Restrictions, Incitements, and Aesthetic Value: The Role of Historical Sciences in Art Production and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Art

This paper addresses the role played by historical sciences—their concepts, rules, and examples—in art production and the aesthetic appreciation of art. Based on Kant’s notion of ‘adherent beauty,’ and focusing on the case of ‘beautiful art,’ I will propose that historical sciences play a twofold role: not only do they work as restrictions when it comes to art production and appreciation, but they also function as enabling conditions and incitements for the disclosure of new rules and the ascription of aesthetic value to works of art.