Alexander Adams

Share this post

User's avatar
Alexander Adams
Blood, Soil, Paint, (part II)
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Blood, Soil, Paint, (part II)

An examination of Romanticism and national character

Alexander Adams's avatar
Alexander Adams
Sep 09, 2022
∙ Paid
3

Share this post

User's avatar
Alexander Adams
Blood, Soil, Paint, (part II)
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
3
Share

It was at the birth of modern art history – at its conception, one could say – that the character of a landscape and the habits and customs of its people were considered the core of a school of art. The French diplomat and art critic Abbé Jean-Baptiste Dubos (1670-1742) wrote a discourse on poetry and painting entitled Critical Reflections on Poetry and Painting (1719), in which he attributed different national characters to distinctive air of particular regions. Later thinkers would reject the concept of air as a transmitter of distinctive characteristics, instead attributing to climate, food and geography such influence.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Alexander Adams
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More