"Philosophy of Art" is "a masterpiece about art, history and human culture". "It is not in the form of a general textbook, but points out the main trends in the development of art with profound insights." Danner advocated that the study of knowledge should "start from facts, not from doctrines; it is not to propose lessons but to explore and prove laws." He believes that the nature and appearance of material civilization and spiritual civilization depend on three major factors: race, environment, and era. Starting from this principle, Italian, Dutch and ancient artistic schools were developed. The last section, "Ideals in Art," is about Danner's aesthetics. The whole book is not only analytical and clear, but also full of enthusiasm, images, and rich colors, without the dullness of ordinary theoretical articles.
