Tradition and Desire

'this is an important book which cuts into the fabric of nineteenth-century art historical studies … What Bryson has to say demands and deserves serious attention and sustained consideration.' The Times Higher Education Supplement
'Bryson's own contribution may ultimately have the inestimable value of incitement in a field in which new methods can play a central and revitalising role.' Burlington Magazine
'Particularly impressive is the manner in which, comfortable with the language of the various interpretation theories (Bryson) renders even the technical problems of painting easily accessible to his interdisciplinary audience. Thus integrating contemporary critical theory with the particular demands of art history and criticism, Bryson not only argues persuasively for a new direction in that single discipline; he reaffirms the work of interpretation as the common ground of humanists in all disciplines and so doing, provides a stunning example of critical practice at its very best.' French Review