In this lucidly written and well-researched volume, Brad Prager investigates the thematization of visual perception in canonical works of the Romantic period (texts by Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, Ludwig Tieck, Clemens Brentano, Heinrich von Kleist, and Joseph von Eichendorff) and in relation to various Romantic painters (Caspar David Friedrich, Joseph Anton Koch, and Phillip Otto Runge).... , Prager's book is a ... Read morethought-provoking re-reading of Romantic narratives which demonstrates the continuing necessity of philosophically informed close readings in the study of culture.
H-GERMAN
Although the argumentation is not new, Prager does interpret an unusual and interesting set of texts. The analyses of specific paintings are especially welcome. The volume's numerous black-and-white illustrations facilitate comprehension.
CHOICE
Kant's attack on the sure foundation of the objective world, argues Prager, opened up an abyss; this situation of crisis compelled the Romantics to construct new fundamental principles that described how we perceive; they deal with the subject-object division.... Detailed readings of Wackenroder, Tieck, Brentano, Kleist and Eichendorff ... emphasise the encounters with visual art in their texts.... The author stresses the ongoing importance of romantic preoccupations.
FORUM FOR MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES
That Prager interprets Romantic literature and painting through the lens of philosophical approaches ... makes it a model of new cultural studies.... He offers dazzling readings of various permutations of image and imagination. By organizing ... chapters around conceptual pairs that signify the 'new inner divisions' and engender opposition as well as complementarity, Prager ends up writing a Romantic text.... In short, [Prager] presents a series of readings that any further study of the subject must consider.
GERMANIC REVIEW
Prager's monograph ... can be seen as an original contribution to the discussion on current research on Romanticism. It is, however, also well suited to constitute an introduction into the themes and issues concerning Romantic aesthetics.
MONATSHEFTE
Prager has chosen outstanding examples and offers important insights into the interdisciplinary study of Romanticism, the crossings between philosophy, literature, and the arts, and the theoretical debates surrounding symbol and allegory....[A] fresh contribution to the study of Romanticism.
GERMAN QUARTERLY
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