Form and Emotion. Affective structures in French Art of the Nineteenth Century and its Social Impact

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Kerstin Thomas
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2009 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 132076064

Studies in emotion are widespread in many disciplines, but in art history they are still in their beginnings. The research group fills in this gap in investigating the specific emotionality of images. In the meantime, our group achieved an enormous international recognition and it centres high competences for art historical studies in emotions. The success of the advanced work is visible, in our discipline as well as in other disciplines. We operate at the same time on an experimental-methodological level as on a systematic-historical level. With the former, we aim at developing a sustainable model for art historical research on emotions, which is still a desideratum. To attain a definition and an operational analysis of the affective regime of pictures, we concentrated on the notions of expression on the one hand and on reception on the other hand. We claim pictures to represent a particular articulation of emotion of their own, while granting them, notwithstanding the fact, that they are not linguistic signs, to hold semantic characteristics as well as an own form of evidence. We developed this methodological work on the notion of the emotional character of pictures in lecture courses, workshops, lectures and colloquia. The results of this will be published in a book. Our second field of research is devoted to a historical investigation of emotion in art. We consider the historically specific ways in which feeling was discussed in aesthetic discourse in France during the nineteenth century by systematically investigating numerous historical sources. Thereby, we identified notorious terms, with which writers and critics conceptualised the emotional aspects of aesthetic expression and response. This project recognizes the aesthetic discourse as part of an all-encompassing culture of feeling in the nineteenth century. We consider our research as contribution for a better understanding of this culture. The historical material will be published in form of a handbook of emotional terms in aesthetic discourse in nineteenth century France with contributions of international scientists. Further scientific sub-projects conducted by each member of the group, will end in dissertations and a state doctorate (habilitation). I apply with this report for a continuation of the project for one further year to complete it with the publication of four books and to enable myself to be appointed as professor.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups