Abstract
In history, art and philosophy have always interacted. Especially when we look at the art of the classical period, we see that an Aristotelian understanding is dominant. Aristotelian art understanding, basically examining nature; It can be said that it is an effort to make the inherent reality visible in it hidden. When we look at modern art; we see an understanding that develops mostly within the framework of spirituality. The reason for this situation can be searched with thought and philosophy. In this context, the main purpose of this study, which entered the field of art philosophy; The main feature of modern painting is the study of the effect of René Descartes on spirituality. In this study, the methodological suspicion and metaphysics of the Descartes are examined firstly based on his various works. Later, his views on vision were examined in his work called Dioptrique, and an understanding of painting emerged with his metaphysics. The basis of this understanding of painting is as follows: 1. Art is not science, 2. Art is related to freedom, 3. Art is related to spiritual reality. As a result of this study, it can be stated that there is a connection between the teachings of Descartes and modern understanding of painting based on freedom.