For such a bummer of a philosopher, I think Schopenhauer's outlook on art is well thought out and rather optimistic. His epistemology is based largely off Kant's, so I'll skip talking about the concept of separate perceptions for each person and the fact that the world we perceive is disconnected from "reality" and how the world actually exists. The difference between Kant and Schopenhauer that most sticks out to me is that Schopenhauer believes that we can access the "real" world that our senses inaccurately perceive. He believes we can do so through art. Art, to Schopenhauer, is representative of not only something in reality but of the idea that rests behind the artwork. Its not the painting, its what the painting represents. Interestingly, Schopenhauer incorporates Platonic theories as well as Indian philosophies into his own.
I think this says a great deal in favor of Schopenhauer's intellectual ability. Unlike Hume, who I believe is restrained by his own hypothesis, Schopenhauer is open minded enough to learn from the thinkers that came before him and apply their rational to his own. Unfortunately, his outlook on life is totally gloomy, but at least he wasn't closed minded.
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