Art and the human spirit : The meaning and relations of sculpture, painting,…
"Art and the human spirit" by Edward Howard Griggs is a handbook of lectures on aesthetics and art appreciation written in the early 20th century. It argues that art exists for life’s sake, not as luxury, moral sermon, or mere technique, and explains the unity and distinct powers of sculpture, painting, music, and poetry. The work also traces art’s roots in religion and myth, the shaping force of race and epoch, and
the cultural mission of literature and beauty, offering students clear guidance, examples, and reading lists. The opening of the work sets a reverent, reforming tone with Wagner’s credo, a table of eight lectures, and a “Spirit of the Course” that rejects three common errors about art (luxury, moralizing, and technical showmanship). It then defines art as adequate, harmonious expression that inevitably interprets life; shows how all arts share a human core while differing in means; and stresses idealizing selection and ethical wholeness. Early sections survey mythology and religion as primal sources, and explain how individual temperament, the time-spirit, and racial character imprint works. Next come clear, example-rich sketches of what sculpture and painting can and cannot do; how music, a time-based, deeply emotive art, suggests the infinite and thrives in composite forms like opera; and how poetry unites idea, image, and music more universally than any single art. The final parts advocate literature for liberal culture and conclude with practical counsel on cultivating appreciation of beauty in nature and art, complete with illustrative quotations, study topics, and reference lists. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Griggs, Edward Howard, 1868-1951 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 09001244 |
| Title | Art and the human spirit : The meaning and relations of sculpture, painting, poetry and music |
| Original Publication | New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1908. |
| Credits | Alan, Tim Miller and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | N: Fine Arts |
| Subject | Aesthetics |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78154 |
| Release Date | Mar 9, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 271 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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