>>> Seminars on Observing and Studying Art
Lecture
About a hundred years have passed since the publication of Kandinsky’s beautiful book on spirituality in art, and his predictions have proved prophetic: the investigation of the spiritual dimensions of art came to a halt in the twentieth century. Spirituality, for centuries the preserve of the great religions, is freeing itself from rules and dogmas and becoming an increasingly intimate, personal search for a deeper meaning in life. In art, spirituality is expressed less through subject matter than through the artist’s particular openness to the mystery of life, its immensity and its overall complexity. This lecture presents our own perspective on the rebirth of a New Spirituality closely connected with the ethics of nonviolence.
Seminar
The seminar examines the distinctive features of spiritual painting, distinguishing it from materialist painting. After defining spirituality, we will practise techniques for perceiving its meanings in gesture, colour, form and, above all, in the vibrational quality of this creative approach. We will paint objects from life, seeking to capture their soul through a process of poetic preparation.
See also
>>> Forum Manifesto on Research and Development of Spirituality in Art
Seminar topics
Who can attend
For painters, draughtspeople and art-school students who already know how to draw and paint. Maximum participation: 15 people.
Duration
The seminar lasts a total of 16 hours over Saturday and Sunday, plus a two-hour lecture on Friday evening.
Fee
The fee for each seminar is agreed upon with those interested.
Download workshop information sheet (PDF, Italian)
Lecture preview
Lo spirituale nell’arte
Art is usually associated with spirituality solely through the depiction of sacred images, overlooking the fact that spirituality is not only religious: there is also a secular spirituality that refers to no particular faith or religious practice. Indeed, we find few studies that discuss art and spirituality from the standpoint of art itself rather than that of spirituality.
Throughout history, peoples have expressed their spirituality through paintings and sculptures that give form to the abstract concepts of a faith or mystical feeling, making them concrete chiefly through allegorical images, but also through symbols. The latter aspect has generally found greater expression in architecture than in painting.
These representations are not generally the expression of a direct connection between the artist and the spiritual phenomenon. Rather, they express the wishes of priestly or noble patrons who could afford to pay artisans and artists to represent a religious concept more than a spiritual feeling. Much like today’s advertising industry, they promoted religion as something external, dogmatic and bound up with power, sometimes resorting to falsehood, distortion and manipulation—the tools of propaganda. Examples include works commissioned by wealthy patrons to ingratiate themselves with ecclesiastical authorities and glorify their lineage.
Certainly not every religious work is intended to spread a message or serve as propaganda. There are many examples of sincere expressions of spiritual feeling as a source of artistic inspiration. This is true of works by artists such as El Greco, Michelangelo and Pontormo, who expressed Christian spirituality without rhetoric. Their works differ markedly from propagandistic images: rather than simply representing an official creed or displaying power and wealth, they become spiritual manifestations in their own right, without relying on iconographic stereotypes. Countless other artists have also attained profound spirituality without depicting sacred or religious subjects. Their works provide indispensable points of reference for our study.