John Berger's View of Art

The author, John Berger, discusses, in his article “Ways of Seeing,” the many ways of viewing art. He also writes about how art can benefit society; such as helping people understand their past. Berger thinks of art as a much better way of teaching history than facts and figures. This is due to the idea that art is made to be interpreted differently by each individual person to fit their own life. This way the viewer can relate better to how the artist was feeling and thinking when they created the piece. This is why Berger believes that art is a better form of history, because due to this personal interpretation, viewers can relate their own lives to the lives of their ancestors. For example, with the Hals paintings of the Regents and Regentess’, some people thought that a few of the men looked drunk, or a little “rough-edged,” but insisted that that was just how the men dressed and presented themselves at the time. Also from the pictures, one can analyze their expres...