Primitivism and Related Ideas in Antiquity
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
"There had been, from the beginning of classical speculation, two contrasting opinions about the natural state of man , each of them, of course, a "Gegen-Konstruktion" to the conditions under which it was formed. One view, termed "soft" primitivism in an illuminating book by Lovejoy and Boas, conceives of primitive life as a golden age of plenty, innocence, and happiness -- in other words, as civilized life purged of its vices. The other, "hard" form of primitivism conceives of primitive life as an almost subhuman existence full of terrible hardships and devoid of all comforts -- in other words, as civilized life stripped of its virtues." --Meaning in the Visual Arts (1955) by Erwin Panofsky |
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Primitivism and Related Ideas in Antiquity (1935) is a book by Arthur Oncken Lovejoy and George Boas.