Henri Focillon

Henri Focillon , 1881-1943, French art historian. Focillon, who was professor of art history at the Collège de France, was an authority on medieval art, the subject of his two-volume treatise Art of the West in the Middle Ages (2d ed. 1969). His book Life Forms in Art (1934) outlines his formal, organic conception of the art historical method, stressing analysis of style and technique over subjective interpretation.

Focillon, Henri (1881–1943). French art historian. He was a celebrated teacher and held various university appointments, notably at the Sorbonne in Paris, where in 1924 he succeeded Émile Mâle as professor of medieval archaeology. He also taught in the USA. Focillon's work ranged from studies of medieval sculpture to 20th-century painting; he also wrote much on prints (his father was an engraver), notably a book on Piranesi (1918). His best-known work is Art d'Occident (The Art of the West, 1938), a study of Romanesque and Gothic art in which he placed great emphasis on the technical aspects of artistic creation, stressing how the artist responds to his raw materials, their potentialities, and limitations. This outlook also finds expression in Focillon's Vie des formes (1934), translated as The Life of Forms in Art (1942).

Focillon, Henri (b Dijon, 7 Sept. 1881; d New Haven, 3 Mar. 1943). French art historian. He was a celebrated teacher and held various university appointments, notably at the Sorbonne in Paris, where in 1924 he succeeded Émile Mâle as professor of medieval archaeology. He also taught in the USA. Focillon's work ranged from studies of medieval sculpture to 20th-century painting; he also wrote much on prints (his father was an engraver), notably a book on Piranesi (1918). His best-known work is Art d'Occident (The Art of the West, 1938), a study of Romanesque and Gothic art in which he placed great emphasis on the technical aspects of artistic creation, stressing how the artist responds to his raw materials, their potentialities, and limitations. This outlook also finds expression in Focillon's Vie des formes (1934), translated as The Life of Forms in Art (1942).