“The Greatest Revolution in Art”: Reinterpreting Roger Fry’s Byzantinism

Öz

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in formalism throughout the humanities. Within the field of art history in particular, the emergence of a new formalism has been accompanied by a renewed interest in its historical manifestations. The British art critic Roger Fry (1866-1934) is one of those early formalists whose work has moved to the center of attention again. After having long been dismissed for his high modernist fixation on form at the exclusion of meaning, recent studies have shown that Fry’s position is more complex and nuanced than has often been assumed. In this article, I will revisit Fry’s formalism with a particular emphasis on his lifelong interest in Byzantine art. Although it has widely been recognized that Byzantine art played a crucial role in Fry’s theories, and was regarded by him as an important precursor of the avant-garde of his day (most notably the Post-Impressionism of Cézanne), I argue that the nature of his Byzantinism has long been misunderstood. Rather than being merely of formal interest to him, I demonstrate that Fry’s interest in Byzantine art is deeply historical, and his Byzantinism is nothing but an attempt to salvage art’s spiritual aura in a disenchanted world. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Formalism
• Roger Fry
• Byzantinism
• Modernism
• Post-Impressionism

“Sanatta Büyük Devrim”: Roger Fry’ın Bizantinizminin Yeniden Yorumlanması

Öz

Son yıllarda, beşeri bilimler alanında biçimciliğe (formalizm) olan ilgi yeniden canlanmıştır. Özellikle sanat tarihi alanında, yeni bir biçimciliğin ortaya çıkışına biçimciliğin tarihsel tezahürlerine karşı ilginin canlanması da eşlik etmiştir. İngiliz sanat eleştirmeni Roger Fry (1866-1934), çalışmaları yeniden ilgi odağı haline gelen ilk biçimcilerden biridir. Anlamın dışlanmasındaki modernist saplantısı nedeniyle uzun süre göz ardı edildikten sonra, son çalışmalar Fry'ın görüşlerinin genellikle varsayıldığından daha karmaşık ve nüanslı olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu makalede, Fry'ın biçimciliğini, Bizans sanatına ömür boyu süren ilgisine özel bir vurgu yapılarak yeniden gözden geçirilecektir. Bizans sanatının Fry'ın teorilerinde çok önemli bir rol oynadığı ve Fry’a göre zamanın avangardının, özellikle de Cézanne'ın Post-Empresyonizminin önemli bir habercisi olarak kabul edildiği geniş çapta onaylansa da, Fry’ın Bizanscılığının doğası uzun zamandır yanlış anlaşılmıştır. Bu çalışma Fry'ın Bizans sanatına olan ilgisinin sadece şekilsel değil tarihsel bir derinliği olduğunu ve Fry’ın Bizanscılığının, büyüsü bozulmuş bir dünyada sanatın maneviyatını kurtarma girişiminden başka bir şey olmadığını göstermeyi hedeflemektedir. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Biçimcilik
• Roger Fry
• Bizans
• Modernizm
• Post-Empresyonizm

Kaynakça

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