V. Gordon Childe and Arnold Hauser on the social origins of the artist

Vere Gordon Childe’s theory of craft specialisation was an important influence on Arnold Hauser’s book The Social History of Art, published in 1951. Childe’s Marxist interpretation of prehistory enabled Hauser to establish a material foundation for the occupation of the artist in Western art history...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Thesis eleven 2022-02, Vol.168 (1), p.21-36
Main Author: Berryman, Jim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Art history
Artists
Prehistoric era
Religion
Ruling class
Social history
Social origins
Social status
Superstition
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Summary:Vere Gordon Childe’s theory of craft specialisation was an important influence on Arnold Hauser’s book The Social History of Art, published in 1951. Childe’s Marxist interpretation of prehistory enabled Hauser to establish a material foundation for the occupation of the artist in Western art history. However, Hauser’s effort to construct a progressive basis for artistic labour was complicated by art’s ancient connections to religion and superstition. While the artist’s social position and class loyalties were ambiguous in Childe’s accounts of early civilisations, Hauser consigned artists to the lower echelons of society. This relegation did not imply that Hauser had a low regard for artistic skills. Quite the opposite, the artist’s inferior social status enabled Hauser to distance artists from the ruling class, and consequently, to separate artistic handiwork from the dominant ideology that works of art manifested.
ISSN:0725-5136
1461-7455
DOI:10.1177/07255136211053384