Claudia Moscovici asserts in Romanticism and Postromanticism that the Romantic heritage, far from being important only in a historical sense, has philosophical relevance and value for contemporary art and culture. With an emphasis on artistic tradition as a continuing source of inspiration and innovation, she touches upon each main branch of philosophy: aesthetics, epistemology, and ethics. The book begins by describing some of the most interesting features of the Romantic movement that still fuel our culture. It then addresses the question: How did an artistic movement whose focus was emotive expression change into a quest for formal experimentation? And finally, Moscovici considers the aesthetic philosophy of postromanticism by thinking through how the Romantic emphasis upon beauty and passion can be combined with the modern and postmodern emphasis on originality and experimentation.
Editorial Reviews
Review
In Romanticism and Postromanticism, Claudia Moscovici writes that “art criticism, like philosophy, like love itself, depends upon cultivating a lucid passion.” This book, which brings a breath of fresh air to the study of enduring themes, is the lucid, engaging result of Moscovici”s own passion for literature, philosophy, and art. And it is much more, an enthusiastic appeal to eize the day, to live life to the fullest, complete with a manifesto and a roster of artists who epitomize the aspirations of the postromantic movement. — William C. Carter, Distinguished Professor of French, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Claudia Moscovici is a historian of ideas, astute reader of literature, and sensitive interpreter of art. Her unusual, original book, vividly written, solidly researched, is both academically sound and passionately committed. Lucid chapters on Rousseau, Mme de Staël, Diderot, Wordsworth and Baudelaire define the aesthetics, ethics, and epistemology of the movement she calls postromanticism, alive today. Exciting to read. — Edward K. Kaplan, Kaiserman Professor in the Humanities, Brandeis University
Addressing both a revolution in esthetics and an important development in the history of thought, Claudia Moscovici argues that in its break from the Enlightenment, Romanticism promoted core values such as verisimilitude, expressivity, and sensuality, that have become an important postromantic opposition ― in our contemporary visual arts, especially ― to Modernism and postmodernism. The discussion is fresh and engaging. — Marshall C. Olds, Willa Cather Professor and Professor of Modern Languages, University of Nebraska
About the Author
Claudia Moscovici is art critic and novelist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She obtained her A.B. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in the same field from Brown University and has taught courses on the French Enlightenment, Romanticism and art and aesthetics at Boston University and the University of Michigan. She’s the author of the art and aesthetics textbook, Romanticism and Postromanticism (Lexington Books, 2010), and a founding partner of Panodyssey.com, an international art and culture collaborative venture started in 2019 by Universal Music France executive Alexandre Leforestier, IT innovator Yann Rigo and marketing entrepreneur Valentin Bert. Due to the popularity of her art blog, https://fineartebooks.wordpress.com/, she has been voted by artists one of the top five “most famous female art critics in the world” on ranker.com, the largest international database of opinions, with more than 1 billion votes.
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