The History Of Style

Max Loehr,a German-American scholar,is the first generation of overseas Chinese art historians.His academic methods can be traced back to the stylistics of Wollfflin and Ludwig Bachhofer,and he was trained by traditional German art history.In the meantime,Loehr is also a sinologist.He began to learn Chinese when he was studying in the University of Munich,and then went to China as the president of Sino-German Society.He spent nine years in China and became proficient in Chinese culture.Loehr’s research on Chinese art covers a wide range,covering bronze wares of Shang and Zhou Dynasties,traditional Chinese paintings,jade articles,woodcuts,Buddhist sculptures and other fields.Loehr believes that art is self-disciplined and not influenced by external factors.He used formal analysis to study Chinese art,trying to establish meaningful Chinese art history and bring an extraterritorial perspective to Chinese art research,and has established the position of stylistics as an important methodology for the study of Chinese art history.The research object of this paper is Loehr’s view of Chinese art history.Taking his stylistic methodology and style concept as the starting point,this paper explored the application of his stylistic analysis method in Chinese art history through the analysis and investigation of his academic achievements and artistic writing.The first chapter of the paper discussed the era background and academic background of Loehr’s research on Chinese art history,and how Loehr became the first scholar to break the academic barrier by using his dual identity of art historian and sinologist,and clarify the name of stylistics,which is of epoch-making pioneering significance;In the second chapter,it expounded Loehr’s concept of style is history.He paid attention to the analysis of individual forms,abandoned the old concept of style dominating form,successfully determined the chronological sequence of bronze wares of Shang Dynasty,and built the style history by compiling the catalogue of Chinese art collections;In the third chapter,it focused on Loehr’s research on Chinese painting,so as to explore the expansion of the connotation of his style concept and his pioneering contribution to the dating of Chinese painting;In the fourth chapter,it discussed that Loehr,as the forerunner of Chinese art history research in the west,led and inspired the knowledge creation of Chinese art history in the west.His formal analysis method and style belief influenced a generation of scholars,which has expanded the internal academic tension of stylistics and promoted the research process of Chinese art history.In this paper,it will contact Loehr’s specific academic research achievements,such as the “five type development theory” of bronze wares in Shang Dynasty,and staging theory of traditional Chinese painting,delve into the internal logic of his stylistics,so as to present Loehr’s attention to visual thinking and artistic noumenon as an art historian,his scientific and rigorous historical attitude,logical demonstration of language,and provide enlightenment for the current research of Chinese art history.