Introduction

This edition is an introductory selection from the writings of Adrian Stokes (1902-1972), the Kleinian aesthete who created a unique vision of the relation between psychoanalysis, art, and aesthetic experience in general.

His approach was founded initially on his travels in Italy which then acquired a more formal theoretical foundation during his analysis with Melanie Klein.

Stokes was a close friend of leading figures in both psychoanalytic and artistic-literary circles, including Richard Wollheim who organised a previous edition of extracts, The Image in Form.

The present edition concentrates specifically on the writing that demonstrates the parallels between art and psychoanalysis.