English – Spanish. 

This book is a philosophy of art. I would like to tell the advised reader especially if he is an artist, that unlike some philosophies which have become an example to follow in this genre, I am not trying to through this philosophy of art to subject art to a “scientific vision,” neither am I trying to lay down the norms that art should follow in the name of a presumed higher science. Nothing of the sort. Philosophy in my case only seeks to humbly enquire into the origin of art and highlight its importance in order to awaken the reader’s interest for these manifestations of the Spirit. It is thus not my intention to construct a reason for a philosophy of art, but to discover its roots and express them like the artist does. I accept the etymological and platonic sense of philosophy as a premise as it is a love of knowledge, and I am convinced that art is born of this love and so tends to make men wiser. This spiritual convergence makes a philosophy of art natural. Just as philosophy tries to make men wiser and morality makes them more virtuous, so the objective of art is to make them more sensitive to beauty and (spiritually) more beautiful. Each one of these disciplines has its means of expression which transmits their origin and lead to a transcendental common goal.

Put in another way: By the term philosophy of art I do not in any way want to say that I am trying to bring art to a world of abstractions through reasons which distance us from the real; quite the contrary, my intention is to bring philosophy to the world of art. Not the philosophy that we have been suffering for the last two centuries which is alienated from its roots and has ended up making the tree of life sterile, nor abstract art that has followed the same mistaken path towards nothingness, but the art that leads us to our roots and makes us live anew. This is a vital philosophy that wants to share the beauty of the world with art. I believe that the good philosophers who like the good artists are unfortunately a thing of the past have been inspired by the same roots. I believe that these two founts of life can bring us out from this daily grind and the nightmare of domesticity filled with soulless beings and mere functionality into which we have been plunged by the modern world.

I do not intend to do art criticism nor formulate a theory of art with ideas or concepts which have to be obeyed by the artist because the latter should follow only his inspiration and not external commands. Of course, I have my own ideas on art which I will be expressing throughout this work. I prefer to do it in this dynamic manner precisely in order to avoid condensing it in rigid formulas. My purpose is not to reduce art to concepts, but to awaken the creative spirit in the human being. I believe that art, the aesthetic sense of man plays a decisive role in the evolution of our species.

To speak about the disciplines of the spirit during times of spiritual decadence is probably a fruitless task. Due to various reasons the prognosis is not hopeful, but it is precisely during these times when these disciplines are really necessary and there is always the hope that there may be spirits who feel the need to take recourse to them. The problems are presently aggravated because the same disciplines entrusted with keeping the spirit awake lie dormant, and their experience is disappointing; hence the need to burrow in the past, to return to an age when the spirit was alive and creative.

It is necessary that alert spirits take cognizance of this need because during times of spiritual perigee –my term for the age when the spirit is distanced or alienated from its shining light– it wanders directionless like the sailor who has lost sight of the lighthouse. It is then that philosophy fulfils its role in the field of art. Not by telling the artist how to write, paint or sculpt one way or another, as philosophy does not concern itself with specificities which are the domain of the artist, but by reminding him of his universal scope. He is shown a path which is not narrow, it is ascendant therefore does not hinder artistic production but opens up an infinite horizon. It is not necessary for philosophy to be the guiding force, a mutual interdependence of the sciences of the spirit is necessary, so that they go together towards a common objective, which is not in them but in the human being so that the latter can fulfill his transcendent destiny.