Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Non finito
(1,015 words)

1. Concept

The aesthetic criteria of the unfinished derive from Italian Renaissance art theory. The key conceptual pair is the Italian perfezione/imperfezione, which was only revised into finito/non-finito (“finished”/“unfinished”) in modern usage [4]. The concept of the unfinished always corresponds with that of completion or perfection, aesthetically reflected in the relationship between art and nature. The degree of unfinishedness is measured according to the…

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Kanz, Roland, “Non finito”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 06 June 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_029390>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200128



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