Gombrich, E, H, Art
and Illusion: A study in the psychology of pictorial representation, 5th
edn., , (Oxford, Phaidon, 1977)
Before the first publication of Art and Illusion in 1960, when scholars considered the question of the tendency in western art towards illusionism, their discussion tended to concentrate on tracing the development of Albertian linear perspective and later related phenomena such as aerial perspective, 'sotto in su' and other trompe l' oeil devices. Here, Panofsky's Perspective as Symbolic Form was influential among German Art Historians, though its impact remained limited until it was translated into English in 1990. Panofsky concentrated on the development of linear perspective, and touches only briefly on the illusionistic 'tricks' associated with trompe l' oeil. Gombrich, however, commences discussion with optical illusion and by engaging with the growing interest in the mechanism of perception among psychologists such as Gibson (Perception of the Visual World, 1950), and in philosophy, Wittgenstein's discussion of the 'trick' picture - Rabbit or Duck?- in Philosophical Investigations (Oxford, 1950).
Gombrich establishes in the extensive introduction, Psychology and the Riddle of Style that illusion is not a simple trick and the psychological mechanisms behind it are complex. Moreover, although the neuroscience behind perception may be largely innate, how sensory perception is manipulated by artists is culturally conditioned. As well as being a book about art and illusion, it also addresses the question of style exploring why, as Wolfflin put it. 'not everything is possible in every period' (p.4). The book is divided into four section which explore these issues in greater depth.
First Gombrich considers the question of how artists were able to create the illusion of volume and plasticity by painting dabs of coloured pigment that are re-constituted in the beholders eye as being 'real' The fundamental 'trick' is shown to be similar rcross different styles and periods, from the super-realism of Van Eyck to the fleeting impressionism of Manet's Races at Lonchamp. What Gombrich shows is this central tenet of western art from the renaissance to modernity is untypical of world art in general, and in itself the operation of the illusion is influenced by other forces.
The practises and traditions in which artists work also influence on how they represent the world. The section 'Truth and Stereotype' shows how pattern books, patrons' preferences and the prevailing zeitgeist all conspire to undermine the representation of what is there. Hence Garland's engraving of Chartre Cathedral is shown to have 'made'pointy' the rounded Romanesque windows incorporated into the !twelfth century's rebuilding scheme so that the monument better conformed to the stereotypical Gothic style admired in the nineteenth century. Thus the beholder, the patron, the artist's own training and predilections all transform a work of art's capacity to simply represent the world.
Gombrich now explores two key points in depth. Firstly addressing the the question of the 'form and function' of a work of art he investigates how a picture's mode of reprentation is influenced by its purpose. The stark frontality of Alfred Leete's famous poster 'Your Country Needs YOU' disturbed passers-by because they felt it addressed them in person. Gombrich recounts his visit to Queen Victoria's residence, Osbourne House; the attendant explained that visitors were so fond of stroking the marble effigy of the queen's pet dog 'Noble', that it had to be cleaned every week. In both these cases it is not in illusionism by itself which leads to the beholder's response, but also the purpose and function of the art-works: the former propaganda, the latter commemoration. The second key point which underlies the latter part of the book concerns the conception of the picture not so much as a representation of the real, but a parallel invention. His quotation from the psychologist J. J. Gibson is instructive:
The visual field is the product of the chronic habit of civilised men of seeing the world as a picture [...} So far from being the basis, it is a kind of alternative to ordinary perception. (p.277).
It is this insight more than anything else which secures continuing the relevance of Art and Illusion more than half a century after its original publications. In some respects the work is a product of its time. It is surely no coincidence that the book is contemporary with the emergence of 'Op Art' typified by the work of Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley who used optical illusions to explore the ambiguity of the 'visual field'. However, since that time it is fair to say that as contemporary philosophy became pre-occupied by the 'linguistic turn', popular culture took an increasingly 'pictorial turn'. The screen, through TV, laptops, tablets and smart phones has now becomea ubiquitous means of global communication. YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram have enabled us to trade ideas through moving and still images globally with one click. Understanding the history, nature and above all the limits of 'civilised man's chronic habit of seeing the world as a picture', if anything is more relevant now than in 1960. Art and Illusion for this reason remains a thought provoking and challenging work of scholarship.
Before the first publication of Art and Illusion in 1960, when scholars considered the question of the tendency in western art towards illusionism, their discussion tended to concentrate on tracing the development of Albertian linear perspective and later related phenomena such as aerial perspective, 'sotto in su' and other trompe l' oeil devices. Here, Panofsky's Perspective as Symbolic Form was influential among German Art Historians, though its impact remained limited until it was translated into English in 1990. Panofsky concentrated on the development of linear perspective, and touches only briefly on the illusionistic 'tricks' associated with trompe l' oeil. Gombrich, however, commences discussion with optical illusion and by engaging with the growing interest in the mechanism of perception among psychologists such as Gibson (Perception of the Visual World, 1950), and in philosophy, Wittgenstein's discussion of the 'trick' picture - Rabbit or Duck?- in Philosophical Investigations (Oxford, 1950).
Gombrich establishes in the extensive introduction, Psychology and the Riddle of Style that illusion is not a simple trick and the psychological mechanisms behind it are complex. Moreover, although the neuroscience behind perception may be largely innate, how sensory perception is manipulated by artists is culturally conditioned. As well as being a book about art and illusion, it also addresses the question of style exploring why, as Wolfflin put it. 'not everything is possible in every period' (p.4). The book is divided into four section which explore these issues in greater depth.
First Gombrich considers the question of how artists were able to create the illusion of volume and plasticity by painting dabs of coloured pigment that are re-constituted in the beholders eye as being 'real' The fundamental 'trick' is shown to be similar rcross different styles and periods, from the super-realism of Van Eyck to the fleeting impressionism of Manet's Races at Lonchamp. What Gombrich shows is this central tenet of western art from the renaissance to modernity is untypical of world art in general, and in itself the operation of the illusion is influenced by other forces.
The practises and traditions in which artists work also influence on how they represent the world. The section 'Truth and Stereotype' shows how pattern books, patrons' preferences and the prevailing zeitgeist all conspire to undermine the representation of what is there. Hence Garland's engraving of Chartre Cathedral is shown to have 'made'pointy' the rounded Romanesque windows incorporated into the !twelfth century's rebuilding scheme so that the monument better conformed to the stereotypical Gothic style admired in the nineteenth century. Thus the beholder, the patron, the artist's own training and predilections all transform a work of art's capacity to simply represent the world.
Gombrich now explores two key points in depth. Firstly addressing the the question of the 'form and function' of a work of art he investigates how a picture's mode of reprentation is influenced by its purpose. The stark frontality of Alfred Leete's famous poster 'Your Country Needs YOU' disturbed passers-by because they felt it addressed them in person. Gombrich recounts his visit to Queen Victoria's residence, Osbourne House; the attendant explained that visitors were so fond of stroking the marble effigy of the queen's pet dog 'Noble', that it had to be cleaned every week. In both these cases it is not in illusionism by itself which leads to the beholder's response, but also the purpose and function of the art-works: the former propaganda, the latter commemoration. The second key point which underlies the latter part of the book concerns the conception of the picture not so much as a representation of the real, but a parallel invention. His quotation from the psychologist J. J. Gibson is instructive:
The visual field is the product of the chronic habit of civilised men of seeing the world as a picture [...} So far from being the basis, it is a kind of alternative to ordinary perception. (p.277).
It is this insight more than anything else which secures continuing the relevance of Art and Illusion more than half a century after its original publications. In some respects the work is a product of its time. It is surely no coincidence that the book is contemporary with the emergence of 'Op Art' typified by the work of Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley who used optical illusions to explore the ambiguity of the 'visual field'. However, since that time it is fair to say that as contemporary philosophy became pre-occupied by the 'linguistic turn', popular culture took an increasingly 'pictorial turn'. The screen, through TV, laptops, tablets and smart phones has now becomea ubiquitous means of global communication. YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram have enabled us to trade ideas through moving and still images globally with one click. Understanding the history, nature and above all the limits of 'civilised man's chronic habit of seeing the world as a picture', if anything is more relevant now than in 1960. Art and Illusion for this reason remains a thought provoking and challenging work of scholarship.
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