16 Solange Ribeiro de Oliveira* Abstract: The essay discusses the theoretical question of art as a universal lan- guage. The relevance of the theme for studies of intermediality is justified by the relation between the discourses of art history, anthropology and ethnology and artistic objects produced worldwide in different ages. As theoretical support, the essay relies on concepts developed by G. C. Jung, H. Read and E. H. Gombrich, who, in different ways, argue for the universality of art. As illustrations, the text offers reproductions of artworks accessible to the most diverse cultures: repre- sentations of archetypes, religious rituals, behavior aimed at the preservation of the species, as well as the exploration of bright colours and the projection of the human form into ordinary utensils. Keywords: Intermediality. The universal in art. Archetypes. ■ I n broaching the theme of the universal in art, we are well aware of its problematic aspects. As its detractors claim, “universal” is not a term used to characterize a certain kind of artistic product, identifiable by more or less precise features. Though pretending to be atemporal and absolute, the concept is clearly grounded on the worldview of a legitimating centre – that of European cultures, which look back to Greco-Latin and Jewish Christian roots (LAJOLO, 2005, p. 317). On the other end of the argument, which I tend to side with, the art critic Hebert Read (1968, p. 219) assures us that in a very real sense art is a universal language, speaking directly to the senses and thus to all humans. In Read´s view, the notion supposes a standard of thematic and aesthetic treatment accessible to any observer, regardless of time and place. In the same line, in his praise of rock and popular art, the great Brazilian multi-artist Adriano Suassuna * Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) – Belo Horizonte – MG – Brasil. E-mail: solanger1@uol.com.br ART AS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE