On the question of the periodization of the history of Western art criticism

Abstract

The subject of the study is the Western historiography of the history of art from the middle of the XIX century to the present, the patterns that determined the nature of its development, general cultural and general scientific factors that determined the paradigm shift in art criticism. The time frame of the study is determined, on the one hand, by the emergence of scientific art studies, on the other hand, by the assertion of a postmodern worldview that denies the possibility of scientific study of any texts, including artistic ones. The paper examines the characteristics of each of the highlighted stages, as well as their relationship with the general trends in the development of humanitarian knowledge at each stage. Thus, the history of art is placed in a broad context of general scientific and general cultural processes, which makes it possible to identify and study the driving forces that determine the course of its development. The main method of research is the method of periodization, the criterion for which is the predominance of a particular methodology at a particular historical stage of the development of art studies. The paper proposes the following periodization of the history of art studies: 1. Pre-scientific art criticism (before XIX century). 2. The cultural and historical stage (XIX century). 3. Formal and stylistic stage (XX century). 4. The iconological stage (XX century). 5. Post-scientific art criticism (beginning of the XXI century). This classification allows us to present the history of scientific art studies as a natural and consistent process of changing dominant methodologies, starting with the formation of a scientific approach to the study of art and up to the present time, when the very possibility of its application was questioned by the postmodern worldview. The main factor determining the change of stages in the development of art criticism is a change in the general cultural situation, as well as a change in the prevailing paradigms in art knowledge.