Introduction to The Power of Beauty

On December 10, 1974, Nobel laureate Alexandr Solzhenitsyn delivered an address on the power of beauty and the arts to change the world. Taking as his point of departure Dostoyevsky’s insight that beauty will save the world, and shaped by his own experience of the power of literature to unmask totalitarianism, Solzhenitsyn spoke on the relationship of beauty, truth, and goodness, and the distinctive nature of the power of beauty.

One day Dostoevsky threw out the enigmatic remark: “Beauty will save the world.” What sort of a statement is that? For a long time I considered it mere words. How could that be possible? When in bloodthirsty history did beauty ever save anyone from anything? Ennobled, uplifted, yes—but whom has it saved? … There is, however, a certain peculiarity in the essence of beauty, a peculiarity in the status of art: namely, the convincingness of a true work of art is completely irrefutable and it forces even an opposing heart to surrender….¹

For Solzhenitsyn, the beauty of a work of art was not merely a product of skill or ability, nor did it exist as a vehicle for mere self-expression. On the contrary, art, if it is to be a true work of art, if it is to be truly beautiful, leads its audience to a deeper understanding of truth, especially the truth about other human beings. Art has the ability to circumvent the defenses we erect around our hearts; the more we wish to turn away from experiences that we do not wish to see or acknowledge, the more art insists that we look. These encounters with beauty lead us further, sometimes reluctantly, to personally embrace truth and goodness.

So perhaps that ancient trinity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty is not simply an empty, faded formula as we thought in the days of our self-confident, materialistic youth? If the tops of these three trees converge, as the scholars maintained, but the too blatant, too direct stems of Truth and Goodness are crushed, cut down, not allowed through—then perhaps the fantastic, unpredictable, unexpected stems of Beauty will push through and soar to that very same place, and in so doing will fulfill the work of all three?... In that case Dostoevsky’s remark, “Beauty will save the world,” was not a careless phrase but a prophecy? After all HE was granted to see much, a man of fantastic illumination.²

How does beauty do this? And what is the role of the artist? Perhaps it will be more illuminating to start with the second question. Solzhenitsyn suggests that the artist, “recognizing a higher power above, gladly works as a humble apprentice beneath God’s heaven”³ In other words, his role is “to be more keenly aware than others of the harmony of the world, of the beauty and ugliness of the human contribution to it, and to communicate this acutely to his fellow-men.”⁴

How does the artist do this? “From man to man, as he completes his brief spell on Earth, art transfers the whole weight of an unfamiliar, lifelong experience with all its burdens, its colours, its sap of life; it recreates in the flesh an unknown experience and allows us to possess it as our own.”⁵ Through his art, the artist brings cultures and civilizations into conversation, making the joys and sufferings of those far away near to all who encounter his art. The artist’s vivid depictions of others’ experiences reveal what would otherwise remain hidden and give voice to the voiceless. In this way, the artist can bridge the divides of time, culture, and distance.

But the power of beauty involves more than creating moments of empathy that would otherwise not be possible. In representing or recreating the experiences of others, the artist also appeals to the interior, spiritual dimension of the human being. Those who view what is truly beautiful cannot avoid being moved by it, as it stirs the imagination and evokes a sense of longing for that which transcends the self, a longing ultimately for the One who is the source...