What Is Art? (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Leo Tolstoy (Author), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140446427 | ISBN-13: 978-0140446425 | Publication Date: January 1, 1996

During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticizes the elitist nature of art in nineteenth-century Western society, and rejects the idea that its sole purpose should be the creation of beauty. The works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire and Wagner are all vigorously condemned, as Tolstoy explores what he believes to be the spiritual role of the artist - arguing that true art must work with religion and science as a force for the advancement of mankind.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

About the Author

Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born in 1828 and educated privately. He studied Oriental languages and Law at the University of Kazan, then led a life of pleasure until he joined an artillery regiment in the Caucasus in 1851. He served during the Crimean War and after the defence of Sebastopol wrote The Sebastopol Sketches, which established his reputation. He continued to write while developing educational projects, writing War and Peace and Anna Karenina between 1865 and 1876. A Confession marked an outward change in his life and works: he became an extreme rationalist and moralist, and his theories led to his excommunication from the Russian Holy Synod in 1901. He died in 1910. Richard Pevear has published translations of Alain, Yves Bonnefoy and Alberto Savinio, as well as two books of poetry. He and his wife, Larissa Volokhonsky, have translated works by Pavel Florensky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Nikolai Gogol, among others. Their translation of The Brothers Karamazov received the PEN translation award in 1991. They live in France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140446427
• ISBN-13: 978-0140446425
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Russian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Discussion of Art for the Layman..., May 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: What Is Art? (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Tolstoy, in his magical, down-to-earth way discusses the wanton waste of money and time on sculptures, paintings, etc. that should never be called "ART." If something is designed purely for erotic satisfaction, it should not be called "ART." Even when a bizarre creation attracts thousands of viewers, the adoring crowds do not validate the creation, but the creator who supports his/her career via their pocketbooks!

Tolstoy's scathing and unapologetic look at 'Art History' can still be argued in our own culture. The times have changed but mankind has not. I would venture to say that Generation X understands very little about true artistic works, we are so bombarded with commercialism and materialism. We are only interested in what gives us erotic and material pleasure. But in the long run, temporal and vainglorious things did not satisfy Tolstoy and his contemporaries, and will not satisfy us either.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all arts majors, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: What Is Art? (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Tolstoy unleashes an intellectual argument as only he can as he provides a classical insight into the definition of art. Filled with lashings against Church Christianity and praise for true Chrisitanity, and more lashings against universal art that is unoriginal and full of sexual erotica, Tolstoy argues that true art is reflective of the religious consciousness of the age and is measured by its degree of infectuousness to the consumer. It is valued by having particularity, clarity, and sincerity of feeling from the artist. Keep in mind this was written at the end of his life in the 19th century. Tolstoy also argues that governmental endowments given to art that only satisifes the sensual desires of the upper class is a great abuse of the millions of common people that work hard but will never even see the art, art that was produced at incredible expense using their money. In summary, Tolstoy offers a timeless definition of art.

47 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confused about art? This is your guide written by a genius!, February 16, 2000

By 

Igor Otshelnik - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Is Art? (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Do you have thoughts like "well, maybe it's just me... They say Monet is great, but perhaps I just don't understand it..." I say, maybe it's your own gut that tells you what is the true art and what is not!

This work by Tolstoy is a summary of his 15 year spiritual journey and research of art and what it's all about. And who is the author! A genius himself! In this piece he tells us in plain language that the whole art of his century (with a few exceptions) is a product of a rotten class of people, a select few, whose main concerns were far from being common with the feelings of any normal human being. "Art, nowadays, is for pleasure, not for bringing moral values in the form of genuine feelings to a reader". This is basically the general idea of the work. At first, you feel dumbfounded reading this, but after a few pages, his statements start to make sense. Only a true moral feeling expressed in the right form, not necessarily beautiful, but understandible and to the point, is a true piece of art.

Now, let's go back and think for minute: do I really like Sheakspeare or is it the literary criticism the makes me feel that I am not a fully cultured person unless I acknowledge Sheakspeare as the greatest of all, or at least one of the greatest writers (playwrights) ever? Even if I think that he was too verbose and vague to begin with? That sometimes you read him and whole paragraphs go by without you fully understanding what he's talking about? Mind you, he wrote for the theater, which means characters' sentences need to be pretty concise and clear, so that the audience could follow them. Anyway, Tolstoy will help you understand this problem.

His main idea, again, is for art to convey the feelings of fraternity and love to the reader, not sexual desires, fake patriotism, shovinism or those exquisite feelings of the upper class. Art is about compassion, love, oneness of all people and good healthy humor. I totally agree with that.

One more thing: in this work, Tolstoy confronts the idea of goodness with the idea of beauty, saying that for the sake of beauty, the contemporary artists disregard goodness. This a very controversial statement, in my opinion, but there is a point there...

Also recommended: of course, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Resurrection, Childhood, Boyhood & Youth, as true standards of literature, by which you can judge the works of others. All other fiction by Tolstoy is just as great and easy to read, especially his short stories, such as "Master and Man", "The Forged Coupon", etc. His other less known works that are revolutionary by their essence, are "My Confession", "What is My Belief (Religion)" and especially (really hard to find) "Critique of Dogmatic Theology", where he expounded his views on religion and traditional Church Christianity with all its absurd, useless dogmas, which only divert your attention from what Christ really taught. This is a very controversial work, which was prohibited in Russia of his day, but which is certainly worth reading. By the way, why doesn't Everyman's Library publish it?