Estética apofática y hermenéutica del misterio: elementos para una crítica de la visibilidad
A. Vega
September 1, 2016 DOI: 10.21898/dia.v54i62.253 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes the concept of "Apophatic (or negative) Aesthetics" to characterize certain twentieth-century artists as heirs of negative theology and medieval mysticism, and argues that a painting by Mark Rothko expresses central motifs of modern religious experience within a historical reality where the sacred and profane are no longer clearly distinguished. |
Abstract
Throughout the twentieth century different hermeneutics of nega- tivity helped reflect on the spiritual debts to negative theology, and in par- ticular to the major mystical trends of Medieval Europe. The technical term "Apophatic (or negative) Aesthetics" is proposed to define the work of some twentieth-century artists, who are considered the heirs of these traditions. In this article, a painting by Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is studied. In it some central motifs of the modern religious experience can be traced. The hermeneutics of negativity is to be understood as a preamble to Apophatic Aesthetics, with its ascetic and mystical roots set out from a new historical reality, in which the difference between sacred and profane is no longer sig-