Date of Award
1991
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Abstract
Horace did remark "ut pictura poesis," as in painting so
poetry. But the rest of the pronouncement, rarely quoted, - "one
work seizes your fancy if you stand close to it, another if you
stand at a distance" - refers to how the arts can been viewed
from similar angles, not that the arts are essentially created
with the same purposes. Yet, misreadings of that quotation
began a history of debate over the qualities of painting and
poetry. In particular the eighteenth century became a
battleground over the ut pictura poesis formula. To the modern
reader, this controversy may seem rather ridiculous. How could
anyone believe that the visual aspects of painting resembled the
abstract concepts of poetry? Yet this debate of over two hundred
years ago created the foundation for various modern ways of
thinking about art. This controversy set in motion a perpetual
question over the limits, purposes, sources, and standards of
artworks, and established a vocabulary to talk about these
issues.
Recommended Citation
Nichols, John Grayson, "A re-evaluation of the aesthetics of Jean-Baptiste Dubos and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing" (1991). Honors Theses. 235.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/235