Storia sociale dell’arte o Kulturgeschichte? Millard Meiss e la recensione a Frederick Antal

Despite his negative review of Frederick Antal’s Florentine Painting and Its Social Background, Meiss was often equated with his sociological approach – especially by Italian critics. This misconception was fuelled by Antal himself – who in a later article saw in Meiss’ cultural history a reflection of his method – and was surely influenced by the wider acceptance of Antalian Marxism – at least within the Italian milieu. Finally, we shall discuss whether Kulturgeschichte is the appropriate definition for Meiss’ concern with socio-cultural context, which is common to a certain part of American criticism.