Abstract
This article examines the concept of style by combining three approaches: that of Giorgio Vasari, whose work is a classic of Western art history, that of Meyer Schapiro, which mediates between art–historical and archaeological/anthropological disciplines, and that of Polly Schaafsma, an example of what stylistic analysis may achieve in rock art studies. We foreground rock art by reason of its ubiquity and time-depth, at the same time placing it in the context of any kind of depiction. In the course of the argument, we comment on a variety of relevant issues, such as those relating to progress in art; to realism; to the relation of style and history, that is, cultural context; and to quantitative as well as qualitative analytical methodologies.
Highlights
Anyone writing on style will find it necessary to simplify and limit a huge and difficult subject.We limit our article to three “points of departure”, aiming to examine theories of style, but with an eye to practice and in relation to diverse scholars, three in particular: Giorgio Vasari, author of a classic art history text, Meyer Schapiro, author of an influential modern article on style, and Polly Schaafsma, a contemporary rock art expert
The argument applies to any form of depiction, but focusing on rock art, largely glossed over by art history researchers, has many advantages, not the least of which relates to the ubiquity and time-depth of rock art. (Rock art is found almost everywhere and may date from the near present to great antiquity.) The better our understanding of markings on rocks, the greater our grasp of the issues raised by any kind of art
As an art historian addressing the subject of style with an eye to archaeologists and anthropologists, Meyer Schapiro wants to cover the ground as thoroughly as possible
Summary
Anyone writing on style will find it necessary to simplify and limit a huge and difficult subject. We limit our article to three “points of departure”, aiming to examine theories of style, but with an eye to practice and in relation to diverse scholars, three in particular: Giorgio Vasari, author of a classic art history text, Meyer Schapiro, author of an influential modern article on style, and Polly Schaafsma, a contemporary rock art expert. The argument applies to any form of depiction, but focusing on rock art, largely glossed over by art history researchers, has many advantages, not the least of which relates to the ubiquity and time-depth of rock art. It goes without saying that throughout this article the term “art” must be taken in quotation marks. In saying this, we by no means rule out a sense of the aesthetic on the part of the makers of the rock art. While our taste is of its place and time, application of aesthetic judgement is probably universal
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