Introduction

Hegel lectured on aesthetics several times at Heidelberg and Berlin; after his death his student Hotho edited the lectures for publication. He defines beauty as 'the sensuous appearance of the Idea': art is one of the ways in which spirit knows itself, presenting truth in sensuous form, and stands with religion and philosophy as one of the three forms of absolute spirit. According to the relation between Idea and form, he divides the history of art into three stages: symbolic art, such as the pyramids and the Sphinx of Egypt, where form overwhelms content; classical art, such as Greek sculpture, where content and form achieve perfect unity; and romantic art, the painting, music and poetry of the Christian age, where spiritual content overflows sensuous form. He also discusses architecture, sculpture, painting, music and poetry one by one; his analyses of Greek tragedy and of Shakespeare are especially brilliant. This volume translates its most important parts.