This book explores the nature of Jung’s understanding of modern art, in particular his reception to the work of Picasso and his striking prejudice shown in his controversial essay of 1932.
Offering an important contribution towards understanding Jung’s attitudes towards Picasso and modern art, the book addresses the impact that Jung’s unwillingness to engage in a deeper exploration of modern artforms had on the development of his psychological ideas. It explores and uncovers the reasons for Jung’s derogatory view of Picasso and abstract art more generally, revealing how Jung was unable to remain objective due to his own complex and equally fascinating relationship with art and the psychology of image making. The book argues that modern art parallels Jung’s interests by embracing the spirit of experimentation and using new imagery to challenge creative conceptions, which makes Jung’s attitudes towards modern art all the more surprising.
Jung’s Reception of Picasso and Abstract Art will be of great interest to researchers, academics and those interested in analytical psychology, Jungian studies, art history and modernism, aesthetics and psychoanalysis.
Acknowledgements
PART 1: Jung’s view of Picasso, modern art and the modern era
1—Introduction
2—Jung and the Picasso essay of 1932
3—Jung’s view of the modern era
4—Jung and the ‘schizoid’ expression in modern art
5—Jung’s letter to Herbert Read (1960)
6—Jung’s approach to his ‘confrontation with the unconscious’
Part 1 Conclusion: Chapters 1-6
PART 2: Jung’s Red Book paintings and misinterpretation of modern art
7—Jung’s collection of art and his own paintings
8—Jung and the anima
9—Jung and mandalas
10—Jung’s misinterpretation of modern art
Part 2 Conclusion: Why Jung and Modern Art Matters
Bibliography
Biography
Lucinda Hill is a postdoctoral research fellow at Bangor University (UK) and has a PhD in philosophy. She is also a practising abstract artist.
