American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly

Volume 91, Issue 2, Spring 2017

Art Via Theology
Eschatology and Tradition in Arthur C. Danto’s Philosophy of Art

In this paper I interpret Arthur Danto’s thesis on “the end of art” in eschatological terms. He allows for this by having chosen Joachim of Fiore’s theological theory of the three ages to illuminate his own understanding of art history. I offer some ideas on how this post-history might be understood by means of theological method. I also explore the relationship between the concept of “tradition” and Danto’s concept of “transfiguration.” By means of these analyses I bring out the tendency in contemporary analytical philosophy of art to interpret the work of art via theological categories. I consider this to be another argument in favor of the view that art has taken the place of religion in the philosophical consciousness.