Taine Hippolyte Books

Hippolyte Adolphe Taine was a seminal French philosopher, critic, and historian who became the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism. A major proponent of sociological positivism, he was among the first to practice historicist criticism, a movement often said to originate with him. Taine is particularly remembered for his distinctive three-pronged approach to the contextual study of art, based on the intertwined aspects of race, milieu, and moment.