What Is Art?

What Is Art? brings Leo Tolstoy’s approach to philosophy into clear focus first published in 1898. A philosophical work completed in 1897. Tolstoy questions the very nature of art, rejecting beauty-based definitions to propose that art is anything communicating emotion, from jokes to church services. Yet his Christian moralism leads him to dismiss celebrated masters like Beethoven, Wagner, and Shakespeare, along with most of his own writings. He condemns the obscurity and artificiality of contemporary art, insisting that true art must be accessible to all and serve humanity's moral evolution by evoking brotherhood and love. By returning to Arts -- Philosophy and Arts and morals, the work links personal experience with wider social, moral, or imaginative concerns. The reading experience is shaped by a reflective style that asks readers to test arguments against experience. At roughly 77,578 words with a fairly difficult reading profile, it offers a reading commitment that is easy to judge before beginning while still leaving room for close attention. Its continuing value lies in its continuing value as a direct encounter with foundational questions. For modern readers, the pleasure comes from entering its particular world while noticing how its central concerns still shape personal and public life.