Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation - Millennium Edition(The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)

Considered a great classic by all who seek for a meeting ground between science and the humanities, Art and Illusion examines the history and psychology of pictorial representation in light of present-day theories of visual perception information and learning. Searching for a rational explanation of the changing styles of art, Gombrich reexamines many ideas on the imitation of nature and the function of tradition. In testing his arguments he ranges over the history of art, noticing particularly the accomplishments of the ancient Greeks, and the visual discoveries of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, as well as the impressionists and the cubists. Gombrich's triumph in Art and Illusion arises from the fact that his main concern is less with the artists than with ourselves, the beholders.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations ix Preface to the 2000 Edition xxv Preface xxxvii Preface to the Second Edition xli Introduction: Psychology and the Riddle of Style 3 PART ONE: The Limits of Likeness Chapter 1. From Light into Paint 33 Chapter 2. Truth and the Stereotype 63 PART TWO: Function and Form Chapter 3. Pygmalion's Power 93 Chapter 4. Reflections on the Greek Revolution 116 Chapter 5. Formula and Experience 146 PART THREE: The Beholder's Share Chapter 6. The Image in the Clouds 181 Chapter 7. Conditions of Illusion 203 Chapter 8. Ambiguities of the Third Dimension 242 PART FOUR: Invention and Discovery Chapter 9. The Analysis of Vision in Art 291 Chapter 10. The Experiment of Caricature 330 Chapter 11. From Representation to Expression 359 Retrospect 393 Notes 399 Index 443

About the Author :
E. H. Gombrich (1909–2001) was director of the Warburg Institute and Professor of the History of the Classical Tradition at the University of London. His best-known book, The Story of Art, has been translated into many languages, and he was also the author of A Little History of the World.

Review :
"Ernst Gombrich is indeed Master Scholar of the highest distinction. He has explored the mysterious links between perception and art--adding to both in the process, with a score of superb books on the history and philosophy of art... [Art and Illusion's] riches can only be appreciated by careful reading, more than once."--Richard Gregory, Perception "[Sir Ernst's] own theory of perception, put forward in Art and Illusion ... arguably his most important book, was controversial in almost every detail. But it brought the topic of the visual back to the centre of the history of the visual arts, from where it had been strangely displaced."--The Economist "I have learned a great deal from this volume, but what I shall remember about it is the author's warmth and wit, the fabulous range of his references and the richness of personality that lies behind the whole performance."--The New York Times