These 12 essays by Belgian philosopher and theorist Bart Verschaffel - many translated into English for the first time - explore the meaning and relevance of art today. They cover a rich and inventive range of topics, from mockery and laughter to the artwork as a 'gift', and from caricature to splendour.

12 essays on artistry, art criticism and aesthetics written over a 30-year period This collection of essays by the Belgian philosopher and theorist Bart Verschaffel, address issues concerning the meaning and relevance of art today. Written over the course of his career, they cover a rich and inventive range of topics, from laughter to the artwork as gift, to splendor and modern beauty. This is the first synoptic collection of Verschaffel's work with many of the essays translated into English for the first time. Bart Verschaffel is a philosopher and Professor of Theory of Architecture and Architectural Criticism at Ghent University in Belgium. He has published widely in the fields of Architectural Theory, Aesthetics, Visual Arts and Philosophy of Culture. In addition, he has curated exhibitions, authored essays and written documentary film scripts on artists such as Giambattista Piranesi, Antony Gormley and Thierry De Cordier. His published books include What Is Real? What Is True? Picturing Figures and Faces (A&S/books, 2021) Mock Humanity! Two Essays on James Ensor's Grotesques (A&S/books, 2018). He serves as director of the VANDENHOVE Centre for Architecture and Art at Ghent University, where he oversees the Vandenhove art collection.