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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Definitive. . . . translated into fourteen languages, it is one of the most widely-read and influential art books of the century." ― Leonardo

"The clear, direct, flexible writing is powerfully reinforced by the numerous illustrations . . . not one of which is superfluous." ― Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

"A book which reflects so well the author's urbanity, catholicity, and keenness of mind, as well as his technical grasp of the scientific and the artistic, is no small achievement." ― Psychological Bulletin

"In this much-needed book, the author brings together the results of good thinking in areas, heretofore, comparatively removed from one another." ― Audio-Communication Bulletin

"The author starts with a kernel of hard-boiled psychological fact . . . as a landing platform for a soaring stratospheric flight into a beautiful, amorphous sky." ― Quarterly Review of Biology

From the Inside Flap

"In The Ego and the Id Freud argued that a cogent thought process, to say nothing of conscious intellectual work, could not exist amidst the unruliness of visual experience. Over the last half century in a sequence of landmark books, Rudolf Arnheim has not only shown us how wrong that is, he has parsed the grammar of form with uncanny acuity and taught us how to read it." Jonathan Fineberg, author of Art since 1940: Strategies of Being

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0520243838
Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 8, 2004
Edition ‏ : ‎ Second Edition, Fiftieth Anniversary Printing
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780520243835
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520243835
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #177,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #68 in Philosophy Aesthetics
- #260 in Arts & Photography Criticism
- #478 in Medical General Psychology
Customer Reviews:
(159)

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Customers find the book informative and helpful in understanding visual perception, with one customer noting it's particularly useful for filmmakers. They appreciate its content, with one mentioning it's very important reading for serious artists.

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13 customers mention content, 12 positive, 1 negative

Customers find the content of the book amazing, with one customer noting it is the best book on form perception, while another mentions it is very important reading for serious artists.

Wonderful book, great presentation of the subject, superb idea of explaining the image from psychology point of view....Read more

...it yet but my boyfriend is a graphic designer and he says that this book is amazing.Read more

this is a great book. and I recommend it it really....Read more

This book is a must for an artist. My first copy fell into the paws of my puppy springer spaniel who was teething! So I needed a new copy....Read more

8 customers mention informative, 8 positive, 0 negative

Customers find the book informative and helpful in understanding visual perception, with one customer describing it as a masterpiece.

...It is a good book with many illustrations and analysis....Read more

Very helpful in understanding what goes on when we look at art. A good read for photographers and other artists. A classic in the field.Read more

...The lessons and information in the book included many good insights and points about art....Read more

...read this book. it very informative. and I did help me grow. but honestly I haven't been able to finish it. I kinda started swimming it....Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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T.Mokhtar
The Best book on form perception
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2008
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is a treasure for all artists, and architects.It is a good book with many illustrations and analysis. If You need to know how to deal with forms, shapes, and their parameters as a professional, this is the right book to buy. Sometimes I think that it is too late to read again about form,but Arnhiem's book is not only about form perception it is about life experience in how to read things in scientific and detailed approach.

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15 people found this helpful

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M C M
Very important reading for any serious artist
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2007
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye
by Rudolf Arnheim is a work of great importance to any serious artist. In a nutshell, Arnheim tells us in language only we (artists) could fully appreciate and comprehend how our brains and our eyes do so naturally what they do. This is a left brained guy who is fascinated by we right brained people. This work and his other masterpiece "Visual Thinking" make me delighted to be a visual thinker.

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6 people found this helpful

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clsm
it's a must to read
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2011
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Wonderful book, great presentation of the subject, superb idea of explaining the image from psychology point of view.

It really helped me understand better the way I see the world and how I could improve my seeing (photographical speaking) skills.

It's a little bit too long, but if you have the time and availability, it worth every page.

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9 people found this helpful

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JOAN TANGEN
ART AND VISUAL PERCEPTION has been a basic book for my studio since 1978.
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book is a must for an artist. My first copy fell into the paws of my puppy springer spaniel who was teething! So I needed a new copy. I also purchased one for for a fellow artist. I love this book. I have used it to problem solve and at times to understand a course I have already taken.

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3 people found this helpful

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Zeina-o
Absolute masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Probably the single most important reading for those who'd like to understand why we see and feel they way we do.

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3 people found this helpful

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Willie jimenez
worth checking out for sure
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2017
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
this is a great book. and I recommend it it really. especially if your really serious about understanding visual language and how our brains reads and understands things like line and shape. But it comes with a warning. this book is long and hard to get trough.

I think that as a designer, be it graphic designer or concept artist. I personally am studying visual development. this an important read. what you learn in class starting out when it comes to universal design principals is dumb down and basic. and you learn the rest from trial and error and experience. and most art books are usually entertaining. this is a thick book with little parting, few pictures and reads like your in college level science class.

if you really really want to beyond the basics and into the science of visual design. read this book. it very informative. and I did help me grow. but honestly I haven't been able to finish it. I kinda started swimming it. I mean to explain one theory it will go on and on for ages. and it sorta became like ok I get it. so I recommend this book but be warned. it's not for everyone.

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27 people found this helpful

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hip ho
A book for reader with passion in art
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2013
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
When I was young, local economy was not good,in case we wanted to drink sugar cane juice my mother would bought trunks of sugar cane in about 1 foot long.Then we had to peeled the sugar cane, and have to use our teeth to tear down bit by bit of the sugar cane, then put it in my mouth and chew the sugar cane to got the juice.Very troublesome indeed but the sweet juice came after all these trouble,and, yes the juice is very sweet indeed.

This book is like how we chewing sugar cane juice, reading this book is troublesome, lots of jargon and it takes time to grasp the meaning of the sentence, but when you grasp the meaning, it just like chewing sugar cane where the sweetness of artistary knowledge came to you after all the time spent to inspire you.

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10 people found this helpful

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none
See Visual Thinking.
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
See "Visual Thinking".

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Eberhard Lutz
Sehr gute Einführung in die Psychologie der Kunst
Reviewed in Germany on January 11, 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

“Art and Visual Perception. A Psychology of the creative Eye” von Rudolf Arnheim ist 1974 in überarbeiteter Fassung bei der University of California Press (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London) erschienen. Die Erstausgabe erschien 1954 beim selben Verlag. Ich bespreche hier die Ausgabe “50th anniversary printing” – vermutlich 2004 erschienen.

In zehn Kapiteln entwickelt Arnheim seine Psychologie der Bildenden Kunst (Visual Arts) in der er die verschiedenen Ebenen der Wirkungen von Kunstwerken auf den Betrachter untersucht.
Im ersten Kapitel – „Balance“ – zeigt Arnheim, dass sich Kunstwerke um eine Art inneres Gleichgewicht bemühen. Bildwerke und Bauten setzen sich in der Regel aus verschiedenen Teilen zu einem gestalteten Ganzen zusammen. Die Relation der Teile zueinander und zu ihrer Ganzheit verdient also Beachtung. Allein aus der Verteilung verschiedener Elemente innerhalb eines gegebenen Rahmens ergeben sich verschiedene Gewichtungen, Kräfte und in der Folge verschiedene Spannungen, aus denen sich diese Elemente zu einem aufgeladenen Ganzen aufbauen. Die beschreibt Arnheim an zahlreichen Beispielen als „dynamisches Gleichgewicht“ und führt damit einen seiner Grundbegriffe ein. Arnheim begreift Kunst als Geschehen.
Da Arnheim seinen Ansatz ausgehend von der Gestaltpsychologie entwickelt ist es nur folgerichtig, wenn er im zweiten Kapitel – „Shape“ – auf das Wesen der Gestalt zu sprechen kommt. Gestalten sind unmittelbar gegeben, lassen sich aber nicht auf mathematische oder Geometrische Nenner herunterbrechen. Gestalten sind die Grundlage für unsere visuelle Wahrnehmung. Wir nehmen unsere Umwelt immer in Gestalten wahr. Sie sind die Grundlage für unsere Wiedererkennung, von Menschen, Tieren und Dingen, die wir auch dann als solche erkennen, wenn wir sie nur in Teilen sehen können. Grundregel der Gestaltwahrnehmung ist die Regel der Einfachheit: „Any stimulus pattern tends to be seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as the given conditions permit.” (Seite 53). Daraus folgen weitere Regeln. Bei Teilungen ist die einfachere Gestalt die stärkere. Das Ganze ist bestimmt durch das Verhältnis seiner Teile. Teile sind keine willkürlichen Ausschnitte, sondern eigenständige Formen. Gestalten werden über Ähnlichkeiten wie von selbst als Gruppen oder Muster wahrgenommen. Jede Gestaltung ist daher durch Ähnlichkeit und Differenz bestimmt.
Vom Begriff der Gestalt ist der Begriff der Form zu unterscheiden – Kapitel drei. Diese Unterscheidung ist schwierig und ich bin nicht sicher, ob sie Arnheim hier überzeugend gelingt. Am ehesten leuchtet ein Beispiel ein, das er auf Seite 102 dafür gibt: In Figur 79 sind zwei gleiche Dreiecke abgebildet, eines zeigt mit der Spitze nach oben, das andere nach unten. Der Form nach sind die beiden Dreiecke gleich, die Gestalt ist eine andere. Das leigt an der unterschiedlichen Dynamik der beiden Figuren. Die eine steht fest und sicher auf ihrer Basis, die andere prekär und wackelig auf ihrer Spitze. Die eine Gestalt strahlt aufstrebende Ruhe aus, die andere bohrt sich unruhig und instabil nach unten. Gestalten bestehen aus Formen. Das „Wie“ der Gegebenheit und der Zusammensetzung verschiedener Formen entscheidet über die Gestalt. Formen sind abstrakt, Gestalten dagegen konkret.
Das vierte Kapitel behandelt die Entwicklung von Gestalten aus entwicklungspsychologischer Sicht in einer Analogie zwischen der psychischen Entwicklung des Kindes in Übertragung auf die Entwicklung der Bildenden Kunst seit der Ur- und Frühgeschichte.
Im fünften Kapitel behandelt Arnheim das Thema Raum, wobei er hauptsächlich den „Bildraum“ in der Malerei im Blick hat. Nichts steht für sich allein. Alles, was wir wahrnehmen setzt schon gewisse Grundbedingungen voraus. Das gilt auch für den ersten Strich auf einem leeren Stück Papier. „In the same way, a single line drawn on a piece of paper cannot be seen simply as itself. First of all, it is always related to the two-dimensional extent around it. Depending on the range and also the shape of this empty environment, the appearance of the line changes. Furthermore, there also seems to be no way of seeing the line strictly in the flat plane. Instead, it is seen as lying in front of (or within) an uninterrupted ground.” (Seite 219) Die Linie verändert den Raum, der sie gleichursprünglich erst freigibt. Arnheim untersucht an zahllosen Beispielen das Wechselspiel zwischen Form/Gestalt und Raum. Zu diesen Untersuchungen gehört auch eine kurze Abhandlung über die Fluchtpunktperspektive.
Kapitel 6 behandelt schließlich das Licht. In der Ordnung der Bedingungen des Visuellen hätte das Licht mindestens an die Zweite Stelle nach dem Raum gehört. Denn wie schon Aristoteles in „De Anima“ feststellt, ist das Licht als Aktivierung des Raums Vorbedingung des Sehens. Arnheim behandelt ausführlich verschiedene Lichtphänomene, wie etwa relative Helligkeit, Belichtung, Licht und Schatten in der Erzeugung von Räumlichkeit.
Auf das Kapitel über das Licht folgt konsequent das Kapitel 7 über die die Farbe, schließlich werden Farben aus Licht geboren, indem sie dieses selektiv zurückgeben. Farbigkeit erscheint zunächst als eine sehr „subjektive“ Sache. Wir haben Schwierigkeiten Farben einheitlich zu benennen und es fällt uns schwer uns an bestimmte Farben genau zu erinnern. Tatsache ist, dass uns Farben eher auf der emotionalen Ebene angehen. „Broadly speaking, in color vision action issues from the object and affects the person; but for the perception of shape the organizing mind goes out to the object.” (Seite 336) Farben sind Kräfte, die uns emotional bestimmen. Die Probleme der Farbkombination sind die allgemeinen Probleme einer Harmonielehre, deren Kraftfelder sich bestenfalls von ihren Polen her bestimmen lassen und sich immer wieder als fragiles Gelichgewicht einstellen.
Kapitel acht widmet sich der Bewegung. Werke der Bildenden Kunst folgen oft nicht allein einer Ordnung im Raum sondern auch einer Ordnung in der Zeit. Arnheims Fokus liegt hier auf dem Phänomen der Sequenz. Nicht nur in der Musik gibt es eine sinnvolle Folge der Ereignisse, auch in der Malerei, der Plastik und besonders in der Architektur spielen solche Folgen eine wesentliche Rolle. Gerade für die Architektur, selbst unbewegter Rahmen, sind die Bewegungen des handelnden Nutzers von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Architekturerfahrung. Auch in der Malerei kann man von „Bewegung“ sprechen. Es gibt Linien, die eher einen hektischen Eindruck auf uns machen und solche, die eher langsam daherkommen. Man spürt gewissermaßen den Duktus der Linienführung.
In Kapitel neun führt Arnheim Bewegung und innere Spannung von Kunstwerken zu seinem zentralen Begriff der „Dynamik“ zusammen, der das Potential eines „Aufführungsgeschehens“ in der Kunsterfahrung beschreibt. Dieses ist durch die Momente der Spannung und der Entspannung geprägt, ein Wechselspiel der Kräfte. Jeder Farbe, jeder Form, jeder Proportion und in der Folge jeder Gestalt wohnt ein gewisses Wirkungspotential inne, dass sich auf den Betrachter überträgt.
Diese Wirkung wiederum macht den „Ausdruck“ des Kunstwerkes aus – Kapitel zehn: „Thus we define expression as modes of organic or inorganic behavior displayed in the dynamic appearance of perceptual objects or events.“ (Seite 445) Arnheim begreift damit das „pathische“ Moment der Kunst.

Wie bei allen Schriften Arnheims, die ich bisher gelesen habe, ist auch hier die Schwelle für den Einstieg in die Thematik sehr niedrig angesetzt, ohne dass dadurch das Niveau der Darstellung im Mindesten beeinträchtigt würde. Das zeichnet den Lehrer und Gelehrten Rudolf Arnheim aus.

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Andreina Insausti
Bueno
Reviewed in Spain on August 22, 2018
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Es muy bueno, pero hay que tomarse el tiempo para leerlo y reflexionar.

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CarefulandGreen
A worthy, if heavy, textbook
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2015
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This deserves a 5-star as it is, apparently, a standard textbook on many art degree and master's courses. Be warned, it is heavy (both physically and mentally) - a few pages at a time is all my brain will take - but there is a huge amount of food for thought in ONE book... rather than maybe buying a dozen which would each present only a small part of the subjects considered here. Expensive, but I think, over the years it will be well worth it.

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Kunst
Inhoudelijk heel interessant. Kwaliteit ebook minder
Reviewed in the Netherlands on February 23, 2026
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Superboek. Heel interessant. Nog niet uit. Jammere is dat er een stukje tekst mist in een hoifdstuk. Ook loopt tekst en onderschrift van beeldmateriaal door elkaar. Dat laatste vermoed ik dat te verhelpen is met een eigen instelling op de tablet. Maar weet niet hoe.

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Biju Thomas
The classic of designing
Reviewed in India on July 20, 2018
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
The most fundamental and classical book in designing. The book is much useful for the beginners and those who want to master in designing.
Thank you books wagon for your valuable service.

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Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr gute Einführung in die Psychologie der Kunst

5.0 out of 5 stars Bueno

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy, if heavy, textbook

3.0 out of 5 stars Inhoudelijk heel interessant. Kwaliteit ebook minder

5.0 out of 5 stars The classic of designing

Sehr gute Einführung in die Psychologie der Kunst

Bueno

A worthy, if heavy, textbook

Inhoudelijk heel interessant. Kwaliteit ebook minder

The classic of designing