~Ceanji
Art & Virtue
Virtue
widest sense- the excellence of perfection of a thing,
just as vice, its contrary, denotes a defect or absence
of perfection due to a thing.
“is a good habit consonant with our nature.” (St.
Augustine)
“an operative habit essentially good, as distinguished
from vice, an operative habit essentially evil.” (St.
Thomas Aquinas)
Types of virtues
Theological Virtues
Faith -steadfastness in belief
Hope -expectation of and desire of receiving;
refraining from despair and capability of not giving up
Charity -selfless, unconditional, and voluntary loving-
kindness; helping one's neighbor
Intellectual Virtues
Speculative
• Wisdom - Philosophy
• Science
• Understanding
Practical
 Prudence
 Art - Art constitutes a man good only in a
qualified sense. Proper function of art, as
such, is not to confer moral goodness, but to
direct the intellect in its artistic processes.
Moral Virtues
Cardinal Virtues
 Prudence - able to judge between actions
with regard to appropriate actions at a given
time
 Justice - proper moderation between the
self-interest and the rights and needs of
others
 Restraint or Temperance - practicing self-
control, abstention, and moderation
 Courage or Fortitude - forbearance,
endurance, and ability to confront fear and
uncertainty, or intimidation
Art
 right method with regard to external
productions
 perfects and directs the intellect in the
application of certain rules in view of the
production of external works, whether these
be of a useful or æsthetic character.
o Utilitarian
o Crafts
o Aesthetic
o Visual Arts
o Music
o Literature
o Others
Art Appreciation - introduction of basic principles of
visual literacy — especially the means to analyzing
form without reference to subject matter, symbolism
or historical context to general audiences for the
purpose of enhancing their enjoyment of works of art.
Art Criticism
 Description, analysis, evaluation,
interpretation, and judgment of works of art.
 Identifying and discussing the visual qualities
(sensory properties) in works of art .
 Consists of inquiring into and speculating
about not only the possible values of art
criticism but also its methodology.
 Not necessarily negative
 It can vary in degrees of positive as well as
negative remarks.
 Critical methods vary considerably in their
approaches to considering the forms,
contents, and contexts of works of art.
Stages to Critical Analysis
 Initial reaction (involving initial identification)
to a work.
 Description (involving further identification)
— identifying subject matter and / or
elements of art in a work.
 Analysis (open to even further identification)
— identifying order (organization) in a work
— how principles of art have been used to
arrange the elements of art in a work.
 Interpretation (identifying meaning) — the
artist's expression / communication of
feelings, moods, and ideas in a work.
 Evaluation (judgment) — assessing the
meaning and artistic merit in a work.
Importance of Art Criticism
 sharpens our perceptual tools
 builds and utilizes our storehouse of the
images required for making sense out of
experience
 makes objective judgments about what
works of art do for us emotionally and
intellectually
 we are engaging in analytical and critical
thinking.
 leads to a greater understanding and
appreciation of works of art, ranging from
recognized masterpieces to the monuments
of our built environment to forms that make-
up our popular culture
Extent to Which Object/Events Involve Us
POPULAR FORMS
 Decoration
 Illustration
 Commercial products
MASTERPIECES
 Prophetic significance
 Historical value
 Social and moral value
 Innovative significance
The leg's knee cap forms the head's nose. A horn
appears within the horse's breast.
Under the horse is a dead, apparently dismembered
soldier, his hand on a severed arm still grasps a
shattered sword from which a flower grows.
A light bulb blazes in the shape of an eye over the
suffering horse's head (the bare bulb of the torturer's
cell.)
From the right, an awe-struck woman staggers
towards the center below the floating female figure.
She looks up blankly into the blazing light bulb.
To the upper right of the horse, a frightened female
figure, who seems to be witnessing the scenes before
her, appears to have floated into the room through a
window. Her arm, also floating in, carries a flame-lit
lamp.
Daggers that suggest screaming replace the tongues
of the bull, grieving woman, and horse. A bird,
possibly a dove, stands on a shelf behind the bull in
panic.
On the far right, a figure with arms raised in terror is
entrapped by fire from above and below. A dark wall
with an open door defines the right end of the mural.

Guernica There are stigmata (the supposed marks on the

hands of those who have "suffered as Jesus") on the
by Pablo Picasso - Prophetic significance hands of the dead soldier.

The overall scene is within a room where, at an open Picasso, although not religious, was brought up in
end on the left, a wide-eyed bull stands over a woman predominantly Catholic Spain, where such artistic
grieving over a dead child in her arms. symbols would have clear resonance with the viewer.

The centre is occupied by a horse falling in agony as

it had just been run through by a spear or javelin.

The shape of a human skull forms the horse's nose

and upper teeth.

Two "hidden" images formed by the horse appear in

Guernica (illustrated to the right):

 A human skull is overlaid on the horse's

body
 A bull appears to gore the horse from
underneath.

The bull's head is formed mainly by the horse's entire

front leg which has the knee on the ground.