The psychic function of art

Abstract

Both Freud and Jung wrote and published their own theories to reveal the unconscious mind as represented in the dream state, and how it is reflected in active and imaginative conscious experiences. Although at times their theories were challenged, and sometimes even discredited, many followers elaborated and modified their contributions further. Freud’s theory of dreams reflects the conflict between pleasure and death. ‘His resolution involves the curbing and prohibition of instinctual drives, the renunciation of the pleasure principle, and sublimation as a consequence of the acceptance of the reality principle, as represented by the father’ (Knafo 2012: 130). This is manifested in Freud’s use of sexual metaphors when describing Leonardo da Vinci’s creativity, which indicates the genius’s sublimation of sexual needs.