DOI issue:
Nr. 1
DOI article:Bałus, Wojciech: Jan Białostocki and George Kubler: in an attempt to catch up with the system
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31178#0129
/A Tť-wA AA A wofř rřA22272, Art 22rA'/722r)7 2272A Æ?ori?p)ř7)Ar/.
TA 27222AA22/ /A^ KoT/Ap7"27y2A 22Í HA 22 A22A'72g AT'Mh.
tKA7%2j* Aí? 2*0772 A7227/A72 op wAo/vt 22A2/22A0J* <%722/pT'g/oT'^TTOi't
A022A 22A0227 22t /o 07*^22/0 22707AJ* op 272*/ A22/ 227*0 272oro 272/A022/0
272 Ao27* 272pA/0
IV.
An inclination to think systemicaiiy so as to en-
compass the analyzed reality in its entire complexity
could also be perceived in Jan BialostockTs views
on the methodology of the discipline which he had
practiced. In his work entitled TfA/oA22 t^/22Á2 %'/?*&/
722222A ^227!72i%722'tAA^^ (Histofy of Art among Other
Humanistic Disciplines), he tried to "reconcile"
various contradictory views and opimons, and derive
some important and useful lesson from each one;
whereas views which he regarded as harmful or
dangerous to further development of research on art
were simply neutralized by him. He opposed tenden-
cies to depreciate tconology on the grounds that a
critique and rejection of iconology were équivalent
to undermining the uniform theoretical foundations
of the entire discipliner^ Agreeing that 'Hory 2720A0A
o/ 272/07pro/22/2072 Aí 2/j* AA/t", and that "2A 772^// A 720/
0/07*722?/", Bialostocki argued that the "woAoA AopA
2272h /77AA272072/0A 272/0 pwr/Ao, 272 7*027 A'A 7207707* Ao. Bor
O220/7 o/ Ao777 OO72t///22/0t 22 /oo/ HA/ 0p^ 2p7 j*02720 22JpH Op
At/OTy. i/A 072/t 2227 Op /horo T^oAoA /27//o72 /OgoAo7"HAZ 07*0-
2?/o 22 7*000227*0/07*/ 222007222/"'^ Talking about a crisis of his
profession, he referred to a lack of a general theory
which "A 220000.f227yyp7"22 002072/p20 h2toý)h720 /O 2y)07"22/0 272 2272
opA/Ao 2r^)" as well as a lack of "2272)7 7207*222,272 220007*2/222200
HA HA/ 2/00222h 0/2^)^ 2A 07722A22/272g 0^27220720" r^ ThuS the
crisis was for him a conséquence of a weakentng of
the systém and a lack of universal principles. That is
why, his wish to "reconcile" and piece together vari-
ous methodological approaches was not so much the
result of his own academie practice, but of a striving
to preserve and strengthen the entire structure of art
Ibidem, p. 239.
** ' BRYL, M.: Czy samobójstwo teorii historii sztuki? O "Bildwis-
senschaft", balkanizaeji, polskim kontekšcie i suwerennošci
sztuki [Suicide of the Theory of Art History? On "Bildwis-
senschaft", Balkanization, Polish Context and Independence
of Art], In: RoiyH HL/oA'iy/H', 26, 2001, p. 8.
history. Yet this attempt had only led to the postuláte
of methodological eclecticism. The füllest and most
exhaustive exposition of this method is presented in
the above-quoted book. "HA/oty o/* 227*/," Bialostocki
wrote in the last sub-chapter of his book, "A 22 00222-
pAv AoopAAo. A 00720A/0 o/ 2222222)7 7*000222*0/ 7720A0A0 o/ 22
2ppÔ7*072/ 0/7227*220/07) hý[/or072/ 077g272 2272h A 002720/227200 o/ooo/t
/o2772p 2p) HA oAoT" AooýlPAoO Op p77oHo2^0. T/oOO p//77"02/0
/2/72AA0 2pporo72/ 2?goo 2272h 272 /Z?A Ao /A/ort o/ 22A
7*0772272^0 0720 Op Ao 0p700/ Op ÁO 7*000227*0/?, A<?/ A 227"/ 2/OoJf'^
The metaphor of '^2/2*02/0 /2272A/00" cornes from T/70
/Hpo o/ 772720 and was cited in the second chapter of
T7A/o7y o/Hr/22272072g O//707*77222722272A/ADAopi/Aoo: "...
2T0 02272 22222^2720 Ao p022^ Op /Ho 220 220022272272g Ao 0/22/OO Op
72/77*0220 A72AA0, 22#/ O220/7g//07*OO7"7"0JpO72A/72g /O 22 720oh. .. 2272h
A72gAo o/ /7o ///OTO 7M7y272g 220 /O Ao ^227*22/2072 Op O220/7 720oh
2772h Ao ooA/2'072 /o 2/0p7*o//o772oY" Yet the sense of the
metaphor had been altered by Bialostocki. For while
the American wrote about the pluralism of traditions
occurring, at the same moment the Polish scholar
tried to say something about the research methods.
For Kubler, a bündle was yet another term relating
to the o/opio of time; by resorting to it, one could
deseribe past events, whereas Bialostocki saw in it a
joining together of heterogeneous attitudes. Yet the
present does not háve to be a bündle; the Contem-
porary times do not háve to assume any particular
shape; they only dehne the simultaneous character of
earthly existence. Neighborhood does not guarantee
a community, and therefore various méthodologies
may equally well complément each other, like an
analysis of historical sources, identification of style
and iconographie interprétation, or exelude and clash
with each other. When treated in a general way, the
metaphor of a bündle becomes therefore a kind of
an alibi for eclecticism, a rhetorical rescue for the sys-
tém which in reality is not based on solid foundations.
The edihee which was so carefully being erected in
TřA/ory op HA 22272<972g O/AT* FT/2222272A/A DAoýAAoo was
in reality a colossus on clay feet.
'o HSWNH, pp. 30-31.
" Ibidem, pp. 28-29.
33 Ibidem, p. 130.
33 KUBLER 1962 (see in note 1), p. 122.
123
TA 27222AA22/ /A^ KoT/Ap7"27y2A 22Í HA 22 A22A'72g AT'Mh.
tKA7%2j* Aí? 2*0772 A7227/A72 op wAo/vt 22A2/22A0J* <%722/pT'g/oT'^TTOi't
A022A 22A0227 22t /o 07*^22/0 22707AJ* op 272*/ A22/ 227*0 272oro 272/A022/0
272 Ao27* 272pA/0
IV.
An inclination to think systemicaiiy so as to en-
compass the analyzed reality in its entire complexity
could also be perceived in Jan BialostockTs views
on the methodology of the discipline which he had
practiced. In his work entitled TfA/oA22 t^/22Á2 %'/?*&/
722222A ^227!72i%722'tAA^^ (Histofy of Art among Other
Humanistic Disciplines), he tried to "reconcile"
various contradictory views and opimons, and derive
some important and useful lesson from each one;
whereas views which he regarded as harmful or
dangerous to further development of research on art
were simply neutralized by him. He opposed tenden-
cies to depreciate tconology on the grounds that a
critique and rejection of iconology were équivalent
to undermining the uniform theoretical foundations
of the entire discipliner^ Agreeing that 'Hory 2720A0A
o/ 272/07pro/22/2072 Aí 2/j* AA/t", and that "2A 772^// A 720/
0/07*722?/", Bialostocki argued that the "woAoA AopA
2272h /77AA272072/0A 272/0 pwr/Ao, 272 7*027 A'A 7207707* Ao. Bor
O220/7 o/ Ao777 OO72t///22/0t 22 /oo/ HA/ 0p^ 2p7 j*02720 22JpH Op
At/OTy. i/A 072/t 2227 Op /horo T^oAoA /27//o72 /OgoAo7"HAZ 07*0-
2?/o 22 7*000227*0/07*/ 222007222/"'^ Talking about a crisis of his
profession, he referred to a lack of a general theory
which "A 220000.f227yyp7"22 002072/p20 h2toý)h720 /O 2y)07"22/0 272 2272
opA/Ao 2r^)" as well as a lack of "2272)7 7207*222,272 220007*2/222200
HA HA/ 2/00222h 0/2^)^ 2A 07722A22/272g 0^27220720" r^ ThuS the
crisis was for him a conséquence of a weakentng of
the systém and a lack of universal principles. That is
why, his wish to "reconcile" and piece together vari-
ous methodological approaches was not so much the
result of his own academie practice, but of a striving
to preserve and strengthen the entire structure of art
Ibidem, p. 239.
** ' BRYL, M.: Czy samobójstwo teorii historii sztuki? O "Bildwis-
senschaft", balkanizaeji, polskim kontekšcie i suwerennošci
sztuki [Suicide of the Theory of Art History? On "Bildwis-
senschaft", Balkanization, Polish Context and Independence
of Art], In: RoiyH HL/oA'iy/H', 26, 2001, p. 8.
history. Yet this attempt had only led to the postuláte
of methodological eclecticism. The füllest and most
exhaustive exposition of this method is presented in
the above-quoted book. "HA/oty o/* 227*/," Bialostocki
wrote in the last sub-chapter of his book, "A 22 00222-
pAv AoopAAo. A 00720A/0 o/ 2222222)7 7*000222*0/ 7720A0A0 o/ 22
2ppÔ7*072/ 0/7227*220/07) hý[/or072/ 077g272 2272h A 002720/227200 o/ooo/t
/o2772p 2p) HA oAoT" AooýlPAoO Op p77oHo2^0. T/oOO p//77"02/0
/2/72AA0 2pporo72/ 2?goo 2272h 272 /Z?A Ao /A/ort o/ 22A
7*0772272^0 0720 Op Ao 0p700/ Op ÁO 7*000227*0/?, A<?/ A 227"/ 2/OoJf'^
The metaphor of '^2/2*02/0 /2272A/00" cornes from T/70
/Hpo o/ 772720 and was cited in the second chapter of
T7A/o7y o/Hr/22272072g O//707*77222722272A/ADAopi/Aoo: "...
2T0 02272 22222^2720 Ao p022^ Op /Ho 220 220022272272g Ao 0/22/OO Op
72/77*0220 A72AA0, 22#/ O220/7g//07*OO7"7"0JpO72A/72g /O 22 720oh. .. 2272h
A72gAo o/ /7o ///OTO 7M7y272g 220 /O Ao ^227*22/2072 Op O220/7 720oh
2772h Ao ooA/2'072 /o 2/0p7*o//o772oY" Yet the sense of the
metaphor had been altered by Bialostocki. For while
the American wrote about the pluralism of traditions
occurring, at the same moment the Polish scholar
tried to say something about the research methods.
For Kubler, a bündle was yet another term relating
to the o/opio of time; by resorting to it, one could
deseribe past events, whereas Bialostocki saw in it a
joining together of heterogeneous attitudes. Yet the
present does not háve to be a bündle; the Contem-
porary times do not háve to assume any particular
shape; they only dehne the simultaneous character of
earthly existence. Neighborhood does not guarantee
a community, and therefore various méthodologies
may equally well complément each other, like an
analysis of historical sources, identification of style
and iconographie interprétation, or exelude and clash
with each other. When treated in a general way, the
metaphor of a bündle becomes therefore a kind of
an alibi for eclecticism, a rhetorical rescue for the sys-
tém which in reality is not based on solid foundations.
The edihee which was so carefully being erected in
TřA/ory op HA 22272<972g O/AT* FT/2222272A/A DAoýAAoo was
in reality a colossus on clay feet.
'o HSWNH, pp. 30-31.
" Ibidem, pp. 28-29.
33 Ibidem, p. 130.
33 KUBLER 1962 (see in note 1), p. 122.
123