JOÃO AUGUSTO ARAÚJO FERREIRA

In the history of art, the theorization of perspective is one of the key moments in humanistic thought, of which painting is an essential part. However, when understood as a projective mathematical system, the theory of perspective reveals bases in Euclidean geometry and in a science specific to vision, optics. In this theory of proportions, color, understood as a sensitive and non-intellective phenomenon, becomes a secondary factor in capturing reality, subjected to the triumph of drawing. This project sets out to cross the main turning points towards the autonomy of color as an aesthetic and scientific principle, which occurred at the beginning of the 19th century, starting with Goethe's Farbenlehre, published in 1810. By tracing his main theoretical references, we will clarify how Goethe interprets and inserts himself into the historical debate on painting, based on an aesthetic of colors and their physical nature. We believe that situating this tradition according to the dialog opened up by Goethe's Farbenlehre allows not only an alternative assessment of the artistic trends of the modern era, but also a consideration of the treatment given to the issue by classical aesthetics.