Język krytyki artystycznej a pojęcia estetyki Mieczysława Wallisa
The Language of Art Criticism and the Mieczysław Wallis’ Concept of Aesthetics

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the activities of Mieczysław Wallis as an art critic, published both in daily newspapers and in cultural or philosophical magazines. It also takes into account exhibition reviews, discussions of publications devoted to art, various occasional, jubilee texts, and short memories. First, the comprehensive education and interdisciplinary interests of the philosopher are presented. Then, his critical articles are discussed. This part of the paper considers the division into traditional and modern art. An important historical turning point is World War II, when Wallis’ legacy was lost. He tried to recreate many works, which made it impossible to take care of everything he was currently interested in. The article highlights the distinguishing features of Wallis’s criticism, which are: bold terminological and axiological decisions, an extensive catalogue of aesthetic values, rehabilitation of despised phenomena, defence of modern art, sensual description of objects. Attention is also paid to how the fields of semiotics and psychology cultivated in the mature phase of the author’s work influenced his artistic criticism. The last part of the article is devoted to metacritical aspects of Wallis’s aesthetic thought.

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