Turning our eyes to the horizon is a very common experience, as well as an invitation to reverie and even metaphysical giddiness. What is out there beyond what we can see?

A God, hidden meaning, or simply nothing? And why does the horizon sometimes look like a line, like it has a sharply defined geometry, and sometimes like fog, a dense cloud or a storm—that is, a phantasmagoria? In fact, the entire history of western metaphysics can be told through the changes in the representation of the horizon in paintings: the German philosopher 

Albrecht Koschorke has written a captivating, stimulating book, Histoire de
l’horizon (Geschichte des Horizonts, Suhrkamp, 1990, not translated), based on this thesis.

To present the results of this inquiry, which runs from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, seven paintings will be projected onto a large screen and commented on by Koschorke and the French philosopher Nicolas Grimaldi, a close follower of painting and author of several essays on art. Read an interview with Albrecht Koschorke in the November issue of Philosophie Magazine.