What Is Art?
by Leo Tolstoy · Что такое искусство?
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1897
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- Russian
- Length
- Medium · 200 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendWhat Is Art?, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa VolokhonskyPenguin Classics, 1995The first English translation made from the uncensored Russian text.
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Tolstoy's late treatise attacking the idea that art is about beauty. He surveys two centuries of aesthetic theory, rejects it, and defines art as the transmission of feeling from one person to others by means of signs. Good art is sincere, clear and infectious; the best art conveys religious feeling and unites people. On this test he condemns most of the art of the upper classes, including Wagner, Baudelaire and his own novels, and praises folk art and the parables of the Gospels.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns What Is Art? are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
