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this book but
points out that some imperfections from the original may be apparent.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold...
W. B. Yeats

CONTENTS
TRA..:~SACTION INTRODUCTION xiii
INTRODUCTION I
TheTheme . • I
Limitations of the Thesis s
Part One
SYMPTOMS
I. NEW MASTER PROBLEMS • 9
The Withering of the old Composite W orlcs of Art I I
The Landscape Garden 14
The Architectural Monument . 20
The Museum . . . . 27
Utilitarian and Domestic Architecture 32
Domestic Building . 3 5
The Theatre . 38
The Exhibition . 47
Theatre and Exhibition 54
The House of the Machine 54
Summary 58
ll. THE SEARCH FOR A LOST STYLE 6o
All Tasks claim Equality of Status . . . . . 62
The Egalitarianism of the first Architecture of the Revolution 65
Stylistic Compromise: Neo-Hellenism and Neo-Gothic 66
Pluralism of Styles . . . . 68
The Neo-Renaissance as a total Restoration 70
The Rise of Technical Architecture . 72
Egalitarianism of the Second Revolution: The New Building 73
Reaction: Neo-Classicism as a Mask . 75
The Beginnings of a new Pluralism . 76
Party Warfare of Style in the Nineteenth and Twentieth
Centuries 77
lll. THE ISOLATION OF THE ARTS 79
The 'Pure' Garden . 8o
Autonomous Architecture 8o
Pure Sculpture 82
The Art of the Line Drawing 83