Questions for a Second Reading

40645Question for a Second Reading

1. Berger says, “The past is never there waiting to be discovered, to be recognized for exactly what it is. History always constitutes the relation between a present and its past” (p. 136-in the 7th edition; it is located beneath the list of assumptions: beauty, truth, genius, etc). And he says, “If we ‘saw’ the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history which belongs to us” (p. 137-in the 7th edition; this section is located in the paragraph above the portraits of the Regents and Regentesses). As you reread this essay, pay particular attention to Berger’s uses of the word “history.” What does it stand for? What does it have to do with looking at pictures? How might you define the term if your definition were based on its uses in this essay?
You might take Berger’s discussion of the Hals painting as a case in point. What is the relation Berger establishes between the past and the present? If he has not “discovered” the past or recognized it for exactly what it is, what has Berger done in writing about these paintings? What might it mean to say that he has “situated” us in history or has returned a history that belongs to use? And in what way might this be said to be a political act?