How is art criticism to be understood within an expanding artistic field? A look at its history and its manifestations within globalized conditions shows the variety of the genre, of the criteria and of the styles of writing. This reader is an attempt to bring a diverse range of art-critical voices and perspectives into conversation with each other, with texts from the 18th century to the present. The editors Beate Söntgen and Julia Voss have invited colleagues from various geographical and intellectual backgrounds to present and discuss the art critics of their choice, choosing one example from their respective bodies of work to comment upon. How have these writers approached art criticism? Which styles do they employ? What makes them extraordinary? What can we learn from their writings today, and why is it important in its contemporary context?BEATE SÖNTGEN (*1963) is professor of art history at Leuphana University Lüneburg. She studied art history, philosophy, and modern German literature in Marburg and Berlin. She is director of the DFG Research Training Group "Cultures of Critique: Forms, Media, Effects" and co-director of the program "PriMus - Doctoral Studies in Museums."JULIA VOSS (*1974) is an honorary professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg. She studied art history, modern German literature, and philosophy in Berlin and London. She is herself an art critic and journalist and was deputy head of the arts section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

coverTitleColophonContentsForewordWhy Art Criticism? An IntroductionPassion, Performance, and SobernessBeate SöntgenEssays on PaintingDenis DiderotIn ConversationJohannes GraveIn Front of a Friedrich Seascape with Capuchin MonkClemens Brentano, Achim von ArnimFeelings Before Friedrich's SeascapeHeinrich von KleistEmotional CollectivitiesStephanie MarchalFellows in RealityJulius Meier-GraefeThe LeakJulia VossThe Klimt AffairBerta ZuckerkandlKlimt's letter to the Education MinistryCrafts and the SpiritualMonica JunejaThe Indian CraftsmanAnanda K. CoomaraswamyPractical FormalistBeate SöntgenThe FuturistsRoger FryThe Case of the Late Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, O. M.Independent Gallery: Vanessa Bell and Othon FrieszAgitationValerija KuzemaThe Work of Viktor PalmovSergei TretyakovPhoto-NotesSnapshotMargarete VöhringerAgainst the Synthetic Portrait, For the SnapshotAlexander RodchenkoDecompositionMalte RauchCritiquesGeorges BatailleDecolonizing Art HistoryParul Dave MukherjiWhy Exhibit Works of Art?Ananda K. CoomaraswamyAdvocating the CollectiveCamilo Sarmiento JaramilloThe Aesthetic of Our TimeLuis VidalesColombian PaintingMaterialism and ProximityIsabelle GrawNote on the Hostages, Paintings by FautrierFrancis PongeCensorship and the Authorial "I"Valerie Hortolani and Valerija KuzemaAnnotations on Painting in Leipzig, with an Update on TübkeLothar LangHermann GlöcknerThe Hans Grundig Exhibition, 1973Harald Metzkes at the Nationalgalerie, 1978Fragments on Art CriticismTrespasser of GatekeepingJuli CarsonI Committed a HappeningOscar MasottaEmbedded ChroniclerMonique BellanThe Artistic and Literary Life: Reviews from La Revue du Liban et de l'Orient ArabeVictor HakimUndisciplinedThorsten SchneiderProlegomena to a Hedonistic EnlightenmentPeter GorsenIn DragAstrid ManiaWarhol: The Medium as Cultural ArtifactMary JosephsonSelf-Reflective ConnectivityBeatrice von BismarckNetwork: The Art World Described as a SystemLawrence AllowayVulnerability and ResistanceFlorencia MalbránTwo Decades of Vulnerability in Latin American Visual Arts 1950/1970Marta TrabaFellow-FeelingSarah WilsonRéquichot and His BodyRoland BarthesDocumentation as DialogueMichael F.