spirituality in art
“The work of art is born of the artist in a mysterious and secret way. From him it gains life and being. Nor is its existence casual or inconsequent, but it has a definite and purposeful strength, alike in its material and spiritual life. It exists and has power to create spiritual atmosphere; and from this inner standpoint one judges whether it is a good work of art or a bad one”.
“That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need which springs from the soul. ”
“All those variety of picture, when they are really art, fulfill their purpose and feed the spirit.”
“Painting is an art, and art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement and refinement of the human soul.”
“It is very important for the artist to guage his position aright, to realise that he has a duty to his art and to himself, that he is not king of the castle but rather a servant of a nobler purpose. He must search deeply into his own soul, develop and tend it, so that his art has something to clothe, and does not remain a glove without a hand”.
From Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky, first printed in 1914