A Study Of Roger Fry's Modern Artistic Criticism Theory

Roger Fry is a famous modern art critic and formalistic aesthetic in The United Kingdom.He challenges to the traditional academism and break through the photographic concept of “reproduction” in Renaissance.Fry brings modern art criticism into formalism and calls for a return in artworks themselves.Fry also requires to master the true feelings of the artists by means of form elements from artworks.At the same time,Fry applies the theory to practice and launches the “post-impressionist” art movement to promote the development of the modernist art movement.So it is crucial to understand and master his modern artistic criticism theory from an aesthetical perspective.Firstly,This paper aims to find out the formation of aesthetics original theory and affirm Fry's outstanding contributions in the modern art movement via his artistic criticism theory.It can easily identify that Fry played an important role in excavating the artists like Paul Cezanne,Vincent Van Gogh as the typical representatives.Depending on the exploration of Fry's artistic criticism and aesthetic theory,we can present a lively Fry.This paper is divided into three main parts,and the prologue mainly introduces the research significance,research methods and current situation of the study on Roger Fry's theory.The first chapter attempts to trace back to the theoretical sources and background of Fry's theory of the artistic criticism from two different directions: formalistic aesthetic theory and the modern artistic criticism system.The second chapter explores the artistic criticism theory of Fry's main ideas about the “form” questions,concretely analyses and explains Fry's theory of “double life”,“the concept of artistic form”,summarizes Fry's formalism concept,then points out the developments and the transcendence of "meaningful forms" theory of what Fry did,lastly clarifies the difference between Fry and another formalism aesthetics theory representative Clive bell.The third chapter depends on the post-impressionist movement that Fry initiated,revealing his effects from “impressionism” to “post-impressionism” art movement,then analyses those articles written by Fry which is in defense of the post-impressionist art exhibition due to the criticism and explains the importance of Fry to Cezanne and other impressionist painters through the interpretation of Cezanne's paintings by Fry.The last chapter is epilogue,this part mainly summarizes the main thesis and thoughts of this paper,and make a supplement and extension of Fry's artistic criticism theory,such as the modernity,practicality and openness characteristics.