What is Art?Art and the basics

The word ‘art’ can be used to describe anything from prehistoric cave paintings to a heap of junk in the corner of a gallery. It can even be used to refer to music and literature, but most often it means visual art, or things which are made to be looked at - especially paintings.

The great debatePeople have argued about art, what it is and why it’s so great, for centuries. Artists and experts often have very different ideas, leading to some violent disputes. The French painter Manet disagreed with a critic so strongly, he challenged him to a duel. There are lots of controversial questions, but no right or wrong answers. Everyone has different tastes and opinions, so it is up to you to decide what you think.

Some people think art should be beautiful or lifelike; others think it is more important to capture a mood or feeling. Just compare the two paintings below. One looks almost photographic. The other is much sketchier and painted with only few colours, but very atmospheric.

Madame Moitessier (1856) by Ingres. Although this looks very realistic, Ingres cheated with the angle of the mirror to make it reflect her profile.

Combing the hair (around 1896) by Edgar Degas.

Degas used warm, reddish colours to make this scene feel cosy and intimate.

What’s it all about?Some people believe art should be about ideas. Others prefer to enjoy art for its own sake. The Impressionists had some heated debates over this very question. Some of them felt it was important to paint scenes of modern life, while other were more interested in exploring the effect of light on things.

Bathers at Asnières, Georges Seurat.

This painting caused huge rows because of the way it showed ordinary people.

What’s it worth?People often disagree wildly about the value of art. Vincent van Gogh died in poverty, because no one would buy his paintings, even his friends said they looked like the work of a madman. Now, they are among the most valueable pictures in the world. And critic John Ruskin ended up in court in a dispute over Nocturne in Black in Gold, by James Whistler.

Ruskin thought Whistler’s painting was far too slapdash. He couldn’t believe the artist wanted 200 guineas for ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’. Whistler’s response was that the painting’s value didn’t depend on how long it took him to paint, but on his genius and years of study. He sued Ruskin for libel and won, although he was awarded only a farthing (a quarter of a penny) in damages. So it seems the judge really agreed with Ruskin.

Nocture in black and gold - the falling rocket (1875) by U.S. artist James Whistler. It’s so blurry. it’s hard to see what is going on. It shows a firework display.

But is it art?Today, there is a bigger emphasis than ever on making art new and original. Artists constantly pushing the boundaries of what we think of as ‘art’. So, there is more and more controversy about it, and about the high prices collectors sometimes pay for it. Some of the things artists have exhibited include a bicycle wheel on a stool, a painting of a pipe labelled This is not a pipe. a pile of bricks, a plain white canvas, a pile of rubish from a party (later thrown away by mistake) and a unmade bed.

Does that sound like art to you? Some of them weren’t even made by the artist, they were just things he or she had found. You might not expect to find them in a gallery at all. Does seeing them there make them art?They can certainly provoke strong reactions and make you see things in a new way, which traditional paintings often do, too.

Styles and themesYou will see that within the history of art specific themes inspire artists and that artists seem to group up into specific styles and ways of working.

In the upcoming lessons we will look at the history of art in different themes, focussing on both western and non-western art. It’s a bit weird perhaps that this division is still made, but I can’t help it. In art history every country that is highly influenced by the West is considered western art and all the other countries are described as Non-western art (varying from Africa to China to Russia)