Hegel's Real Giants or Gombrich's Imaginary Giants?

Gombrich is one the most influential and important figures in art history and its theoretical foundations. Although Gombrich introduces Hegel as “the father of art history”, he believes that “art history should free itself of Hegel’s authority.” The first part of this article reviews Gombrich’s polemic against Hegel. In order to elucidate his criticisms of Hegel, his two main texts, “In Search of Cultural History” and “The Father of Art History”, are reviewed. In the second part, Gombrich’s “misreading” has been evaluated. Gombrich’s criticisms of Hegel’s art history and aesthetics can be considered as one of the Western experiences in order to provide theoretical foundations for art history.