Principles of Art History by Heinrich W lfflin (1864-1945), a revolutionary attempt to construct a science of art through the study of the development of style, has been a foundational work of formalist art history since it was first published in 1915. At once systematic and subjective, and remarkable for its compelling descriptions of works of art, W lfflin's text has endured as an accessible yet rigorous approach to the study of style. Although W lfflin applied his analysis to objects of early modern European art, Principles of Art History has been a fixture in the theoretical and methodological debates of the discipline of art history and has found a global audience. With translations in twenty-four languages and many reprints, W lfflin's work may be the most widely read and translated book of art history ever. This new English translation, appearing one hundred years after the original publication, returns readers to W lfflin's 1915 text and images. It also includes the first English translations of the prefaces and afterword that W lfflin himself added to later editions. Introductory essays provide a historical and critical framework, referencing debates engendered by Principles in the twentieth century for a renewed reading of the text in the twenty-first.
