ABSTRACT
Alois Riegl (1858–1905) was a universal art historian who considered human life an important and intricate part of history. For this book, he is important because his theory is not only scientific and intellectual, but also practical. He brings the human being with its psychological, sensual, and intuitive abilities into the equation. Because of this distinct scholarly view, he emphasized that the primary goal of art works is the generation of content, first by eliciting meaning through comparing works of art to nature, and secondly by decoding messages through the purposes of art works. Content does not refer to iconographical interpretation or historical attribution, but to subject matter deciphered through the psychophysical capacities of human beings. 1
