Evolution of the Term ‘Art’ and the Concept of Beauty
Evolution of the Term ‘Art’
Art is a term that etymologically comes from the Latin word ars, which in turn is a translation of the Greek techne.
Art is techne, a skill-building term applied to all areas of life.
Greece
In Greece, it was a concept related to technical or mental ability for certain activities. Included in this were both the work of a sculptor or an architect, as well as that of a carpenter or blacksmith: they were all considered teachers.
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, a distinction was made between liberal arts and mechanical arts. In its exercise, if mental effort dominated, or if labor was treasured, it was “liberal” if it was free of physical exertion; it was vulgar and mechanical if it required physical exertion.
Ars was the most perfect kind of art. Within the arts, only music appeared, while architecture, sculpture, and painting appeared neither as liberal nor as mechanical. They were considered of little use.
Renaissance
In the Renaissance, a more evident separation between fine arts and science professions emerged.
In this selection, painting and architecture appear segregated from the mechanical arts, and poetry, which had not even been considered an art, is included.
From the point of evolution, it is important to note that in the 16th century, painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, drama, and dance were grouped into one unit.
Since the mid-18th century, a change in the evolution of the concept of art was witnessed: it meant creating beauty, and beautiful products would be produced by the arts.
Until the 20th century, the areas of fine arts, crafts, and science were finally demarcated. At this time, the field of fine arts was restricted to the visual arts, excluding poetry or music. From the early 20th century, with the emergence of new currents in art, ceramics and new expressions were given the status of objects of art.
In the 20th century, the art world included a number of objects from different fields of expression to fine arts: the photographic image, video art, virtual image, etc. These echoes forced an expansion of the concept of art.
Approaches to the Work of Art
Given the amplitude of the art world, it is difficult to develop a definition of a work of art. We can say that the artwork meets certain requirements:
- Expressive production: produced with the intention that it be provided and willing to communicate something.
- Human production: this is what we call artificiality.
- Symbolic value: the natural object does not pursue any kind of expression; it is an aesthetic echo.
- Uses specific language.
- Authenticity with regard to copying and uniqueness with respect to reproduction.
In the past, we know that many works were designed by teachers and executed by the workshop, and we do not hesitate to classify them as authentic.
We also know of works by great artists that have their source of inspiration in others, and yet the idea of a work of art lies in the genius of the reinterpretation and sheer audacity.
Concept of Beauty Through History
- Greece: Beauty was conceived as Symmetria, that is, beauty is in the relationship and in mutual agreement with each item.
- Middle Ages: It was thought that beauty was an objective property of things. Man perceived it subjectively.
- Renaissance: It was held that the beauty of a work of art depends on the proportions being appropriate to the harmony of the parties and the conservation of the mean.
- Romantic Period: The romantic concept of beauty that develops differs from the beauty of proportion and harmonious arrangement of parts. To understand this, we must remember that Romanticism is a movement born in the 19th century in the shadow of literature.
- Current Century: Sociological claims that beauty depends on the social structure. The current historicist view is that it depends on the historical situation, so every age has its beauty, and that beauty is neither an attribute of the object nor a reaction of the subject, but the relationship of the object with the subject.
In summary, we can say that the artwork is characterized as a product made by man and created artificially in a language to communicate.