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of an idea, not merely a reminiscence but also a vision; in other words: the non-sensory and conceptual elements of the artists imagination displace the sensuous and irrational elements. And thus the picture is gradually changed into a pictographical sign-language, the pictorial abundance is reduced to a non-pictorial or almost non-pictorial shorthand." p. 34

...some of the most magnificent works of art originated precisely here in the Ancient Orient under the most dire pressure imaginable. They prove that there is no direct relationship between the personal freedom of the Artist and the aesthetic quality of his works. For it is a fact that every intention of a artist has to make its way through the meshes of a closely entwined net; every work of art is produced by the tension between a series of aims and a series of resistances to their

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achievement - resistances represented by inadmissible motifs, social prejudices and faulty powers of judgment of the public, and aims which have either already assimilated these resistances or stand openly and irreconcilably opposed to them. If the resistances in one direction are impossible to overcome, then the artists invention and powers of expression turn to a goal the way to which is not obstructed and it is very unusual for him ever to be aware of the fact that his achievement is a substitute for the real thing. Even in the most liberal democracy the artist does not move with perfect freedom and unrestraint; even there he is restricted by innumerable considerations foreign to his art. The different measure of freedom may be of the greatest importance for him