Zeitgeist, Style, andStimmung: Historiography of Architecture

Abstract

In the very first paragraph of History of the Art of Antiquity (1764), Johann Joachim Winckelmann delivered a program statement for a new kind of art history: “The history of the art of antiquity that I have endeavoured to write is no mere narrative of the chronology and alterations of art, for I take history in the wider sense that it has in the Greek language and my intention is to provide a system .” Merely describing artworks of the past no longer made sense, Winckelmann argued. Instead, one had to identify the laws that govern the making of art, examine the conditions under which it has been produced, and look at the way these conditions differed with time and place. Only then could a systematic understanding of art's and architecture's history emerge, as opposed to a mere assemblage of examples.

Sustainability Transition Framework: An Integrated Conceptualisation of Sustainability Change

“…Since at least around the 18th century, a consideration of cycles or phases of development has been a recurring theme in interpretations of historical developments. One influential conceptualisation of this nature tends to be attributed to Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) [20,21], and is discussed more in Section 3.5. Winckelmann is generally considered to be one of the earliest authors to develop an interpretation of past art develop-ments within their own cultural and social milieu [22,23].…”

“…Consequently, modern conceptualisations of history started giving greater attention to synergetic connections between 'scientific, technological and social advancements' [24]. Such ideas are strongly connected to the German concept of Zeitgeist, or the spirit of the time [21][22][23][24][25], and ideas of connection between a range of factors which influence patterns of change have dominated art and architecture history works since. Although it is possible to trace older sources for the conceptualisation of change through a set of development phases, and Winckelmann includes some such references, it seems that the connection between art and broader social developments helped forge the modern interpretation of the development of style.…”

“…Winckelmann explains that similar patterns can be found in poetry in five stages of progression: 'beginning, development, plateau, waning, and end' [100]. Following naturalistic references, this has since often been simplified to three core periods: early, mature, and late [21][22][23]. Variations of this system have since remained reasonably popular in both art and architecture, possibly because Winckelmann used a mixture of art and architecture, and ancient and contemporary examples, when explaining [101].…”

Experiencing the Gothic Style

“…In his essay 'On German Architecture', his account of the Gothic cathedral unveils that contradiction between expectation and experience of the Gothic and how he reconciled his initial preconceptions about the Gothic style with the actual impressive, though disturbing, sight of the building (Goethe 1980: 6). He was no longer intimidated by it, but only through repeated visits was he eventually able to overcome his prejudices towards the Gothic (Purdy 2011;Hvattum 2017).…”