“Which beauty will save the world”? This was the question of Dostoevsky in his novel “The Idiot”. It is the question of the atheist Hippolit to Prince Myskin: “Is it true, Prince, that you said one day that the world will be saved by Beauty? But which beauty?” Myskin, who held with infinite compassion the hand of the young man who was dying at the age of 18, remained silent, underlining that the beauty which saves the world is the love which shares the pain.

Beauty is in a sense the visible expression of the Good, as the good is the metaphysical condition for beauty. The harmony of Eurydice’s body echoes forever in the Violoncello which she leaves to her beloved Orpheus after her demise. The image of Eurydice in Planet Venus is the message that the Universe is filled with beauty and compassionate love. It is this beauty irradiated by truth and justice in life which touches deeply our hearts.

According to the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin, humanity, after having discovered Fire for its first stage of development, has to discover the forces of Love for its second. The mystical transformation of Eurydice is the sign of a world to come, a message of consolation and hope: A loss which we consider irreplaceable can generate new strength and talents in ourselves.

To us artists is given the possibility to express the visible of the invisible, to allow the mysterious to be transformed into image. The capacity to discover, create, irradiate something with the fire of beauty has an analogy with the beauty of Divine fire. There is an ethic, a “Spirituality” of the artistic creation which contributes to life and to the salvation of humanity. The perfect body of Eurydice is the embodiment of this spirituality.

Anna Chromy speaking at the opening of Spiritus Mundi, December 31 2011

Anna Chromy spoke at the opening of her exhibition in Foshan, China and gave an articulate description of what is meant by ‘Spiritus Mundi’.

Spiritus Mundi, the title of this exhibition, means the spirit of being that unites us all. It is the universal consciousness independent of the country where we live or the culture in which we were raised, and it enables us to perceive the deeper truths of life and our planet.

Artists can help others understand these truths which affect the questions before us all: What am I doing here? what is the meaning of my life? But to succeed the artist must use language understandable to all. This is one reason why I chose a figurative approach in my creations.

Most important is the beauty that inspires you to love a work and see its message come true. In the words of Keats: “Beauty is truth and truth is beauty”, and Dostoyevsky “Only beauty will save the world.”

I am fortunate to live in an extraordinary part of our globe, the birthplace of sculpture in ancient Greece and Rome. Here we have seen the development of art through the Renaissance and Baroque periods with geniuses such as Michelangelo, Rafael and Bernini. The permanent confrontation with their creations, internalized through generations of contemplation, provides a particular theme for my work.

As was laid down in the Enneads of ancient mythology, “Look from deep within yourself if you cannot yet see the beauty, and then think like the artist to see it fully”. I see my work in a spirit of love and harmony, which culminates with its most complete expression in “The Cloak” (of Conscience). This is the largest ever sculpture carved from pure white marble. It began with a monolith of 250 tonnes. The marble was extracted from the famous quarry of Michelangelo in Carrara, where the Master had created such works as David and the Pieta.

The space of meditation and contemplation within The Cloak is empty in appearance. It contains the strength of our love and compassion, and it exposes our soul and our spirit; “Spiritus Mundi and Anima.” In the words of Confucius: “The power of spiritual forces are at work everywhere in the universe. Invisible to the eye, inaccessible to the senses, it penetrates everything and nothing escapes its action. The man who puts into practice the principles of his conscience and the rule of reciprocity is never far from the moral law.”

To conclude, I would like to quote Albert Einstein, another genius of humanity that I admire deeply: “The most beautiful experience we can experience is the mysterious. This is the fundamental emotion at the root of true art and true science. If we can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, then we are already dead”.

I wish you all may experience the wonder and question the mystery of my works.

The 200cm high sculpture is in bronze and depicts the revered scientist and mathematician, Galileo Galilei. It is to take a place of prominence in the University which is located in the vicinity of the Guangzon Sculpture Park.

Guangzon University has over 2,500 staff and runs 42 postgraduate programs and 62 undergraduate programs in eight fields of study including Literature, Science, Engineering, Economics, Management, Law, Education and History.

To see all the pictures from Place Vendome, scroll through the thumbnail images on the right. Click on the main view for the full image.

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