ABSTRACT
As man becomes what he is by fulfilling social commitments, the artist can only become an artist by entering the relations between men. Only exceptionally, in specific and rare circumstances, does the impulse to artistic activity assert itself and lead to the creation of works of art without the precedent of corresponding social needs and claims. Hence, the history of artistic activity can by and large be described as the history of those tasks which have devolved upon the artist; it is often more difficult to account for them as a series of accomplishments for which uses have to be sought than as a series of obligations which have to be fulfilled.
