Aristotle (384-322BC) wrote,
Art completes what nature cannot bring to finish. The artist gives us knowledge of nature's unrealized ends.
To complete "nature's unrealized ends," Aristotle believed that art must be grounded in mimesis, a reflection of nature as it exists. Art should be fundamentally realistic, despite how the artist colors and amplifies and frames nature to take us to deeper and richer understandings of the human condition.
Can you think of a work of art that you find especially "realistic" in that it captures some aspect of your present life and experience better than you could convey it even should you try? Maybe it's that one photograph or that one short story or that one film that strikes you as eerily familiar. What was the work and what truth did it amplify for you?
As you consider how to respond in this post, consider also these two questions:
1. Do you believe the accurate depiction of nature and experience should be foundational for a Christian creating art? Consider what Sporre writes regarding "verisimilitude" in our text in chapter one. What does this imply about Christian fantasy like Tolkien's in his sagas of Middle Earth? Is that valid, too? You may find this article(https://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=15-01-033-f) helpful as you reflect.
2. However you come to understand the limits artists ought to place on their creative imaginations, you ought to recognize that the reflection of the world created by the artist should be clear and accurate within its own terms. The painter sketching a local farm yard shouldn't sketch something looking like a pigeon when trying to depict a chicken, at least not by "accident." Does this artistic demand for "verisimilitude" imply something about the level of craftsmanship a Christian artist should evidence? Can something be truly beautiful and good that is not also excellent in construction and design and use of materials? Why or why not and how should this be a particular concern for the Christian artist?
Jean-Francois Millet, "The Gleaners" (1857)
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