Between reason and creative instinct. Leon Chwistek’s approach to art criticism

Abstract

Leon Chwistek was one of the most important thinkers in the inter-war Poland. As a philosopher, logician, artist and art theorist, he frequently commented on historical and contemporary aspects of artistic life, formulating his distinct ideas concerning art criticism. The aim of this article is to synthetically discuss these ideas and to outline the cultural and artistic context that shaped them. In order to achieve this goal, the author of the article refers to both the art theoretical output of Chwistek and his philosophy as well as scientific research. Having employed a descriptive method, the author presents the main questions of art criticism discussed by Chwistek in his various texts. The following aspects are examined: the role of art critics in society, experience as a basis of critical opinion, methodology of art critic’s work, criteria for evaluation of works of art and creative attitudes. In his writings Chwistek emphasized the importance of theory for artistic practice, but even more strongly he stressed the illuminating power of experience, which is able to undermine aesthetic dogmas and which should remain the basic determinant of critic’s activity.