Maurice Maeterlinck’s Philosophy of Art

Abstract

In the article the key ideas of Maurice Maeterlincks philosophy of art, inspired by the spirit of German idealism, European Romanticism and also mysticism and occultism are considered. On this basis his own original philosophical-aesthetic and artistic views which have laid down in a basis of philosophy of art of symbolism crystallize. The main problems interesting for Maeterlinck in this sphere are metaphysics of art and its philosophical-aesthetic aspects: silence, hidden, destiny, external and internal, madness, mystical ecstasy; essence of artistic image and symbol in art; aesthetic categories of beauty, sublime, tragical, comic; aesthetic ideal; nature of art novelty; relations between aesthetics and ethics. Artisticity, symbolization in art, suggestion, idealization, spirituality as the main attributes of authentic art, stylized poetic generalizations, laconism of a plot - these are the basis of Maeterlincks poetic world and his art-aesthetic principles which have become the art base for symbolist philosophy. Maeterlinck paid special attention to the art-aesthetic aspects of the art of theatre connected with creative credo of the playwright, his skill. He was also deeply engaged into exploration of the art influencing power as well as questions of aesthetic perception, empathies, and art hermeneutics. The major thrust of his philosophical-aesthetic research was that of an expectance of the approaching era of great spirituality and supreme mission of the artist-theurgist in it - in this respect Maeterlinck going his way, had a lot of common with the ideas of Paul Claudel, let alone representatives of Russian theourgistic aesthetics. In his poeticized meditations over the future of artistic culture Maeterlinck quite often acts as a teacher of life and, like described by him bees, collecting honey of hopes.