Abstract

It is known how much of the work that Arthur Danto has dedicated to the philosophy of art has concerned the concept of representation and, specifically, the concept of artistic representation. The basic thesis that Danto developed starting from The Artworld (1965) consists in the idea that art should be considered as a particular type of representation, as opposed to what Plato had suggested, who considered it as a form of mimesis of reality. The article will show how this Dantian thesis, which is based on the notion of artistic representation exhibited by Friedrich Nietzsche in the Birth of Tragedy, firstly hides a partial misunderstanding of Nietzsche's theses, and secondly reveals a philosophical error equal to and contrary to that made by Plato. We will also show how art is often a form of mimesis and how different types of mimesis are in fact compatible with artistic representation. Finally, we will show how mimesis and representation offer different forms of knowledge that belong to the art of all times.