Un livre inédit de Gustave Soulier sur Michel-Ange. Technique, matière et sentiment dans les années 1930

This paper delves into materiality in the 1930s, focusing on French art historian Gustave Soulier’s unpublished book, L’Inspiration et la technique de Michel-Ange. Soulier’s work offers a unique perspective on the convergence of materiality, technique, and art within the prevailing idealistic intellectual context. It explores various facets of materiality in Soulier’s analysis of Michelangelo, including its importance for attribution, the examination of the artist’s creative process, the interplay between the artist’s psychology and materiality, and the challenges of photographically reproducing sculpture. The paper highlights Soulier’s departure from the conventional idealistic view of art, as he underscores the significance of technique and material in advancing the field of the Science of Art.