1.1.2.

          Art connected with transcendence

          Tolstoy tries to elucidate how religious perception as source of inspiration will be warranting both the content and the infectiousness of art. First its effect on the quality of feelings of art will have to be scrutinized. Next its contribution to the contagiousness of art will have to be exemplified. Finally the matter will have to be raised how art led by this religious perception continuously pushes human progress in a positive direction.
          Every society has a religious perception that has been defining the meaning of life and its most prominent ideals. In a vital society the religious perception is like a river that directs and propels the continuos development and progress of mankind. Only art with feelings that have been uniting people, like neighbourly love and the brotherhood of man, has been in accordance with our present Christian religious perception, and has to be positively appreciated. Art containing feelings contrary to this religious perception has to be rejected. All other art ought neither to be promoted nor to be discouraged.
          There are two kinds of feelings with which art will be able to unite mankind (pg. 177). First there are feelings that have been expressing our unity with God and the brotherhood of mankind. Art with this subject matter has been named religious art. Tolstoy expounds that the religious writings of the Bible and that of the Buddha touch all the people on the world in the deepest sense at their core. Their strong appeal at our common relation with the spiritual has been fraternizing mankind. Further there are simple feelings comprehensible for everybody like pity, joy and well being. He recognized these positive qualities especially in the art of the Russian peasants. According to Tolstoy these art forms had been the best of his time. Beauty also has a justified place as a standard of art when it will be touching peoples universally by its eye-pleasing character and when it will be infecting them with feelings of well being.
          The second quality standard of art according to Tolstoy will be have to be the degree of infectiousness with regard to its capacity of transferring feelings, regardless of the nature of the feeling (pg. 166). Art will be better when it is being better capable to infect people with its feelings. It is the inner urge of expression and the integrity of the artists, which will be reflecting itself in the contagiousness of such an artistic expression. The artist inspired and infected by his religious perception will be capable to carry over this same infectiousness by means of his art. In this manner only there actually will be a connecting unity in feelings between the artist and his audience. The following three factors will be distinctive for the integrity of the artistic impression, and the consequent level of infectiousness.
          These factors are:
          1.) There needs to be individuality of expression with regard to the work of art. The artist must       be representing his own unique feelings.
          2.) The artistic expression must be possessing clearness. The more clear and accessible art is, the more people can be reached. All great religious works have been produced in a way that is most accessible for everybody in the society and culture in which they origin.
          3.) Art has to be the result of sincerity of its creator. This last element is the most important because it includes the two previous conditions. It depends on the degree on which the author himself has been infected by an emotion. The artist has to be moved himself by some inner impulse to be able to express this particular feeling. It is the depth of the inner impulse for expression and its relation to the religious perception that has been warranting the presence of more sympathetic feelings.
          There are some essential conditions needed for the production of good art (pg. 25). First the artist has to be attuned to the most progressive ideals of the religious perception of his historic time frame. This means that his ideals of his personal convictions have to be coinciding with the insights of the religious perception of the present day. Next the artist' emotional life must bear marks of integrity and he must have the sincere wish out of his inner impulse to express himself. Finally he must be having some talent for a particular art form.
          Art and science are according to Tolstoy being connected with each other in an organic fashion. Art needs for filling up the required nature of its feelings reasonable knowledge. The reasonable articulation of moral standards that determines the content of art has to be deduced of this religious perception (pg. 222). The power of art lies therein to be carrying over a message effectively and convincingly by translating it in feelings that perhaps otherwise would be impossible to transfer on a reasonable level. This synthesizing unity of art and science runs parallel with Tolstoy's articulation of the differentiated nature of the human psyche. In this manner art and science under the guidance of the religious perception will be linking up with the most positive and fruitful development of the human capacities.
          Tolstoy compares the nutritious value of art metaphorically with that of bread. On the one side art has to contain just like bread the right ingredients to be nutritious. On the other side art has to be as fresh as possible to have the right flavour. Religious perception and the religious- and universal art that it produces will for one thing increase the content of art. It taps new recourses of original and fresh feelings that infects and convinces people on a direct and convincing manner, and will make them in the end familiar with friendlier and less hostile behaviour towards each other. Therefore art ought to be an indispensable spiritual organ for the education of better and friendlier feelings to the people of a society.
 
 

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Last updated April 29, 1999 author: Drs. T. J.  Kuijl ©1995-1999. Comments are welcome and can be send via e-mail (click on e-mail) Quotations of the content of this article should mention the author's name and its source. Copies of this article must leave the text unaltered including the copyright reference. Dissemination of  electronic copies is not allowed.