Book illustration of Byzantine Emperor Justinian's inspiration for Hagia Sophia. The cathedral had burnt down during a riot; now Justinian would build an even more beautiful one.A webcomic illustrating how inspiration may vary over time
Inspiration (from the Latin inspirare, meaning "to breathe into") is an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavours. The concept has origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration or "enthusiasm" came from the muses, as well as the gods Apollo and Dionysus. Similarly, in the Ancient Norse religions, inspiration derives from the gods, such as Odin. Inspiration is also a divine matter in Hebrew poetics. In the Book of Amos the prophet speaks of being overwhelmed by God's voice and compelled to speak. In Christianity, inspiration is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
In the 18th century philosopher John Locke proposed a model of the human mind in which ideas associate or resonate with one another in the mind. In the 19th century, Romantic poets such as Coleridge and Shelley believed that inspiration came to a poet because the poet was attuned to the (divine or mystical) "winds" and because the soul of the poet was able to receive such visions. In the early 20th century, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed himself to have located inspiration in the inner psyche of the artist. Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung's theory of inspiration suggests that an artist is one who was attuned to their creative instinct which encoded the archetypes of the human mind.
The Marxist theory of art sees it as the expression of the friction between economic base and economic superstructural positions, or as an unaware dialog of competing ideologies, or as an exploitation of a "fissure" in the ruling class's ideology. In modern psychology inspiration is not frequently studied, but it is generally seen as an entirely internal process.
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visual art and other artistic endeavours. The concept has origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration or "enthusiasm" came...
inspire, or inspired often refers to: Artisticinspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Christian theology...
figurative usage, a muse is a person who serves as someone's source of artisticinspiration. The word Muses (Ancient Greek: Μοῦσαι, romanized: Moûsai) perhaps...
of daily life – as food, clothing, a companion, and a source of artisticinspiration. Rabbits are a paraphyletic grouping, and do not constitute a clade...
Cicero's understanding of divine inspirationArtisticinspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian...
art may involve approaching and researching the subject matter. Artisticinspiration is one of the main drivers of art, and may be considered to stem...
Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Fujisan, sacred place and source of artisticinspiration". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on October...
for black students. Throughout his artistic life, Glasco looked to the great masters of the past for inspiration to further the innovation in his art...
for their eclectic catalog of inspirations, have been argued to have created pastiches superior to their source inspirations. A pastiche Mass is a musical...
large piece of dry canvas. Krogh's strong Christian faith was also a key inspiration to his mural, as his modern interpretation of Italian Renaissance Frescoes...
the École de Paris as well as several major artistic styles and created works in a wide range of artistic formats, including painting, drawings, book...
Literary critic Fredric Jameson offers photorealism as an example of artistic simulacrum, in which a painting is created by copying a photograph that...
[clarification needed] In the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886) that has been adapted by 181 countries and city-states, "original...
the entire history of artistic creativity; plagiarism, quotation, parody, the ironic retake are typical of the entire artistic-literary tradition. Much...
Vasari and was friends with Varchi It is possible that Lucrezia’s artisticinspirations are drawn from her upbringing and setting. Alfonso owned the painting...
and their water lilies, as well as for their importance to Monet's artisticinspiration. Normandy was at the heart of his creation, from the paintings of...
poet Rubén Darío (1867–1916) consecrated the swan as a symbol of artisticinspiration by drawing attention to the constancy of swan imagery in Western...
stamps. Nina Raginsky has cited German photographer, August Sander as inspiration for her portraits in particular his work, Men Without Masks. Nina Raginsky...
hunting life which is the source of her inspiration in many of her later works. Elisapee Ishulutaq started her artistic career relatively late in life, after...
Johann Naldi, this work is the oldest known readymade and was a source of inspiration for Marcel Duchamp. Marcel Duchamp coined the term ready-made in 1915...
the Nile) and was an aspect of the earth-god Geb, as a source of artisticinspiration, as well as assisting the dead in their journey to the afterlife...
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