Determinizm Aloisa Riegla w świetle krytyki

Abstrakt

The issue of determinism is one of the most important problems in the German-language history of art of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th centuries. The present text is an attempt at answering the question about the role played by the doctrine of determinism in Aloise Riegl's theory of art. The attempt was made in confrontation with the half-a-century later conception of practising history of art proposed by Ernst Hans Gombrich. First the problem is presented in the form in which it appears in Riegl's theory of historical development, being its complement, and also a tool for a comprehensive interpretation of history of art. As such it is subjected to a critical discussion from the point of view of Gombrich's methodology. Next an attempt is undertaken to answer the question of what influence the deterministic theory of development has on interpretation of the output of individual artists, and if negation of existence of artistic freedom follows from accepting it by Riegl. However, finding unambiguous determining factors which would translate the assumptions of the general theory of interpretation of history into particular individuals' acts proved impossible.