ABSTRACT
A discussion of Christian iconography and Modernism is incomplete without an examination of the work of Jacques Maritain. Through his revival of Thomism, his significant influence on the Second Vatican Council, and his friendships with Modernist artists, Maritain emerged as the most authoritative Catholic voice to speak in defense of Modernist art. Maritain's assessment of Modernism is largely based on what Modernists wrote about their art and what they tried to express or achieve through. Starting with his seminal work on Thomistic aesthetics, Art and Scholasticism Maritain tried to explain avant-garde art in Thomistic terms and show that all great art is Christian in nature. The concept that Maritain used in order to explore the nature of the creative process is "poetic intuition". For Maritain, the work of art arises out of the expressive struggle of a subject whose intuitions overflow with transcendental significance. This esoteric contact with the world is mediated and sustained by divine love.
