A Grace of Sense - theological aesthetics

"Contemplation is the free, more penetrating gaze of a mind, suspended with wonder concerning manifestations of wisdom" ( contemplatio est libera mentis perspicacia in sapientiae spectacula cum admiratione suspensa ) - Richard of St. Victor, Benjamin major, chapter 4.  At the crossroads of art and religion there is contemplation. Basically the verb contemplor means "to view attentively, to survey, to consider." Contemplation is the Latin equivalent of the Greek theoria , that, according to Plato, means the vision of the essential beauty. The essence of beauty surpasses all beautiful objects and actions, and is the source of them all. ( Banquet 211b-e ). Contemplation is not scrutinizing rationality, but rather immediate understanding.  In terms of art and aesthetics, contemplation may be described as a disinterested enjoyment of an artwork. That means that one does not appreciate a work of art because of its price or fame, but simply because it overwhelms oneself an...

  The Greek word καλός may denote beautiful, good, or useful. That is the case with many other languages, too: the word for beauty has several connotations, other than aesthetic.  In the Greek philosophy, there were also several criteria that make beauty beautiful. The most prominent were order (τάξις ), symmetry, and harmony. In a perfect body, harmony of the human limbs were in accordance with the harmony of the universe, of which the musical harmony was a sounding image.  According to Plato, all visible beauty is originated in the idea of beauty. Diotima's celebrated speech in The Banquet begins with beautiful objects, then discusses beautiful soul and beautiful action, and ultimately presents the idea of beauty behind all this.  Beauty is inseparably connected with the moral goodness and the useful. The vehement criticism of art in Plato's The Republic is principally due to the enormous power of art to move the human soul. Compared to Plato, Aristotle's view on k...