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22 pages, 492 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Free Beauty and Functional Perspective in Medieval Aesthetics

by Adrián Pradier

Religions 2022, 13(2), 125; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel13020125 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2481

The concept of functional beauty is characterized by including an aesthetic appreciation of objects that evaluates their efficiency in terms of satisfaction of attributions. As opposed to the concept of free beauty, which includes an appreciation of perceptual qualities for their own sake, [...] Read more.

The concept of functional beauty is characterized by including an aesthetic appreciation of objects that evaluates their efficiency in terms of satisfaction of attributions. As opposed to the concept of free beauty, which includes an appreciation of perceptual qualities for their own sake, the knowledge of functions is a necessary condition for the aesthetic experience itself. The aim of this paper is to reintegrate the medieval tension between these two conceptions, which has been surprisingly neglected in contemporary aesthetic reflection. We start from the hypothesis that the modern opposition between functional beauty and free beauty is rooted in the medieval controversies concerning the role assigned to sensitive beauty. If this is true, it would open a path of interlocution for contemporary aesthetic and theological thought that, based on Patristics, runs through the whole of the Middle Ages. We focus on three tensions which constitute three turning points: (1) the categorical distinction between beauty and appropriateness through St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and St. Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636), who raise the question in the tradition of Latin Patristics; (2) the opposition between aesthetic judgment based on function satisfaction or one based on the free and mere appearance of the object, as can be seen in the foundational thought of St. Basil the Great (330–379), whose influence is not only extraordinary in Greek Patristics, but also in the Latin world; finally, the controversy about practical value of aesthetic attitude, through texts by Hugh of St. Victor (1096–1141), St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) and Suger of St. Denis (1081–1151). The conclusions reveal the irreducible aesthetic value of functional beauty in medieval period and the extraordinary difficulties in accommodating a free and autonomous notion of beauty, as well as the practical benefits of its everyday treatment. In fact, the consideration of a free beauty as a good in itself persists in medieval thought, which is important not only for History of Philosophy, but also for the contemporary concern shared by Philosophy of Religion and Aesthetics about the role of sensitive beauty in the life of human being. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

13 pages, 311 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aesthetics as a Philosophical and Theological Space in the St. Francis of St. Bonaventure’s Major Legend

by Manuel Lázaro Pulido and Esteban Anchústegui Igartua

Religions 2022, 13(2), 114; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel13020114 - 24 Jan 2022

Viewed by 2072

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that the figure of St. Francis of Assisi, as expounded by St. Bonaventure in his work Legenda Major (Major Legend), cannot be understood without certain philosophical and theological keys. Following an expository methodology, we point to Saint Francis as a [...] Read more.

This paper demonstrates that the figure of St. Francis of Assisi, as expounded by St. Bonaventure in his work Legenda Major (Major Legend), cannot be understood without certain philosophical and theological keys. Following an expository methodology, we point to Saint Francis as a theological aesthetic model. In this sense, we focus on five characterisations found in the Major Legend, introducing their aesthetic meaning, as well as the philosophical and theological significance of St. Bonaventure. We refer to St. Francis as a contemplator of nature, lover of poverty, an imitator of the crucified Christ, a brother of humankind and a Lord’s knight and minstrel, to conclude that the aesthetic model of St. Francis, as found in St. Bonaventure, can only be understood starting from theological (mystical) and philosophical ascension. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

13 pages, 316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Renaissance Reception of Nahua Paideia in the Writings of Bernardino de Sahagún: An Aesthetic Approach to Religion

by Virginia Aspe Armella

Religions 2021, 12(12), 1070; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12121070 - 03 Dec 2021

Viewed by 2301

Abstract

In this article, I propose that books I–VI of Bernardino Sahagún’s Códice florentino, which discuss the moral and religious philosophies of indigenous Mexicans, should be interpreted through the lens of Renaissance humanist linguistic and philosophical theories. I demonstrate that, utilizing Franciscan–Bonaventurean epistemology, [...] Read more.

In this article, I propose that books I–VI of Bernardino Sahagún’s Códice florentino, which discuss the moral and religious philosophies of indigenous Mexicans, should be interpreted through the lens of Renaissance humanist linguistic and philosophical theories. I demonstrate that, utilizing Franciscan–Bonaventurean epistemology, Sahagún put forward a method of evangelizing that intended to separate “the good from the bad” in indigenous cultures. In an effort to defend my claim, I first lay out some of the problems surrounding the Códice florentino. Second, I describe the general theological and cosmological views held by the Aztecs, so that, third, I may develop the main principles of the philosophy of flor y canto (in xochitl in cuicatl). Against a political interpretation that is often defended by appealing to the traditional rituals performed in the Aztec empire, I contend that their philosophy should be interpreted from the perspective of Nahua religion and aesthetics. I also discuss Sahagún’s reception of Aztec philosophy in the Códice with a focus on his interest in the linguistic and empirical dimensions of Nahua religion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

22 pages, 5450 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Mary’s Motherhood to the Immaculate Conception: An Iconographic Analysis of Marian Art in Spain during the Tenth to Nineteenth Centuries

by Antonio Moreno-Almárcegui and Germán Scalzo

Religions 2021, 12(12), 1061; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12121061 - 30 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2903

Abstract

This article analyzes Marian art in Spain from the tenth to nineteenth centuries in order to show how popular piety represented Mary’s motherhood. Through art, including architecture, painting, sculpture, and oral preaching, a popular image of Mary emerged and, in turn, became key [...] Read more.

This article analyzes Marian art in Spain from the tenth to nineteenth centuries in order to show how popular piety represented Mary’s motherhood. Through art, including architecture, painting, sculpture, and oral preaching, a popular image of Mary emerged and, in turn, became key for understanding the history of the family in western Catholic countries. Studying the evolution of Marian iconography during this thousand-year period reveals a kind of grandeur, and then a certain crisis, surrounding Mary’s motherhood. This crisis specifically involves the meaning of the body as an effective sign of the personal gift-of-self. We argue that this process ran parallel to growing problems in theological culture related to reconciling the natural and supernatural realms, and we further sustain that it contains a true cultural revolution, a shift that is at the origin of many later transformations. This interpretation helps better understand the dilemmas surrounding the history of the family in the West, and specifically of motherhood, from the point of view of the Christian tradition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

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18 pages, 332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aesthetics of Evil in Middle Ages: Beasts as Symbol of the Devil

by Ricardo Piñero Moral

Religions 2021, 12(11), 957; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12110957 - 02 Nov 2021

Viewed by 6341

Abstract

Since the very origin of art, human beings have faced the challenge of the representation of Evil. Within the medieval Christian context, we may find many beings which have attempted to convey the power of the devil. Demonic beings, terrifying beasts, fallen angels [...] Read more.

Since the very origin of art, human beings have faced the challenge of the representation of Evil. Within the medieval Christian context, we may find many beings which have attempted to convey the power of the devil. Demonic beings, terrifying beasts, fallen angels or even Satan himself can be frequently found and appear in many forms. They can be seen in chapitols, stained glass windows, codices … Our aim is to evaluate different creatures, animals and monstruous hybrids, which represent the efficient presence of the devil. We base our evaluation on some bestiaries, natural history books and encyclopedias from the XII and the XIII century, like the Bestiaire from Philippe de Thaon, Pierre de Beauvais, Guillaume le Clerc, or the so-called Cambridge Bestiary as well as the one from Oxford, the Livres dou Tresor from Brunetto Latini, the Liber monstrorum de diversis generibus, L’image du Monde from Gossuin, the Bestiario moralizzato di Gubbio, and of course, the Physiologus. Natural beings acquire a supernatural dimension in bestiaries and in natural history books. We will present the reader with a satanic bestiary, a short selection of these evil-related beings. In this, we will distinguish between those beasts representing evil through their ability to deceive and those which are able to generate not only fear, but also death. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

19 pages, 348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Invention of Perspective and the Transition from the Sacred to the Religious

by Rafael García Sánchez

Religions 2021, 12(10), 818; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12100818 - 28 Sep 2021

Viewed by 1441

Abstract

Many historical events and scientific and artistic discoveries took place at the twilight of the Late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The great majority of them enabled the birth of individualism and the objectification of reality. This was decisively influenced [...] Read more.

Many historical events and scientific and artistic discoveries took place at the twilight of the Late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The great majority of them enabled the birth of individualism and the objectification of reality. This was decisively influenced by the devaluation of the oral and the prioritization of the visual. The priority of sight as a sovereign form of knowledge had in the invention of perspective one of its most unquestionable foundations. All of this caused a change in mentality that, in the field of aesthetics, gave rise to a new conception of the artist and his authorship and, undoubtedly, to the prevalence of the religious and devotional over the sacred. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

14 pages, 280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On Surprising Beauty. Aquinas’s Gift to Aesthetics

by Sixto J. Castro

Religions 2021, 12(9), 779; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12090779 - 16 Sep 2021

Viewed by 2960

Abstract

The article addresses the basic elements of Thomas Aquinas’s thought on beauty by analyzing some selected texts and points out some of the debates that still exist regarding the interpretation of Thomas Aquinas’s position on various issues, such as the question of the [...] Read more.

The article addresses the basic elements of Thomas Aquinas’s thought on beauty by analyzing some selected texts and points out some of the debates that still exist regarding the interpretation of Thomas Aquinas’s position on various issues, such as the question of the transcendentality of the beautiful. The fundamental aim is to recover some of Aquinas’s basic intuitions for contemporary aesthetics, which no longer makes use of many of the intellectual categories that were in common use in medieval philosophy, and to show how some of Thomas Aquinas’s fundamental ideas are closer to the aesthetic thought of some fundamental contemporary authors than the modern categories with which aesthetics was forged. This article is also intended to show how the modern conception of the beautiful has meant an ontological impoverishment with respect to the medieval thought. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

10 pages, 259 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impossible Spaces: A Commentary on Gen. 2:8–15

by Santiago García-Jalón

Religions 2021, 12(8), 656; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12080656 - 18 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1751

Abstract

A close analysis of the text of Gen. 2:8–15, pertaining to the Garden of Eden, shows the structural differences between said text and others from ancient mythologies that mention or describe a paradise. Likewise, that analysis suggests that the data provided by the [...] Read more.

A close analysis of the text of Gen. 2:8–15, pertaining to the Garden of Eden, shows the structural differences between said text and others from ancient mythologies that mention or describe a paradise. Likewise, that analysis suggests that the data provided by the Bible to locate paradise are merely a narrative device meant to dissipate all doubts as to the existence of a garden where God put human beings. Similar to other spaces that appear in the Bible, the Garden of Eden is, in fact, an impossible place. Throughout the centuries, however, recurring proposals have been made to locate paradise. As time went by, those proposals were progressively modified by the intellectual ideas dominant in any given era, thus leading the representations of the location of Paradise to be further and further away from the information provided by the biblical text. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

10 pages, 263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Moral Aspects of Imaginative Art in Thomas Aquinas

by Piotr Roszak and John Anthony Berry

Religions 2021, 12(5), 322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12050322 - 01 May 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3369

Abstract

For Thomas Aquinas, the imagination, being one of the “inner senses”, is a doorway to attain true knowledge. In this paper, we first analyze his lexicon in this regard (imaginatio and phantasia). Second, we discuss imagination as the subject matter of [...] Read more.

For Thomas Aquinas, the imagination, being one of the “inner senses”, is a doorway to attain true knowledge. In this paper, we first analyze his lexicon in this regard (imaginatio and phantasia). Second, we discuss imagination as the subject matter of the intellectual virtues, which facilitate cognition and judgment. The development of imagination is the foundation of his vision of education not only on the natural but also on the supernatural level. Third, we explore Aquinas’ moral assessment of imaginative art and finally its influence on shaping the character. This influence occurs on two levels: it is assessed from the perspective of charity, justice, prudence and purity, namely to what extent the art serves these values, whereas the second criterion is beauty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Philosophy and Aesthetics from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance)

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