Table of Contents

The Nature of Art: Classical Answers to the Question “What Is Art?”.- Introduction: What Is Philosophy of Art?.- The Nature of Art: Classical Answers to the Question “What Is Art?”.- The Imitation Theory.- Expression Theories.- Formalism.- Art as a Synthesis of Form and Expression.- Aesthetic Judgment: The Legacy of Kant.- Art in a Historical and Social Perspective.- ‘The End of Art’: The Contemporary Interest in Hegel.- Art and Society: A Neomarxist Perspective.- The Language of Art: From Phenomenology to Poststructuralism.- The Phenomenological Perspective.- The Modern Version of Formalism: The Semiotic Point of View.- The Post-structuralist Perspective.- Epilogue.

Reviews

Antoon van den Braembussche has written a well-founded and deserving book, which is also of startling complexity and literary quality.
- Prof. Michael Lingner, University of the Visual Arts, Hamburg, Germany  I am very impressed by the book. In a relatively limited space of 300 pages it unfolds a broad spectrum of philosophy of art, including methodological issues. The included suggestions for further reading will certainly stimulate students towards further independent research in the field.
- Prof. Brigitte Scheer, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Van den Braembussche not only introduces the most important theories of modern art philosophy clearly and systematically, he continuously compares the diverse theoretical viewpoints with each another. The book presents an easily accessible picture of the current debate in art philosophy. The book is also charming because the author closes each chapter with "The Artist's Studio", where the philosophical issues discussed are considered from the perspective of an artist.
- Henk Slager, Editor of Lier & Boog (Published) Thinking Art was written as a teacher's manual for philosophy of art. But thanks to the systematic treatment and the understandable language, casual and lacking dry theory, the book is accessible to everyone.
- Philosophy Magazine (Published) Van den Braembussche provides a convincing demonstration of the productive relationship between art philosophy, the artist and art itself.
- Krisis (Published)