The idea of development, either in the work of individual artists or in terms of 'schools', 'movements' or styles, is a dominant feature of our conception of European art. There is no theoretical problem more pressing in art history than that of explaining such development. How do we get from Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned to Raphael's Alba Madonna, or even from Brunelleschi to Bramante? And why do such changes occur?

LRB 15 September 1983 | PDF Download