68 • Introduction to Art Therapy
Concluding Thoughts
Given the blossoming of art therapy all over the world, it seems fitting to close this
chapter with a statement written two centuries ago by a German poet, novelist, and
scientist, whose studies included an elaborate theory of color and the emotions. Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) has been admired by people as diverse as Rudolf
Steiner, father of the spiritual philosophy of anthroposophy, and Sigmund Freud, ratio-
nal father of the highly verbal theory of psychoanalysis. In My Italian Journey, published
in 1787, Goethe wrote: “We ought to talk less and draw more. I, personally, should like
to renounce speech altogether and, like organic nature, communicate everything I have
to say in sketches.”
I have no doubt that Goethe would have welcomed the development of art therapy.
Endnote
- Seki, N. (Ed.). (2008). Atarashii geijyutsu no nagare-creative arts. Tokyo, Japan: Film Art Inc.