Gombrich 's Refutation And Response To Plato' S Artistic Conception

From the ancient Greece, the concept of "Art imitating nature" is not only deeply ingrained, but also an important part of Plato’s theory of "idea". This concept has been constantly affirmed, negated and limited in all kinds of ways in the long history of Western art. In Modern times, Gombrich has made a thorough investment and pointed out his own opinion specifically.This paper is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on the investigation of the origin and types of "Mimesis". From the Greek philosophers’ point of view,"imitation" and "art" are closely related. Plato did not deny the creation and positive significance of imitating skills, but he always believed that "imitation" art and "idea" divorced twice. Plato’s famous "bed theory" illustrates the relationship between "art" and reality. In the field of art, he distinguished between two types of "imitation","copy art" and "illusion of art""Imitation theory" hasgreat influence for thewestern art ideas. From Aristotle to the Renaissance, all the artists followedwith Plato’s belief. After the Renaissance, however, the "illusion" continues as the classical theory of the art of painting.The second part discusses the response from Gombrich to the "imitation" theory of Plato. Gombrich responded to Plato’s "imitation art" in two aspects. First of all, Gombrich believed that there is a vague middle ground between the "imitation" and "reality", replacement, which is the very reason why a functional "replacement" could make Art possible, and replacement also became a driving force of the style evolution. Secondly, the sheer imitation itself is impossible, all the reading is based on some kind of psychological mechanisms, having certain interpretation.The third part concentrates on describing the different understanding between Plato and Gombrich on the issue of reading. From Gombrich’s point of view, the so-called art "illusion" is not the response to the inferior part of the human soul, but a psychological orientation that we can control and exploit.The fourth section discusses the "value" of art. The question of whether art has its own value first or first has special functions, and then developed an independent value is the biggest difference between Plato and Gombrich’s theory. Gombrich thought the word of "art" drifted and changed constantly, therefore, we are always trying to avoid discussing the art of "essentialist". As a matter of fact, he did not even acknowledge that there is a so-called capital art.