by Karel Kosik
Marx's famous fragment on classical Greek art shares the fate of many a brilliant thought: the sediment of commentaries and a frequent overstatement of the obvious have obscured its true sense.1 Was Marx investigating the significance and the timeless character of antique art? Was he attempting to solve problems of art and beauty? Is the quote in question an isolated expression or is it related to his other views? What is its proper meaning? Why do those commentators fail who consider only its literal immediacy and see it as an invitation to resolve the question of the ideal character of Greek art? And why do also those interpreters fail who consider Marx's immediate answer as satisfactory, without pausing to question why the manuscript abruptly breaks off in the middle of an idea?
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