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The lecturer traces the historical development of attitudes toward the arts over the past 150 years, suggesting that the present is a period of cultural liquidation, nothing less than the ending of the modern age that began with the Renaissance.Tags
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Member Reviews
I have to begin this review by saying I am a huge fan of Jacques Barzun. After being introduced to him through reading Dawn of Decadence when it was published I have read as many of his books as I can find. He has an acute sense of culture and history and is a straight forward writer. I was not disappointed in this book. There are six chapters that were each a lecture given as part of the A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts. Barzun has insights into the development of modern art that seem right on. I teach an omnibus class that discusses art and I learned so much by reading this book that I can't wait to share in class. I do wonder what further insights Barzun has about art since 30 plus years have passed since he wrote it in 1973. show more If you are interested in the state of art and wonder how we got to the point we are today read it for some thought provoking ideas show less
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Author Information
74+ Works 9,643 Members
Jacques Barzun was born in Créteil, France on November 30, 1907. He came to the United States in 1920 and graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University in 1927. Following graduation, he joined Columbia's faculty as an instructor while continuing his studies in graduate school there, receiving a master's degree in 1928 and a doctorate in show more French history in 1932. He became a full professor in 1945, was dean of graduate faculties from 1955 to 1958, and dean of faculties from 1958 to 1967. He retired from Columbia University in 1975. He was a historian and cultural critic. The core of his work was the importance of studying history to understand the present and a fundamental respect for intellect. Although he wrote on subjects as diverse as detective fiction and baseball, he was especially known for his many books on music, nineteenth-century romanticism and education. His works include Darwin, Marx and Wagner: Critique of a Heritage; Romanticism and the Modern Ego; The House of Intellect; Race: A Study in Superstition; Simple and Direct: A Rhetoric for Writers; A Stroll with William James; The Culture We Deserve; and From Dawn to Decadence. He died on October 25, 2012 at the age of 104. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Bollingen Series (35.22)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Use and Abuse of Art
- Original publication date
- 1974
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 154
- Popularity
- 210,506
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.82)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
