The role of art in spirituality Sacred art is derived from celestial inspiration Objective or subjective arts The interiorizing experience of art The link between beauty and esoterism Esoteric art How arts can lead to spiritual assimilation Is modern art necessarily bad? Art and the spiritual nature of the artist

slide 2 of 9 This is taken from a transcript of a 1995 interview with the eminent Perennialist thinker and writer Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998). Question : What are the criteria for knowing the worth of a work of art, its level of inspiration? Frithjof Schuon: The archetypes of sacred art are celestial inspirations; all other artworks draw their inspiration from the spiritual personality of the artist. The criteria for knowing the worth of a work of art are: the content of the work, its mode of expression and its technique, its style. Question : Are the criteria different for various types of art: painting, sculpture, dance, music, poetry, architecture? Frithjof Schuon: No, the criteria are not different for various types of art.