André Malraux’s Comparative Theory of Art

• Authors: Gaižutytė-Filipavičienė Žilvinė
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The article deals with André Malraux’s (1901–1976) comparative theory of art. He, a French intellectual, novelist, and philosopher developed an original philosophical approach to art works and their transformations in time which has still a significant impact to contemporary comparative studies of art. The idea of metamorphosis expresses Malraux’s radical turn from classical academic aesthetics and his closeness to existential philosophical and aesthetical thinking. It reinforces the concept of the imaginary museum and provides a more philosophical background. Each culture perceives and accepts the art of other cultures according to its own viewpoints in a process which is defined by Malraux as metamorphosis. The full significance of metamorphosis appeared in modern civilisation—the first which collected art forms from any period and place. The work of art lives its own life deliberated from history and its consequential postulation of human permanence. The metamorphosis is the key to Malraux’s humanist metaphysics of art.

Keywords

EN

André Malraux; orientalism; comparativism; art theory; imaginary museum; metamorphosis of art

• Publisher: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk; Fundacja Filozofia Na Rzecz Dialogu
• Journal: Dialogue and Universalism
• Year: 2020
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 263-280

Contributors

author

Gaižutytė-Filipavičienė Žilvinė

• Department of Comparative Cultural Studies at the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute; Saltoniskiu p. 58. LT-08105, Vilnius, Lithuania.