Theory
Kunstwollen (Will to Art)
Explore in the Atlas →Riegl's concept of the autonomous, period-specific impulse that drives stylistic change; introduced in Stilfragen (1893) to refute the Semperian materialist account of ornament. In Spätrömische Kunstindustrie (1901) it rehabilitates late Roman art as the deliberate expression of a new haptic-then-optic spatial sensibility.
Meaning Representation Knowledge
Details
- Introduced
- 1893
Referenced by
- Stilfragen: Grundlegungen zu einer Geschichte der Ornamentik articulates
- Alois Riegl proposed
Sources
- Riegl. Stilfragen: Grundlegungen zu einer Geschichte der Ornamentik. 1992.
- Riegl, A. Spätrömische Kunstindustrie. K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna, 1901.
Cite this entry
First published May 2026Last revised Jul 2026
CLAD. "Kunstwollen (Will to Art)." Atlas of Architectural Thought. CLAD, 2026. https://www.cl-ad.com.au/research/atlas/theory/kunstwollen/. Accessed July 17, 2026.