Comparison of the Concept of Sacred Art between Frithjof Schuon and Mircea Eliade

Essence of the sacred and its embodiments in art are subject of many researchers attention involved in religion and art. Among them are perennial philosophers like Frithjof Schuon who considers art as a manifestation of the sacred and has deep considerations towards art and the sacred. Mircea Eliade also as a researcher in religion has addressed the matter of relations between art and the sacred. This paper intends to compare the two thinkers’ opinions about sacred art by means of bibliographical resources and analyzing them. Although similarities can be seen in defining the essence of the sacred and its functions between Schuon and Eliades’ ideas but their analysis method to form their thoughts are very different. Finally, the distinct viewpoints of Schuon and Eliade regarding the presence of the sacred in modern art are compared as well.