The Role of Emotions in Abstract Art: A Philosophical-Aesthetic Exploration

By its non-figurative nature, abstract art prompts a fundamental questioning of the relationship between the artwork, the artist, and the viewer. While forms and objects in figurative art resonate directly with reality, abstract art escapes this immediate representation, forcing the viewer to interact with the work on a more intimate and subjective level. In this context, the role of emotions becomes central.

This article aims to explore how abstract art mobilizes, evokes, and expresses emotions, drawing on philosophical references to better understand the emotional dynamics underlying this form of art.

1. Abstract Art as an Emotional Language: Kandinsky and Spirituality

One of the main theorists of abstract art, Wassily Kandinsky, in his work Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1912), expressed the idea that abstract art allows for a more direct and purer expression of emotions and spirituality. For Kandinsky, the forms and colors in abstract art are comparable to notes in a musical score: they are capable of evoking emotions without relying on figurative representation.

Kandinsky viewed art as a medium to explore the human soul. He believed that geometric shapes and vivid colors could directly touch the emotional chords of the viewer without the need to identify specific objects. This idea refers to a romantic vision of emotion, where it is perceived as an internal, intimate, and subjective energy that art translates.

In this sense, Kandinsky demonstrates that abstraction allows for a more immediate connection with emotions, as the formal elements of the work are not constrained by the expectations or interpretations associated with real objects. The viewer is thus invited to react spontaneously to the impressions they receive, allowing their emotions to guide their experience of the artwork.

2. Emotion and Aesthetic Perception: The Phenomenological Approach of Merleau-Ponty

Phenomenological philosophy, particularly that of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, offers a particularly suitable framework for understanding the role of emotions in abstract art. In Eye and Mind (1964), Merleau-Ponty argued that aesthetic perception is a lived experience that transcends simple observation to become a process of bodily and emotional resonance.

For Merleau-Ponty, the artwork, and especially abstract art, engages the viewer's body in a direct relationship with space and forms. In the absence of narrative or figurative content, the plastic elements—colors, lines, textures—immediately affect the viewer through their sensory and emotional experience. Abstract art, in this sense, is a space where emotions arise from the relationship between the body and the artwork, bypassing the filter of rational cognition.

This phenomenological perspective emphasizes the idea that emotion is not just a psychological reaction but is rooted in our way of being in the world. Abstract art, with its ability to evoke feelings through visual and sensory impressions, reveals this emotional dimension of perception.

3. Emotional Catharsis: An Aristotelian Reinterpretation Through Abstraction

Although the theory of catharsis is traditionally associated with Aristotle and his analysis of tragic drama in Poetics, it is interesting to transpose this notion to abstract art. According to Aristotle, catharsis is the process by which emotions of fear and pity are purged or regulated through the aesthetic experience of tragedy.

In abstract art, though there is no dramatic narrative, the viewer's emotions can still be solicited and channeled through the interplay of forms, colors, and rhythms. For instance, Mark Rothko’s works, with their vast overlapping fields of color, often evoke emotional depth that transcends mere visual appearance. Many viewers report feelings of contemplation or even sadness when facing his paintings, despite the absence of recognizable figures to anchor these emotions.

Abstract art can thus play a cathartic role by activating latent or repressed emotions in the viewer. The absence of a narrative allows each individual to project their own emotions onto the work, making abstraction a space for profound subjective resonance.

4. The Play of Emotion and Reason: Hume and Aesthetic Sensibility

David Hume, in his Essay on Taste, insists on the idea that beauty, and more broadly aesthetic appreciation, is grounded in human sensibility rather than objective criteria. This judgment of taste, according to Hume, is rooted in the emotions and feelings that a work of art evokes in us.

In the context of abstract art, this idea makes perfect sense. The absence of figurative references means that the appreciation of the work relies primarily on the viewer's emotions and sensibility. Reason, in a certain sense, gives way to a more intuitive and emotional form of judgment.

Abstract artworks are not “understood” in the strict sense but are “felt.” As Hume suggests, each viewer reacts to the work according to their experiences, personal sensitivities, and aesthetic education. This also aligns with the idea that abstract art creates a space for emotional freedom, where each person can appropriate the work according to their own inner resonances.

Abstract art, by its non-figurative nature, places emotions at the heart of the aesthetic experience. Whether through the spirituality of forms and colors (Kandinsky), phenomenological perception (Merleau-Ponty), emotional catharsis (Aristotle), or aesthetic sensibility (Hume), emotions play an essential role in the creation and reception of abstract works.

By refusing to represent the external world mimetically, abstract art invites the viewer to dive into their inner world, to experience emotions that often transcend the realm of language. In this sense, abstraction not only breaks with visible reality but also connects to sensitive reality, where emotions emerge as responses to the unknown and the unspeakable.