Between Figure and Ground

The terms "figure" and "ground" became fundamental to art-historical analysis and writing over the course of the twentieth century. But is this dichotomy suited to describe premodern art and artifacts? In Between Figure and Ground: Seeing in Premodernity, essays by Claudia Blümle, Gottfried Boehm, Péter Bokody, Beate Fricke, Bruno Haas, David Young Kim, Aden Kumler, Christopher Lakey, Karin Leonhard, Jürgen Müller, Veronica Peselmann, Christoph Poetsch, Raphael Rosenberg, Tom Steinert, Nicola Su