ABSTRACT
I After the completion of The Philosophy of Money in 1900, Simmel wished to write a comprehensive philosophy of art or aesthetics-something which never came to fruition. None the less, Simmel’s contribution to the understanding and interpretation of the aesthetic dimension of life and of the social world permeates many of his writings (and not merely his explicit essays on aesthetics or monographs and essays on artists such as Rembrandt, Rodin, Michelangelo, Böcklin and others). In his teaching too, Simmel lectured on aesthetics and culture almost every year from 1902 to 1915 (1903 is the only exception). A full analysis of his treatment of the aesthetic dimension would also have to deal with his often critical relationship to major modern aesthetic movements, such as naturalism, impressionism, symbolism, art nouveau and expressionism.1
