Wilderness and its beyond : reconstructing Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of painting
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Date
2025-10-28
Authors
Γραμμάτη, Εύη
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Abstract
The present dissertation proposes a reconstruction of Merleau-Ponty’s theory of painting, treating the latter as a creative activity in which the natural and the cultural are intertwined. It examines the tension between the two aspects of the painter—as “one of us” and “more than us”—in order to refute theological interpretations of the origin of painting that are inconsistent with Merleau-Ponty’s wider phenomenology. The dissertation argues that the idea that painting reveals a pure wild sense—where the value of his theory is usually located—is related to a question concerning the limitations of philosophy in its pursuit of truth. Against such a view, and in response to the criticism of ahistoricity, I show that Merleau-Ponty’s writings also point toward an understanding of painting’s visual mediality as having historical and cultural dimensions that work conjointly—although not necessarily harmoniously—with its allusive logos. This conjoint functioning allows for an expansion of his theory, making it valuable for the interpretation of visual art in general rather than restricting it to the specific case of modern painting. The dissertation further discusses how, thus reconstructed, Merleau-Ponty’s theory of painting can be applied to particular works of visual art that might at first appear to challenge it. Finally, it argues that Merleau-Ponty’s account of painting reassures us that painting is an expression of our shared experience of the world—one that concerns us all.
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Keywords
Merleau-Ponty, Painting, Nature-culture, Wild sense, Visual logos, Mediality, Theological interpretations, Philosophy of art, Visual arts