Characters
Gertrud Bing
Gertrud Bing worked closely with Fritz Saxl and was a trusted colleague of Gombrich. She is recognized for her introduction to the Italian edition of Aby Warburg’s writings.
Karl Bühler
In his autobiographical writings, Gombrich mentions that Karl Bühler’s work significantly influenced his thinking, particularly in Art and Illusion. Bühler was a psychology professor in Vienna during the 1920s and 1930s and an early contributor to the Gestalt theory of thinking, which was later integrated into art theory by Rudolf Arnheim. Bühler’s communication model and language theory were particularly impactful for Gombrich.
John Constable
John Constable, a pioneering English landscape artist from the early 19th century, was among the first to incorporate science and observation into his painting practices. Gombrich dedicates a chapter in Art and Illusion to Constable, focusing on his innovative use of paint and light. Constable famously stated, ‘‘Painting is a science and should be pursued as an inquiry into the laws of nature. Why, then, may not landscape painting be considered as a branch of natural philosophy, of which pictures are but the experiments?’’ His "experiments" aimed at achieving paintings that more accurately represented the scenes before him. Gombrich proposes that only through such experimentation can an artist break free from stylistic constraints and move towards a deeper truth. Constable's work serves as a clear example of several theories Gombrich discusses in Art and Illusion.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud, the renowned Viennese psychologist and pioneer of modern psychiatry, sought to scientifically explore the complex realms of the human mind. Gombrich’s interest in psychology and perception naturally led him to engage with Freud’s theories, particularly Freud’s analysis of Leonardo da Vinci’s work.
Roger Fry
Roger Fry, an influential English art critic and artist, played a significant role in shaping Gombrich's thoughts while writing Art and Illusion. Fry regarded ‘‘impressionism as the final discovery of appearances’’ and believed that the challenge in painting lay in ‘‘finding out what things looked like to an unbiased eye.’’ He argued that an artist could only depict reality by paradoxically ‘‘suppressing conceptual knowledge.’’ Fry, a pivotal figure in art history theory, passed away in 1939 while delivering a lecture series on art history.
William Hogarth
Gombrich describes William Hogarth as one of the most intriguing artists of the eighteenth century. Hogarth created a series of prints titled Characters and Caricatures. According to Gombrich, Hogarth believed that ‘‘caricature rests on comic comparison,’’ while character ‘‘rests on the knowledge of the human frame and heart.’’ Gombrich uses many of Hogarth’s drawings to exemplify his understanding of caricature.
Ernst Kris
Ernst Kris, a close associate of Gombrich, served as the curator of the Applied Art Department at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. As a member of Sigmund Freud’s inner circle, Kris introduced Gombrich to psychological concepts. Together, they collaborated on a book about caricature, employing Freud’s theories. Kris, aware of the Nazi Party’s growing influence, advised Gombrich to leave Austria and seek employment elsewhere. He recommended Gombrich to Fritz Saxl, the director of the Warburg Institute in London. Gombrich attributes both his successful relocation from Austria and his initial job opportunity to Kris.
Karl R. Popper
Karl Popper, a significant philosophical figure, was also born in Vienna and later moved to London, like Gombrich. The two developed a close friendship, with Gombrich frequently expressing gratitude for Popper’s intellectual influence. Popper notably dismissed what he labeled the ‘‘bucket theory of mind,’’ which describes the mind as a passive vessel waiting to be filled with sensory input. In contrast, Popper proposed the ‘‘searchlight theory’’ of mind, suggesting that understanding the world is an...
(This entire section contains 988 words.)
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active process, involving the mind aligning internal frameworks with external sensory data. For both Popper and Gombrich, the concept of ‘‘activity’’ was crucial, emphasizing that the observer plays an active role in creating meaning.
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was a notable Victorian art and literary critic, as well as a social reform advocate. Born in 1819, Ruskin developed an early interest in art and architecture. He is best known for his extensive work Modern Painters, which had a profound impact on nineteenth-century artists, critics, and audiences. Ruskin was a proponent of J. M. W. Turner and the Pre-Raphaelites. Although Gombrich shows considerable respect for Ruskin in Art and Illusion, he distinctly opposes many of Ruskin’s artistic ideas, particularly the notion that artists should observe nature with an ‘‘innocent eye’’ to accurately depict it in their work.
Fritz Saxl
Fritz Saxl, the director of the Warburg Institute in London, employed Gombrich in 1936 to assist with the publication of Aby Warburg’s papers and letters.
Julius von Schlosser
Julius von Schlosser, who taught art history to Gombrich at the University of Vienna, authored the significant work Die Kunstliteratur. Despite Gombrich noting that Schlosser was not an effective lecturer, he had a profound impact on Gombrich, especially during the seminars he conducted at the Vienna Museum's Department of Applied Arts. In these sessions, Schlosser encouraged his students to discuss various artifacts found in the museum. Additionally, he conducted problem-based seminars, challenging students to address specific issues in art history. For instance, he tasked Gombrich with analyzing hand gestures depicted in a medieval law manuscript. Gombrich partially dedicates his book Art and Illusion to honor Schlosser’s influence as his teacher.
Aby Warburg
Aby Warburg established the Warburg Institute in London, where his collection of books, papers, and letters was relocated after he fled Hamburg due to the rise of Nazism. The Institute primarily focused on the exploration of cultural history, with a particular emphasis on the Italian Renaissance. Warburg amassed a wide array of materials to assist modern scholars in understanding the societal context of Renaissance Italy. His interest in art was not for its aesthetic value but for what it could reveal about the era in which it was produced. In 1970, Gombrich authored the authoritative biography of Aby Warburg.
