The major theme of this graduate work is Ernst Cassirer's interpretation and understanding of art as elaborated in his philosophy of symbolic forms. The first part of it is devoted to Cassirer’s initial encounter with the symbolic in the context of new kantean problem of cognition. He has developed his philosophy of culture, based on the critic of the mind, in which he defines human as animal symbolicum. The central part of the work is focused on the symbolic forms (myth and religion, language, art, history, and science), which are considered to be basic elements in the process of development of the cultural world. Attention is specifically paid to art, as it occupies a prominent position in the system of symbolic forms, and is considered to provide a specific source of knowledge. That is one of the major assumptions of the work. Art is positioned between the mythical and scientific view of the world. Work of art has symbolic power and is clearly organized and articulated unit, although it need not refer to anything real. After thorough insight into the particular symbolic forms, I analyze how is related to other symbolic forms, and how their mutual similarities and differences are exposed when creating a harmonious structural unity. In the concluding part I turn to the more recent reception of Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms as exemplified by the philosophical work of S. K. Langer and N. Goodman.