Artibus et Historiae no. 16 (VIII)
1987, ISSN 0391-9064Up
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JUDITH ZILCZER - «Color Music»: Synaesthesia and Nineteenth-Century Sources for Abstract Art
Coined in the late nineteenth century, the term "Color Music" described a visionary art from created with color lights and independent of easel painting. This idea of color music was symptomatic of a fundamental shift in aesthetic theory, whereby music served as an ideal model for the visual arts. The twin doctrines of musical analogy and synaesthesia provided the foundation for theories of color music. Advocates of synaesthesia were divided into two distinct schools - the quasi-mystical and the pseudo-scientific. This paper analyzes the evolution of these two traditions and their influence among American artists and critics of the early modern period.
