Define Art
“Art” is related to the Latin word “ars” meaning, art, skill, or craft. The first known use of the word art comes from 13th century manuscripts. However, the word art and its many variants (artem, eart, etc) have probably existed since the founding of Rome.
PHILOSOPHY OF ART
The question of what is art has been debated for centuries among philosophers.”What is art?” is the most basic question in the philosophy of aesthetics, which really means, “how do we determine what is defined as art?” This implies two subtexts: the essential nature of art, and its social importance.
HISTORY OF HOW ART IS DEFINED
Throughout the centuries in Western culture from the 11th century on through the end of the 17th century, the definition of art was anything done with skill as the result of knowledge and practice.
This meant that artists honed their craft, learning to replicate their subjects skillfully. The epitome of this occurred during the Dutch Golden Age when artists were free to paint in all sorts of different genres and made a living off their art in the robust economic and cultural climate of 17th century Netherlands.
During the Romantic period of the 18th century, as a reaction to the Enlightenment and its emphasis on science, empirical evidence, and rational thought, art began to be described as not just being something done with skill, but something that was also created in the pursuit of beauty and to express the the artist’s emotions. Nature was glorified, and spirituality and free expression were celebrated. Artists, themselves, achieved a level of notoriety and were often guests of the aristocracy.
The Avant-garde art movement began in the 1850s with the realism of Gustave Courbet. It was followed by other modern art movements such as cubism, futurism, and surrealism, in which the artist pushed the boundaries of ideas and creativity. These represented innovative approaches to art making and the definition of what is art expanded to include the idea of originality of vision.
The idea of originality in art persists, leading to ever more genres and manifestations of art, such as digital art, performance art, conceptual art, environmental art, electronic art, etc.
Leonardo da Vinci "Monalisa"
Van Gogh "The starry night"
Salvador Dali "The Burning Giraffe"
Salvador Dali "Ascension"
Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory"
René Magritte "The Son of Man"
Rembrandt "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee"
Max Ernst "Approaching puberty"
Johannes Vermeer "Girl with a Pearl Earring"
Edvard Munch "The Scream" , "Anxiety"
Michelangelo "The Creation of Adam"
Max Ernst "The Elephant Celebes"
Video
The famous Artworks that inspired Directors
and how they speak about Art
and how they speak about Art
