Romanesque Baroque
José Ignacio Pijoán
IT is becoming more and clear that every school of art a cycle the human soul, with its ideas forms passing through process evolution. After very simple, schematic results one or two generations primitive artists, reaches period maturity, when are expressed perfection, elegance, clearness; finally, there comes same decay, degenerate, mix themselves in unnecessary complication. The critics last century, from Hegel to Taine, distinguished well these three stages evolution general, but perhaps they did not fully enough appreciate passes periods: growth, decadence. Those seem have believed that, except certain cases, it mental disposition people, rather than their tastes, explains different styles art. They said, for example, some peoples, as Egyptians, were naturally inclined rational geometric, whereas others, Greeks, had special gift interpretation nature derived beauty concealed all natural things. Finally, said another class Hindus, found pleasure only multiplicity lines figures was achieved by crowding together no apparent reason resemblance nature. called first type “symbolic,” second, “classic,” third, “romantic.” In vocabulary today equivalent terms “geometric,” “naturalistic,” “baroque.”
Art Bulletin