The Place of Mysticism in Art

In his book, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky declared “the work of art is born of the artist in a mysterious and secret way” and described art as possessing “power to create [a] spiritual atmosphere.” The spirituality of visual art both as a cathartic process and a physical manifestation is an ancient practice.

Swedish artist Hilma af Klint was renowned for incorporating her practice as a mystic into her abstract paintings. Her works largely reflected her experiences contacting higher powers through séances. The era’s zeitgeist around religion and spirituality would cause criticism so af Klint only allowed her spiritual works, created privately at the time, to be shown to the public 20 years after her death. 

The Spiritual History of Visual Art

Let’s take a journey down a pathway that intertwines mysticism and visual art. A journey that examines art history and the history of science side by side. Ever since there were humans, we have been scribbling and interpreting our thoughts on consciousness, other realms and themes of life, death and resurrection visually onto walls. From 40,000–4,000 B.C., the art of prehistoric times focussed on human figures, animals and abstract symbols as well as unknown spiritual concepts. 

The Sumerians, a civilisation that existed in ancient Mesopotamia (today Iraq and Kuwait) between 5000 BCE to 1750 BCE produced clay and stone figures thought to depict gods or demons. Sumerians created the cylinder seal, a small stone cylinder where impressions of scenes of rituals and divine figures first appeared.

The Predynastic Period in Egypt from 6000 to 3150 BCE saw Ancient Egyptians produce images of animals, human beings and supernatural figures on rock walls. Statues were also created to provide a home for a spirit or a god. Spirituality was present in all Ancient Egyptian artwork including tomb paintings, temple tableaus and gardens, predominantly in the form of a reference to the eternal nature of life. 

Hindus have been depicting their deities through artwork ever since 2300 B.C to 1500 B.C. After this, their nomadic ways meant that any trace of artworks from the religion weren’t traceable for a nearly 1000 year period. Hindu gods and goddesses went on to be represented through stone and bronze statues and relief sculptures in Hindu temples after 500 BC.
Christian art dates back to the 1st century and was a way of honouring deities and telling spiritual stories. Some early works from the religion include wall and ceiling paintings in the Roman underground burial chambers from the 2nd century.

How Art Responded to the Scientific Revolution

The Renaissance Art movement that occurred between 1400 to 1600 celebrated nature and the spirituality of the natural world. This coincided with the Scientific Revolution occurring from 1543 to 1687 which gave rise to themes of individualism, humanism and people moving away from religion through art. According to Dr Rina Arya, Professor of Visual Culture and Theory at University of Huddersfield this impact was also seen in The Age of Enlightenment (1715 - 1789) through “the focus on scientific experimentation which became a popular subject in art and the focus on nature and the natural.” Which she states was most evident “in the first-hand observation of the human body.”

As science challenged long-held religious and spiritual beliefs, Expressionism transpired around 1905 and depicted this loss of spirituality. Inspirations beyond Western art also emerged. This brought about Surrealism in 1916 which was born out of World War I. Surrealism depicted dream worlds, illusions and alternative perceptions of reality.

Contemporary art ushered in around 1970. In 1986, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibited The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890–1985.” The show traced Western abstract art back to a collection of spirituality concepts. This merged spirituality and artwork at a time when it wasn’t so common.

“I think there does seem to be a growing interest in spirituality as a whole in Western society,” remarks Rina. “People have been expressing their spirituality outside the institutions of religion and art is a concrete example of this. Many viewers of art talk about how viewing or interacting with art, in an art gallery, for example, gives rise to spiritual feelings, that is meanings by which people seek to live.” She continues.

Spirituality in a New Age

It’s 2021 and new age spirituality, an interest in the occult and mysticism have been on the rise in the mainstream for a while. Since the Covid-19 crisis, the interest in mysticism has only increased, with many turning to supernatural energies for answers in times of great uncertainty. 

“My own gentle, slow explorations and research into Buddhism started because I heard a lecture by Ram Dass which for me was the transformational leap into my current perspective,” says painter Joanne Webb. Listening to podcasts on mindfulness, Joanne puts the increased mainstream interest in spirituality down to technology. “Used wisely, the online platform is a daily source of inspiration for me as well as kirtan devotional music which is now entwined in [my] painting.”

“The mainstream art world having consistently rejected my own spiritually-inspired art, my own frustration and curiosity led me to search for the presence of spirituality in the art of others,” mentions artist and transpersonal psychotherapist Jaimie Cahlil whose surreal drawings center on transformation.

“I have certainly noticed an increasing interest (and engagement) in recognised 'spiritual practice' – particularly among younger adults. Many who come to me for therapy are either engaging in some kind of 'meditation' and 'mindfulness’, or yoga, etc., or are at least open to the idea. This would be highly unusual twenty years ago.” He continues. Jaimie puts this growing interest down to “natural cycles” and an antidote to “the dead-endedness of the escapist self-defeating self-deluding culture of linear materialism.”

The Artist as the Spiritual Medium

Art in many ways can be considered a spiritual practise due to the journey the artist goes through to create the work and the intuitive feeling of being present that often accompanies art making. “I often feel like I am kind of a shamanic artist monk that creates work in solitude, singing and chanting to Kirtan (Hindu music) as I paint, connecting to something higher and more ancient than myself that I cannot explain,” says Joanne. Her dreamlike, colourful paintings appear to depict the subconscious or unseen spiritual realms. “I feel much happier thinking of my art practice as an actual practice, in the same way meditation, breathwork, devotion and mindfulness are. For me, the art studio space is where my inner space is nourished and it is all about 'connection',” she continues.

Artist and transpersonal psychotherapist Jaimie Cahlil learnt traditional Tibetan Buddhist meditation in the late 80s. It was there that he meditated on colours dissolving in light which led him to “a quiet receptivity in preparation for working on my paintings.” He expresses spirituality as an “immense presence, subtle loving energy” and “creative essence” that is always present in his art. Jaimie describes the parallels between the spiritual elements behind his psychotherapy practice and his artwork. “When any person I'm guiding in therapy emerges from a deep place within, a sense of having been 'beyond time' is commonly reported. I experience this myself. This is reflected in my own paintings…which present the human being as unclothed – so as not to visually confine them to any one era, while indicating the timelessness of the soul's experiencing or journeying.”

In Kandinsky’s book, he describes art as belonging to “the spiritual life” and that the subjective judgement of whether a piece of art is good or bad comes from a spiritual place. Similarly, one way that modern spirituality is manifested is through harvesting inner power and deconstructing the power systems at play. It does this by offering power to the ‘powerless’ in times of hardship and in pursuit of self-knowledge. Whether as a way of communicating intuitive thoughts that evade words or deciphering religious messages, the spiritual has always been present in visual art. As society has progressed into religious alternatives, mystical exploration in art has risen out of dark corners and penetrated the mainstream.

Tali Ramsey is a UK based writer. For more of her work click here.