Art & Scholasticism

By Jacques Maritain Introduction by Brian Barbour Art & Scholasticism is Jacques Maritain’s classic argument for an objective view of both art and the artist. Like T. S. Eliot, Maritain sees the artist as essentially a maker or craftsman and not the vatic oracle of romanticism’s myth. Maritain provides a strong dissenting perspective on the lazy, self-flattering artistic assumptions of the past two centuries. Brian Barbour’s Introduction gives a fascinating summary of Maritain’s philosophical background, his conversion to Catholicism and work in Thomistic thought, and the importance of Art and Scholasticism in understanding aesthetics—be it in poetry, painting, music, or literature. Art and Scholasticism is a must-read for lovers of art and wisdom alike. “[Jacques Maritain] does have a great understanding of the nature of art, which he gets from St. Thomas.” –Flannery O’Connor Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) was perhaps the greatest Catholic philosopher of the twentieth century. A co