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Art and the Creative Unconscious
Four essays on the psychological aspects of art. A study of Leonardo treats the work of art, & art itself, not as ends in themselves, but rather as instruments of the artist's inner situation. Two other essays discuss the relation of art to its epoch & specifically the relation of modern art to our own time. An essay on Chagall views this artist in the context of the problems explored in the other studies.
246 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1971
About the author
Erich Neumann
67 books488 followersErich Neumann (Hebrew: אריך נוימן) was a psychologist, writer, and one of Carl Jung's most gifted students.
Neumann received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1927. He practiced analytical psychology in Tel Aviv from 1934 until his death in 1960. For many years, he regularly returned to Zürich, Switzerland to give lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute. He also lectured frequently in England, France and the Netherlands, and was a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology and president of the Israel Association of Analytical Psychologists.
Erich Neumann contributed greatly to the field of developmental psychology and the psychology of consciousness and creativity. Neumann had a theoretical and philosophical approach to analysis, contrasting with the more clinical concern in England and the United States. His most valuable contribution to psychology was the empirical concept of "centroversion", a synthesis of extra- and introversion. However, he is best known for his theory of feminine development, a theory formulated in numerous publications, most notably The Great Mother. His works also elucidate the way mythology throughout history reveals aspects of the development of consciousness that are parallel in both the individual and society as a whole.
Neumann received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1927. He practiced analytical psychology in Tel Aviv from 1934 until his death in 1960. For many years, he regularly returned to Zürich, Switzerland to give lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute. He also lectured frequently in England, France and the Netherlands, and was a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology and president of the Israel Association of Analytical Psychologists.
Erich Neumann contributed greatly to the field of developmental psychology and the psychology of consciousness and creativity. Neumann had a theoretical and philosophical approach to analysis, contrasting with the more clinical concern in England and the United States. His most valuable contribution to psychology was the empirical concept of "centroversion", a synthesis of extra- and introversion. However, he is best known for his theory of feminine development, a theory formulated in numerous publications, most notably The Great Mother. His works also elucidate the way mythology throughout history reveals aspects of the development of consciousness that are parallel in both the individual and society as a whole.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 14, 2016
The one on Leonardo Da Vinci is my fave of all time essays.
February 24, 2021
Must be read slowly as each of Neumann’s paragraphs re-wires one’s brain upon reading.
The book nearly leapt out of my hands when he casually described the origin of consciousness on page 15:
“[The Archetypal Feminine] appears both as the all-generative aspect of nature and as the creative source of the unconscious, from which consciousness was born in the course of human history, and out of which unceasingly, in all times and in every man, there arise new psychic contents that broaden, intensify, and enrich the life of the individual and of the community.”
Recommended to me by a dear friend after asking where to start with Jung (“Skip him; his writing is turgid — read his favorite student instead.”) along with Neumann’s “The Fear of the Feminine.”
The book nearly leapt out of my hands when he casually described the origin of consciousness on page 15:
“[The Archetypal Feminine] appears both as the all-generative aspect of nature and as the creative source of the unconscious, from which consciousness was born in the course of human history, and out of which unceasingly, in all times and in every man, there arise new psychic contents that broaden, intensify, and enrich the life of the individual and of the community.”
Recommended to me by a dear friend after asking where to start with Jung (“Skip him; his writing is turgid — read his favorite student instead.”) along with Neumann’s “The Fear of the Feminine.”
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April 22, 2026Gillar jungianska arketyper. Har en stark Great Mother inom mig
August 19, 2018
I really liked his arguments. I didn't agree with them all, in fact I probably found myself disagreeing more than not. It was incredibly stimulating however - my mind was seething with thoughts for days after reading it. (I was particularly interested in what he had to say about the collective unconscious and how it influenced art in their societies.)
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June 14, 2023A Note on Marc Chagall
May 29, 2026
reads da Vinci's mommy complex to filth 5/5
February 24, 2015
Four specific essays about unique creativity and unconscious.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews