This work investigates the evolution of aesthetic theory regarding the perception of form and the manifold in art from the late eighteenth century through the early twentieth century. Michael Podro, a scholar of art history and aesthetics, examines how philosophers and art theorists grappled with the relationship between sensory input and the conceptual unity of a work of art. By tracing the lineage of thought from Immanuel Kant to Adolf von Hildebrand, the author constructs a framework that explains how the viewer's cognitive processes actively participate in the construction of artistic meaning.

Experts and art historians frequently cite this text as a foundational study for understanding the intellectual history of formalist art criticism. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in philosophical aesthetics to fully grasp the nuances of the arguments presented.