Light As Experience and Imagination from Medieval to Modern Times
Abstract
In Light as Experience and Imagination from Medieval to Modern Times, David S. Herrstrom synthesizes and interprets the experience of light as revealed in a wide range of art and literature from medieval to modern times. The true subject of the book is making sense of the individual’s relationship with light, rather than the investigation of light’s essential nature, while telling the story of light “seducing” individuals from the Middle Ages to our modern times. Consequently, it is not concerned with the “progress” of scientific inquiries into the physical properties and behavior of light (optical science), but rather with subjective reactions as reflected in art, architecture, and literature. Instead of its evolution, this book celebrates the complexity of our relation to light’s character. No individual experience of light being “truer” than any other.
- 1–48 Houses of Light 1–48
- 49–80 Instrumental Light 49–80
- 123–160 Sublime Light 123–160
- 161–194 Fields of Light 161–194
- 195–236 Eloquences of Light 195–236
- 237–282 The “Thingness” of Light 237–282
- 283–292 Conclusion 283–292
- 293–356 Bibliography 293–356
- 357–362 Index 357–362
- 363–364 About the Author 363–364