The sublime describes the distinctive mix of awe, fear and serenity one might feel when confronted with imposing immensity. (Think: standing at the foot of a massive mountain.) But, as Sacha Golob, professor of philosophy at King’s College London, explores in this video, the concept of what humans consider – or ought to consider – sublime has long been subject to debate. Strolling through the National Gallery in London, Golob discusses the writings of philosophers of art including Immanuel Kant and Theodor Adorno, and pays a visit to works by painters of the Romantic movement, including Claude-Joseph Vernet and John Martin, to trace the evolution of the sublime. Ending by considering how it is expressed in modern art, Golob argues that the concept changes in response to humanity’s ever-changing relationship with the natural world.
Video by the Centre for Philosophy and Art
Director: Envis Media
Producer: Vanessa Brassey
Writer: Sasha Golob
videoHistory of science
Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful
8 minutes
videoNature and landscape
After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint
15 minutes
videoMathematics
Spiral into the ‘golden ratio’ – and separate the myths from the maths
4 minutes
videoArt
A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea
7 minutes
videoArchitecture
A lush tour of Fallingwater – the Frank Lloyd Wright design that changed architecture
14 minutes
videoArt
Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus
8 minutes