The Eternal Present, Volume I
eBook - PDF

The Eternal Present, Volume I

The Beginnings of Art

  1. 610 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Eternal Present, Volume I

The Beginnings of Art

About this book

A groundbreaking reevaluation of paleolithic art through the lens of modernism, from the acclaimed historian of art and architecture

In The Beginnings of Art, Sigfried Giedion, best known as a historian of architecture, shifts his attention to art and its very origins. Breaking with an earlier, materialistic approach, he explores paleolithic art by bringing abstraction, transparency, and simultaneity into play as modern art has revealed them anew. Focusing on the dual concepts of constancy and change, he examines paleolithic paintings, engravings, and sculpture, as well as modern art and recent examples of "primitive art." He argues that the two keys to the meaning of prehistoric art are the symbol, portraying reality before reality exists, and the animal as humankind's superior in the unified primordial world in which both human and animal were embedded. The result is a highly original and important study of prehistoric art.

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Yes, you can access The Eternal Present, Volume I by Sigfried Giedion in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & Art Theory & Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
  7. Part I: Art a Fundamental Experience
  8. Part II: The Means of Expression in Primeval Art
  9. Part III: Symbolization
  10. Part IV: The Sacred Animal
  11. Part V: The Human Figure
  12. Part VI: The Space Conception of Prehistory
  13. The maps
  14. List of Illustrations
  15. List of Works Cited
  16. Index