Richard W Tagart

Utopia's Glass Richard W Tagart

Standing in front of Rembrandt's wonderful 'Night Watch', I learned that it was the 'inalienable property' of the city and people of Amsterdam and could never be sold. This set me wondering: if it can't be sold, it has no commercial value, but it's thought to be one of the greatest paintings in the Western tradition! So, what is its value? This collection of essays addresses the question of Aesthetic value head-on in the introduction and, then examines selected examples from the literary canon in an attempt to determine what exactly their 'value' is. The book concludes with a brief meditation on Victorian Art-Historian Walter Pater's argument that "All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music."