1. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 1
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
Shiner on the new system of the arts
Chap Polite Arts for the Polite Classes (Larry Shiner. The Invention of Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001).
The modern system of the arts emerged during the early decades of the 18th century and was firmly in place by the end of the century.
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 1

2. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 2
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
The battle of the books
Launched by Charles Perrault in 1687
How does this battle reflect the emergence of the new system of the arts?
The term which was initially used to refer to the new category of the arts – beaux-arts
Translated into English as the “polite arts” or “fine arts”
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 2

3. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 3
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
The pivotal figure in this new system of the arts: Charles Batteux, and his 1746 Les Beaux arts réduit àun même principe
The first to lay out the new system
His 3 categories
Beaux-arts -- 5
Mechanical arts
Mixed arts – 2
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 3

4. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 4
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
What principles did he use for these groupings
Imitation of beautiful nature
Goal is pleasure vs utility
Genius vs mere skill at reproduction
Taste
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 4

5. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 5
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
Diderot’s in the Encylopedie (Diderot & d’Alembert) ( ) offered a variation of Batteux’s system
Used 3 categories for all knowledge
Science
History
Fine arts – his principle here was imagination
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 5

6. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 6
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
D’Alembert in an article in the Encylopedia (in the 1776 supplement) offered another variation (Shiner 84)
Offered almost the same list as Batteux, but proposed 2 principles for grouping the fine arts together
Goal is pleasure vs utility
Are produce of inventive genius vs following fixed & established rules
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 6

7. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 7
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
The new system spread rapidly and by the end of the century had become standard in England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States.
The list of fine arts varied a bit
All included poetry, painting, sculpture & music
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 7

8. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 8
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
Some added one or several of the following: architecture, dance, engraving, oratory, landscape gardening, tapestry, & porcelain
There were also differences over the principles to be used for the grouping. Most agreed upon the following
(1) how the work of art was produced: by genius vs fixed rules
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 8

9. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 9
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
(2) how the work is received by the audience: with pleasure or for utility (Shiner 86)
New institutions
art museums
secular concerts
literary criticism, in the sense of reviews of current works (Shiner 88)
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 9

10. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 10
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
the beginnings of a canon
the Grand Tour
art histories (the first under the new system: J.J. Winckelmann, History of Ancient Art (1766)
public concerts
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 10

11. Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 11
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts: the 18th century
What was the makeup of the new audiences?
Middle and upper-classes
These classes gradually separated themselves in their tastes from the vulgar masses
Shiner on the beginnings of the new system of the arts - slide 11