Sartre on Art

Author: Sartre
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: He is destined to be a knight who reshapes the world with fire. His incessant talk, his restlessness, and even his fervent calls to hear thunder in silence are all a form of art, his own unique art. This book discusses four artists—two painters, one painter sculptor, and one sculptor painter. Because each artist embodies many contradictions and inexplicable situations, they challenge Sartre and provide him with the opportunity to elucidate his art theory. Titian is a product of class conflict; he must resort to deceitful means to prove himself. Giacometti is obsessed with his solitary existence in all things, and thus seeks to discover how to depict this void. Sartre discusses in this book the "Venezian vagabond" Titian, the absolute-seeking Giacometti, the kinetic sculptor Calder, and the "unprivileged painter" Lapage, revealing his stance on fundamental issues such as the nature of art and the position of artists in the human condition. Titian is a product of class conflict; he is desperate and must use deceitful means to achieve self-justification. Giacometti is obsessed with his solitary existence in all things, believing reality to be absolute, and thus seeks to depict this void, revealing signs of language in the silent things. Calder creates between freedom and constraint, thus seeking to discover how to imbue static things with movement and confirm their existence through self-movement. Lapage strives to combine creativity and beauty, giving an infinitely divisible appearance an indivisible unity.