{"product_id":"what-is-art-9791043139796","title":"What Is Art?","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): 1828-1910 Tolstoy Leo Nikolayevich\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Aesthetics\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat Is\u003c\/strong\u003e Art? is an \u003cstrong\u003e1897\u003c\/strong\u003e philosophical treatise by \u003cstrong\u003eLeo Tolstoy\u003c\/strong\u003e that lays out his \u003cem\u003ephilosophy\u003c\/em\u003e of aesthetics. Rejecting notions of aesthetics that center around beauty, Tolstoy instead posits that art is defined by its role in transmitting feelings between human beings. Furthermore, he argues that the quality of art is not assessed by the pleasure it gives, but whether the feelings the art evokes align with the meaning of life revealed by a given society's religious perception. In line with his spiritual views set out in \u003cstrong\u003eThe Kingdom\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong\u003eGod Is Within\u003c\/strong\u003e You, Tolstoy argues that the proper purpose of art is to transmit feelings of human unity and \"to set up, in place of the existing reign of force, that kingdom of \u003cstrong\u003eGod\u003c\/strong\u003e, i.e. of love, which we all recognize to be the highest aim of human life.\"Tolstoy makes a number of unconventional aesthetic judgments in the course of the book, dismissing such works as \u003cstrong\u003eWagner\u003c\/strong\u003e's operas, \u003cstrong\u003eRomeo\u003c\/strong\u003e and Juliet, and his own past works like War and Peace and \u003cstrong\u003eAnna Karenina\u003c\/strong\u003e as \"bad art.\" In turn, he praises such works as Dickens' A \u003cstrong\u003eChristmas Carol\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eHugo\u003c\/strong\u003e's Les Mis�rables as \"examples of the highest art, flowing from the love of \u003cstrong\u003eGod\u003c\/strong\u003e and the love of man.\" \u003cstrong\u003eWhat Is\u003c\/strong\u003e Art? is an \u003cstrong\u003e1897\u003c\/strong\u003e philosophical treatise by \u003cstrong\u003eLeo Tolstoy\u003c\/strong\u003e that lays out his \u003cem\u003ephilosophy\u003c\/em\u003e of aesthetics. Rejecting notions of aesthetics that center around beauty, Tolstoy instead posits that art is defined by its role in transmitting feelings between human beings. Furthermore, he argues that the quality of art is not assessed by the pleasure it gives, but whether the feelings the art evokes align with the meaning of life revealed by a given society's religious perception. In line with his spiritual views set out in \u003cstrong\u003eThe Kingdom\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong\u003eGod Is Within\u003c\/strong\u003e You, Tolstoy argues that the proper purpose of art is to transmit feelings of human unity and \"to set up, in place of the existing reign of force, that kingdom of \u003cstrong\u003eGod\u003c\/strong\u003e, i.e. of love, which we all recognize to be the highest aim of human life.\"Tolstoy makes a number of unconventional aesthetic judgments in the course of the book, dismissing such works as \u003cstrong\u003eWagner\u003c\/strong\u003e's operas, \u003cstrong\u003eRomeo\u003c\/strong\u003e and Juliet, and his own past works like War and Peace and \u003cstrong\u003eAnna Karenina\u003c\/strong\u003e as \"bad art.\" In turn, he praises such works as Dickens' A \u003cstrong\u003eChristmas Carol\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eHugo\u003c\/strong\u003e's Les Mis�rables as \"examples of the highest art, flowing from the love of \u003cstrong\u003eGod\u003c\/strong\u003e and the love of man.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Prairies Numeriques","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47593001844887,"sku":"9791043139796","price":2271.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9791043139796.webp?v=1774980235","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/what-is-art-9791043139796","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}