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Janson explains why art is best studied through its historical context, linking creative achievement to the complex relationship between artists and their times. It frames art history as a vital scholarly profession alongside direct viewing of artworks. The text also introduces the series theme of geometric “shapes of art” and uses examples from artists and periods to discuss how cultural barriers and changing appreciation affect the idea of art as a universal 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LIBRARY OF ART  \nThe Mirrorof History  \nby H.W.Janson  \nH.W.Janson  \n# Editor's Note\n\nOfthe many new vistas which the TIME-LIFE Library of Art is offering of a familiarfield,perhaps the most important is its presentation of the artist not just as a creativeindividual but as a product of his times.It is our belief that no creative genius,from theStone Age painter to the present-day proponent of Op or Pop,can properly be discussedwithout placing him in the context of history,past and present.What moved a Giottoto abandon the stylized concepts of Byzantine radition and seek a new expression?Where did Michelangelo find inspiration for works of such astonishing power that theyinfluenced art for hundreds of years?What,in our own time,do artists seek in abstrac-tion and action painting?Surely the answers to such questions lie not with the artistsalone but must be sought also in the complex fabric of their relationship with their world.  \nThat is why the TIME-LIFE Library of Art is exploring the world of the artist,notjust his work alone.And that is why we have chosen H.W.Janson,Professor of FineArts at New York University,to be Consulting Editor to this series.A pre-eminent arthistorian and author of the definitive History of Art,he is singularly qualifed to discussthe artist in the light of his times.He explains in the following pages the dramatic newimportance of his own profession—that of art historian—and shows how strong are theties that link art with history,and history,in turn,with art.  \nTHE SHAPES OF ART,the square,the circle and the triangle,form the hall-mark of this series.Whether combined,colored,broken apart or distorted,they are the components of the endlesly shifting kaleidoscope that is painting.  \nA Painter in His Studio by the I7thCentury Dutchman JanVermeer distills from time onefragile second,recorded withexquisite and painstaking careby the artist for all time to enjoy—the alchemy,the very stuff of art.  \nJan Vermeer van Delft:A Painterin His Studio,1660-1670  \nThe Mirrorof History  \nby H.W.Janson  \nThe series of books which this essay is meant to accompany has a twofoldpurpose.It will acquaint the reader with the work of great masters frommedieval to modern times;but in doing so it will also introduce him to arelatively new and fast-growing field of scholarship—the history of art  \nThis approach has been a matter of deliberate choice,a choice that isperhaps not self-evident.After all,we might argue,if the work of an artisthas such enduring value,why can't we view it directly,rather than throughthe spectacles of the historian?Is not great art a universal language thatspeaks to us across every chasm of time and space?  \nOn the surface there could seem to be little doubt that art is a universallanguage.This is borne out by almost any museum,whether New York'sMetropolitan Museum of Artoramoremodestlocal collection.In either weare likely to be confronted by an enormous variety of exhibits ranging intime from Egypt to the present day,and in space from Europe and Americato tropical Africa,the Far East,and even Polynesia.It is obvious that no-body would have bothered to bring all this material together if there werenot considerable public response to it—-if the layman who “doesn't knowanything about art but knows what he likes\"showed no interest in it.  \nOn closer examination,however,the universality of art turns out to berelative rather than absolute.It is more characteristic of the present day thanof the past.At the moment we seem to like just about everything,but thiswas not always so;there were(and as a matter of actual fact,there still are)cultural barriers to a true universality of appreciation and understanding.These barriers are much more apparent in music and literature than in artitself.Chinese music,for example,is harder on Western ears than Chinesepainting is on Western eyes.But every society has its cultural barriers,al-though in ours these barriers are less obvious than in others—which is fardif","cbCaiukCdH3YvtUh","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiukCdH3YvtUh","pdf",2251797,12,"English","# Editor's Note\n## Purpose of the series and art history\n## Art as a universal language and cultural barriers\n## How appreciation changes across periods and places","[{\"question\":\"Why does the series place artists in the context of their times?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that no creative genius can be discussed properly without relating the artist to history—past and present—and to the surrounding cultural fabric.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the series meant to achieve for readers?\",\"answer\":\"It is designed to acquaint readers with great masters from medieval to modern times while also introducing them to the growing scholarship field of art history.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the text treat the idea that art is a universal language?\",\"answer\":\"It says universality is relative rather than absolute, because societies maintain cultural barriers that shape appreciation and understanding.\"}]","The Mirror of History - Editor's Note | PDF",1790589232,18]