"The Philosophy of Fine Art, volume 1 (of 4)" by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is a compilation of lecture notes published in 1835. Drawing from Hegel's university lectures on aesthetics delivered between 1818 and 1829, this work explores art as a manifestation of absolute spirit—what Hegel calls "the beautiful ideal." He traces art's development through symbolic, classical, and romantic stages, examining five major art forms from architecture to poetry. The text investigates how truth appears through beauty and art's evolving role in human consciousness.
Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectures_on_Aesthetics