This unique and extraordinarily rich collection of writings offers a thematic approach to understanding the various theories of art that illumined the direction of nineteenth-century artists as diverse as Tommaso Minardi and Georges Seurat. It is significant that during the nineteenth century most artists felt compelled to found their artistic practice on a consciously established premise.

Joshua C. Taylor was Professor of Art History at the University of Chicago and Director of the National Museum of American Art from 1970 until his death in 1981. James L. Yarnall, formerly of the National Museum of American Art, prepared and edited the manuscript for publication.

"A substantial gathering of commentaries on the visual arts from Reynolds in 1771 to Gustave Kahn in 1891. Continental critics and theorists are especially well represented but there are also statements from the writings of Blake, Rio, Emerson, Ruskin, Constable, Morris, and Whistler."—Nineteenth-Century Review

"An admirable introduction to the period's complicated relationships between art and theory. Avoiding the usual stylistic banners—Classicism, Romanticism, Realism, etc.—Taylor grouped the letters, essays, and lectures into six more general categories, each a response to new artistic freedoms beginning in the last years of the 18th century. . . . Each section is preceded by a thoughtful essay, and each text by a short biography and bibliography. Some texts are fully developed philosophical treatises; others, usually by artists, are sketchy notes. But all are closely linked to the creation and contemplation of actual art. Destined to be a staple."—Print Collectors Newsletter