A necessary transgression Malraux, art and history

Modern aesthetics has long been split into two branches – the Anglo-American and the continental – which tend to live in different worlds. A major cause of the dissension is their differing views about the place of history in aesthetics, the former minimising historical considerations, the later often embracing them. This article explores the place of history in André Malraux’s theory of art; it argues that his thinking would among other things, quickly resolve this longstanding rift.