Andrey Ivanov

Bio: Prof. Ivanov is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the São Paulo State University and president of the Brazilian Society for the Study of Medieval Philosophy (2023-2027). His work focuses on Thomas Aquinas, especially on the cogitative power, on his definitions of beauty and the beautiful, and, more recently, on his theory of art and epistemology of art.

Abstract: Some interpreters have argued that Thomas Aquinas’ theory of art influenced the transformation of art in modernity. However, recent literature is incomplete. Erwin Panofsky’s interpretation, according to which the art that emerged in Saint-Denis in the 12th century should be understood as a transformation of metaphysics and theology linked to the thought of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, still provides the dominant paradigm for understanding medieval art. This paradigm served as the basis for research in the history of art, but it gave rise to disagreements among interpreters. While, on the one hand, attempts were made to understand the theological-philosophical foundation of this paradigm, on the other, it was considered that Thomas, with his pure Aristotelianism on the theory of art, had contributed to the elimination of the Dionysian-Augustinian trend of thought described in the paradigm, and to the transformation of art in modernity. But this is only alluded to, not demonstrated. The main objective of this research is to assess Thomas’ contribution to the theory of art and epistemology of art, and his possible contribution to the transformation of art. The method is to study the transformations of art close to modernity, characterizing the most relevant later-medieval theories, those of Thomas, Hugh of St. Victor, and Bonaventure. A comparative study, therefore, of three systems or theories with their implications for the theory of art and epistemology of art, in order to determine the state of knowledge that precedes the transformation of art in modernity, and to systematize the results.