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to a tendency in culture as a whole. Gombrich proposed that style only be ap-
plied in a descriptive sense. But this and similar restrictions prove to be less
than useful, since the word ‘style’ is reached for most often precisely in cases
where there is no conceivable alternate practice. Must the word ‘style’ be
avoided when describing a Gothic sculpture, simply because the sculptor did
not conceive the idea of stylistic choice? Purely in terms of logic, this is cor-
rect (the idea of the possibility of choosing styles came into practice in the 15
th
century), but it does not answer to the common experience of style as an ob-
ject of study.
From the mid-20
th
century onwards, style analysis has been opposed to the
study of meaning. In that way iconology and the study of cultural significance
have come to be seen as a complement to style analysis, as if a work of art
were a composite object made of a perfect balance of non-verbal style and
verbal meaning. Scholars rejecting this view have also tended to be wary of
style analysis, trying to avoid using it in their teaching and writing.
Elkins J. Style // The Dictionary of Art / еd. by J. Turner. Vol. 29: Grove’s Dictionaries
Inc., New York, 1996. P. 876–880.
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