Abstract

This book is a translation of a work which in the original French appeared in two volumes in 1953. It is a tour de force by a man who is philosophically very close to Merleau-Ponty, and who has a deep appreciation for a wide spectrum of works of art. The book has four parts: the first distinguishes the "aesthetic object" from the "work of art"; the second is an analysis of types of works of art, especially music and painting; the third is an analysis of aesthetic perception; and the fourth is a Kantian critique of aesthetic experience.