Abstract

This is a study of the relation between the fine arts and philosophy in France, from the aftermath of the 1789 revolution to the end of the nineteenth century, when a philosophy of being called "monism" emerged and became increasingly popular among intellectuals, artists, and scientists. Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer traces the evolution and impact of this monist thought and its various permutations as a transformative force on certain aspects of French art and culture-from Romanticism to Impressionism-and as a theoretical backdrop that paved the way to as yet unexplored aspects of a modernist aesthetic. Chapters concentrate on three major artists, Théodore Géricault (1791-1824), Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) and Claude Monet (1840-1926), and their particular approach to and interpretation of this unitarian concept. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, philosophy, and cultural history.