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What is Art?

By Leo Tolstoy
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
What is Art? is Leo Tolstoy's provocative essay that challenges conventional views of artistic value. Critiquing revered figures such as Shakespeare, Raphael, and Beethoven, Tolstoy argues that much celebrated art can be 'false art'. Written with the force of a renowned literary figure deeply invested in the role of art, the essay asserts that art is an essential, natural part of human expression, as vital as speech itself.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$4995
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This work is suited for readers interested in philosophy of art, cultural criticism, and Tolstoy's broader intellectual legacy. It will engage those who appreciate deep, challenging reflections on the purpose and nature of art beyond mere aesthetics.

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Reprint. Originally published: London: Bristol Classical Press, 1994.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Both critics and admirers of Tolstoy's great novel were shocked by the savage iconoclasm of his What is Art? when it appeared in 1898. How was it that this great artist could condemn the works of Shakespeare, Raphael, Beethoven and even his own Anna Karenina as 'false art'? Today's reader still has to grapple with that paradox. The essay still has power to challenge and provoke, for it was written by a giant who took art seriously while Western civilisation toyed with it as a mere pastime. For Tolstoy, art was as natural and as necessary for humankind as speech.

In his introduction to this translation, W. Gareth Jones shows how vitally Tolstoy's personality and experience of life were engaged in creating What is Art?, how integral the essay was to his art and teaching, and why it continues to demand a response from us.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781853993817

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 January 1998

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bristol Classical Press

Edition: New edition

Illustration: black & white illustrations

Contributors:

  • Translated by Aylmer Maude
  • Volume editor W. Gareth Jones
  • Translated by G. Jones

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 292g

Pages: 248

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Leo Tolstoy Non-Fiction Philosophy & Psychology Philosophy & Stoicism

About the Author

W. Gareth Jones is Professor of Russian at the University of Wales, Bangor, UK. He is the author of Tolstoi and Britain (1995), and Nikolay Novikov: Enlightener of Russia (2009).

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