It Ain't a Mystery that Philosophy Connects with Art History!

Today is such a tiring day.
I keep falling asleep on my desk doing my work.

So on Fridayyyy in class, we talked about St. Augustine & his philosophy!
In his philosophy, he claimed that:

• One must remove the faulty impressions of sensory knowledge to attain divine wisdom.
• God's grace allows us to access his good. By looking inward (introspection) and then upwards (for grace), one can achieve salvation and happiness
• Only "Inner Experience," studied through Introspection, was valid (later called Beatific vision; it comes from beatitudes!)
• He believed that science and philosophy not conducted in the service of theology

Sounds similar to something we learned all the way back in 1st semester? Yes, you are correct! It is the Allegory of the Cave (light).

Art History Connection

• One needs "light" because light equals to light of God. And the light came from the windows of the churches
• One sees the beatitudes through the reflections because on stained glass windows, there were biblical stories.
• People were illiterate like Augustine. Therefore, art allowed even the illiterate to learn and receive the "light"
• Art is the way to go get to purification!

Manichean Philosophy (before Gothic Art) said that the world is ugly and the second coming of Jesus is almost here.

• People began to realize that Jesus is not coming and now they need to help the people get a vision of Jesus through light by going to the right church
• Church were important not only for the light but it also contained relics that performed miracles

*The idea that one can only get to purification through the light coming inside the church, demonstrates once again the increasing power of the church as many more people began seeking the church for it was the only way to salvation.

xoxo