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How did Marxist critics such as John Berger and T.J. Clark examine art differently from formalist critics?

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Painting by Gustave Courbet showing the artist at his easel in a crowded studio, surrounded by figures including a nude model, onlookers, and a child with a white dog. — Art criticism *The Painter's Studio*, oil on canvas by Gustave Courbet, 1854–55, in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Formalist and Marxist critics approach art from fundamentally different perspectives, primarily regarding the autonomy of the art object versus its social context.

Formalist Criticism

Formalist critics, such as Clement Greenberg, prioritize the material and aesthetic qualities of a work. They view art as an autonomous, hermetic object, focusing on elements like medium, flatness, and "significant form". For formalists, the value of art lies in its internal aesthetic unity, often dismissing "literary" or anecdotal content as irrelevant surplusage. This approach seeks to analyze art through its own formal development, often treating the art object as independent of the artist’s psychology or the surrounding social reality.1

Marxist Criticism

In contrast, Marxist critics like John Berger and T.J. Clark examine art as a product of social, historical, and economic conditions. Rather than viewing art as autonomous, they analyze how visual media convey ideology, class consciousness, and power dynamics.23

Social Context: Marxist critics argue that art cannot be separated from the culture or the "reified" consciousness of human beings under capitalism.2
Demystification: Figures like Berger aimed to "demystify" art history, revealing how ideology is embedded within visual representations.3
Political Engagement: Marxist aesthetics often seek to politicize art, viewing it as a tool to challenge false consciousness and address the conditions of labor and society.2