The Judgment of Sense: Renaissance Naturalism and the Rise of Aesthetics

by David Summers

With the rise of naturalism in the art of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance there developed an extensive and diverse literature about art which helped to explain, justify and shape its new aims. In this book, David Summers provides an investigation of the philosophical and psychological notions invoked in this new theory and criticism. From a thorough examination of the sources, he shows how the medieval language of mental discourse derived from an understanding of classical thought.

Genres: Art History, Philosophy

Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Duncan Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

That rare masterpiece that combines comprehensive mastery of the literature of classical antiquity with a deep understanding of the longstanding areas of perpetual interest in the modern academic bibliographies around the histories of art, architecture, music, psychology, aesthetics and more.

I read Judgment when it first came out in 1987, again in the '90s and I have turned yet again to it just recently for work I was doing on the history of the understanding of the meaning and psychology of musical experience.