Text II
This book wants to show the newcomer the lie of the land
without confusing him with details. In writing it I thought first
and foremost of readers in their teens. But I have never believed
that books for young people should differ from books for adults
except for the fact that they must reckon with the most exacting
class of critics, critics who are quick to detect and resent any
trace of pretentious jargon or bogus sentiment. I know from
experience that these are the vices which may render people
suspicious of all writings. I have striven to use plain language
even at the risk of sounding casual or unprofessional. I hope that
no reader will attribute my decision to get along with a minimum
of the art historian’s conventional terms to any desire on my part
of ‘talking down’ to him. Apart from this decision, I have tried to
follow a number of more specific self-imposed rules, such as
limiting myself to real works of art and cutting out anything
which might merely be interesting as a specimen of taste or
fashion. This decision entailed a considerable sacrifice of literary
effects. Praise is so much duller than criticism, and the inclusion
of some amusing monstrosities might have offered some light
relief. Thus, while I do not claim that all the works illustrated
represent the highest standard of perfection, I did make an effort
not to include anything which I considered to be without a
peculiar merit of its own.
A second rule also demanded a little self-denial. I vowed
to resist any temptation to be original in my selection, lest the
well-known masterpieces be crowded out by my own personal
favourites. This book, after all, is not intended merely as an
anthology of beautiful things; it is meant for those who look for
bearings in a new field, and for them the familiar appearance of
apparently ‘hackneyed’ examples may serve as welcome
landmarks.
One more rule I have followed. When in doubt I have
always preferred to discuss a work which I had seen in the
original rather than one I knew only from photographs. I should
have liked to make this an absolute rule, but I did not want the
reader to be penalized by the accidents of travel restrictions
which sometimes dog the life of the art-lover.
E. H. Gombrich. The Story of Art.
Phaidon, New York – London: 1995, p. 7-8 (adapted).