The Philosophy of Fine Art, volume 1 · Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
C. THE ARTIST
We have, in this first part of our aesthetical philosophy, examined as a first step the universal Idea of beauty; we then proceeded to inquire in what respects it was defective in its existence as the beauty of Nature, and after thus clearing the way we were in a position to grasp the complete notion of the Ideal as the adequate realization of beauty. We developed the Ideal, _first_, as conceived abstractly according to the _general_ notion of it, and having determined that were assisted thereby to elucidate the modes of its _particular_ manifestations. Inasmuch, however, as a work of art has its origin in the human spirit it requires the pregnant activity of an individual life from which it proceeds, and as the creation of the same exists for others, that is, a Public which is emotionally receptive. This spiritual and informing activity is the imagination of the _artist_. We have consequently now, and this is the _third_ and last aspect of the Ideal to which we shall refer, to raise the question how it comes about that this product of men's inner world is not the direct and native growth[410] of that world, but receives its due form through the _creative impulse_ of particular men, in other words, by virtue of the genius and talent of the artist.
At the same time we must admit that the question is only raised that we may be able to add the statement that it really is excluded from the sphere of scientific investigation, or, at the most, we can only furnish a few general remarks towards its solution. Yet it is undoubtedly a question frequently raised this, namely, from what source an artist receives the gift and faculty of conception and execution with which he creates his work. We should all of us like, no doubt, to have a ready prescription, a recipe of what we must exactly do, what conditions we must impose on ourselves to produce something as wonderful. We would emulate Cardinal von Este when he asked Ariosto, with reference to his raging Roland: "But, Master Louis, where in the world did you get all this damned stuff from?" Raphael replied to a similar question in a letter we still possess, that he was hunting after a certain idea. The more obvious aspects of artistic activity we propose to examine under the following heads of discussion: _First_, we will give our definition of the general conception of artistic _genius_ and the inspiration it implies. _Secondly_, we will make a few observations on the _objective_ character of this creative activity. _Thirdly_, we will endeavour to ascertain in virtue of what real artistic _originality_ consists.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.