Plotinus, the term and the way : theory of art and beauty

Abstract

The appearance of theos is an event of hierophany . The meaning of art points towards the object of our ultimate concern. A Plotinian studio program for the painter concludes the thesis.

Ammonius Saccas instructs Plotinus towards a synthesis of ancient Greek philosophy. A brief introduction to the historical Plotinus is offered. The Hypostases: The One or Supreme Reality, the Divine Mind, Nous, and the Universal Soul, Logos, are discussed in the context of Plato's eternal ideas, Beauty, Truth and Good.

Plotinus advances an "iconic" dialectic that serves his theological theory of art. The more important critical issues that arise from his description of the realm of art are addressed. Plotinian mysticism, and the subject of matter and form, identity and difference, is discussed. The opposing ways of the "picture" and the "word" are briefly summarized.

An examination of the dialogue Plotinus has with art and beauty is offered. The relationship between Plato's divine intelligibles and art is discussed in context of the treatise On Beauty. The intelligible beauty of ideas, cosmos, nature and art are examined in context of the treatise On Intellectual Beauty. Plotinian theory of art is summarized.