The Divinity Of Art

2 Pages 601 Words

Art may be defined as having four aspects. One aspect of art may be called imitative art — the tendency and ability to produce as exactly as possible, on the canvas or in the clay, something that one sees. This is the first stage, and one that leads the artist further on the path of art. In order to develop this faculty, the mind must be fully concentrated. When the artist lacks concentration, he cannot observe objects and their beauty keenly, and therefore he is not able to reproduce them exactly as he sees them. Concentration has such great power that a concentrated person can penetrate into an object, and can see not only the outside of it but also the inside. In other words, a concentrated person not only sees the form but its spirit. This is the fullness of observation, and it comes by concentration. Whenever the artist cannot imitate nature, cannot copy an object exactly, it shows that he lacks concentration.
The next aspect of art is suggestive art. This can be divided into two kinds: first, an art which directly suggests a certain idea, so that as soon as we see the picture we can see what it says, what it explains, and what it represents; and the other kind, which is expressed in symbols. This is an art that through a certain symbolism expresses a great wisdom. This wisdom is covered; and the more one looks at the picture and the more one studies it, the more it reveals the idea, the wisdom, the thought that is hidden in it. Such art is a revelation. The art of ancient Egypt, of Greece, and especially of the Mongolians and of India, was chiefly symbolical art. In such periods, when other types of pictures were not produced and books were not printed, this was the only means of keeping wisdom alive and handing it on to the coming generations. This was done by the master artists, who were inspired by spiritual wisdom and who tried to guide humanity. With hammer and chisel, they carved in wood and engraved on the rocks, and lef...