Kubler George. The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things

Revised edition — Yale University Press, 2008. — 144 p.When it was first released in 1962, The Shape of Time presented a radically new approach to the study of art history. Drawing upon new insights in fields such as anthropology and linguistics, George Kubler replaced the notion of style as the basis for histories of art with the concept of historical sequence and continuous change across time. Kubler’s classic work is now made available in a freshly designed edition.This book will be of interest to all students of art history and to those concerned with the nature and theory of history in general. In a study of formal and symbolic durations the author presents a radically new approach to the problem of historical change. Using new ideas in anthropology and linguistics, he pursues such questions as the nature of time, the nature of change, and the meaning of invention. The result is a view of historical sequence aligned on continuous change more than upon the static notion of style - the usual basis for conventional histories of art.George Kubler (1912–1996) was Sterling Professor of the History of Art at Yale University. He is also author of The Art and Architecture of Ancient America (Yale).