Zeitgeistphilosophy

writer on aesthetics and the most important art historian of his period writing in German.

Wölfflin was educated at the universities of Basel, Berlin, and Munich. His doctoral thesis, Prolegomena zu einer Psychologie der Architektur (1886), already showed the approach that he was later to develop and perfect: an analysis of form based on a psychological interpretation of the creative process. He pursued this method in books on the Renaissance and Baroque periods and on Albrecht Dürer: Renaissance und Barock (1888); Die klassische Kunst (1899; The Art of the Italian Renaissance; also titled Classic Art); and Die Kunst Albrecht Dürers (1905). His chief work was Kunstgeschichtliche Grundbegriffe (1915; Principles of Art History), which synthesized his ideas into a complete aesthetic system that was to become of great importance in art criticism.

In contrast to the anecdotal approaches that had proved popular in the 19th century, Wölfflin emphasized the formal stylistic analysis of drawing, composition, light, colour, subject matter, and other pictorial elements as they were handled similarly by the painters of a particular period or national school. With this system of comparative stylistic analysis he hoped to establish a set of objective criteria for understanding and evaluating individual works of art. Thanks to Wölfflin, the term Baroque entered the language of cultural history to describe not only a distinctive style (or styles) of architecture but also an entire period and the artistic impulse that prevailed in it. Wölfflin’s distinction between Renaissance and Baroque is often seen as the most successful application of Hegel’s conception of art as an expression of the Zeitgeist, or spirit of the time. Though his approach is no longer widely endorsed, it had great influence on...

American band, one of the most popular and influential alternative rock groups of the 1990s. Founded by guitarist and songwriter Billy Corgan (b. March 17, 1967, Elk Grove, Ill., U.S.) in Chicago in 1988, the Smashing Pumpkins created a postpunk blend of progressive rock, grunge, and psychedelia that incorporated the brooding atmospherics of goth rock and the adventurous melodiousness of “dream pop” bands such the Cocteau Twins.

In addition to Corgan, the band’s founding members were guitarist James Iha (original name James Yoshinobu Iha; b. March 26, 1968, Chicago), bassist D’Arcy (original name D’Arcy Elizabeth Wretzky; b. May 1, 1968, South Haven, Mich.), and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (b. June 10, 1964 , Joliet, Ill.). Although the group found success with its debut single, “I Am One” (1990), it was the band’s debut album, Gish (1991), with its arena-ready anthems, multitracked guitars, and high melodrama, that helped transform the rock landscape of the 1990s.

The Smashing Pumpkins got even bigger with the release of their second album, the multiplatinum Siamese Dream (1993), which featured the hits "Cherub Rock," "Today," and "Disarm." The follow-up, a double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard charts on the way to selling over four million copies in the United States and earning seven Grammy nominations.

The Smashing Pumpkins were at the peak of their popularity when Jonathan Melvoin, the band’s touring keyboardist, died of a heroin overdose. Thereafter, matters worsened as the band experienced a series of lineup changes. Adore (1998) not only met with mixed reviews but sold poorly, and MACHINA/The Machine of God (2000) sounded as if Corgan were going it alone, which he was by December 2000, when the group broke up—though it released a parting shot, Machina...