Full Idea
According to Hegel, the goal of art was to serve as a phase in a process by which Spirit would come to understand its own nature.
Gist of Idea
The purpose of art is to reveal to Spirit its own nature
Source
report of Georg W.F.Hegel (Lectures on Aesthetics [1826]) by Stephen Davies - The Philosophy of Art (2nd ed) 2.7
Book Reference
Davies,Stephen: 'The Philosophy of Art (2nd ed)' [Wiley Blackwell 2016], p.43
A Reaction
I try very hard to understand ideas like this. Really really hard. However, since I see little sign of 'Spirit' really understanding its own nature, I'm guessing that the project is not going well.