# What Is Art? — Themes > Major themes in What Is Art? by Leo Tolstoy. ## True Art vs. Counterfeit Art Tolstoy distinguishes genuine art, which transmits sincere feelings and unites people, from counterfeit art, which is produced for profit, relies on imitation, effect, or borrowing, and fails to infect the audience with a genuine emotion. ### Where it surfaces - [What Is Art?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/what-is-art): The chapter establishes the distinction between genuine art and its imitations, a core theme that Tolstoy will explore throughout the work. - [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/i): The chapter contrasts the genuine purpose of art with the absurd, lewd, and artificial productions of the opera, implying a distinction between true and counterfeit art. - [Chapter III: Aesthetic Theories of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iii): By exposing the confusion in definitions of beauty, Tolstoy sets the stage for distinguishing genuine art from counterfeit. - [Chapter VI: The Religious Basis of Art and Its Decline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vi): The chapter distinguishes true art, which transmits feelings aligned with the highest religious understanding of an age, from counterfeit art based on personal pleasure. - [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vii): Tolstoy distinguishes between art that serves goodness (true art) and the counterfeit art of the upper classes that merely seeks pleasure through beauty. - [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/viii): The chapter contrasts the false, exclusive art of the upper classes with the potential for universal, true art that would be accessible to all people. ## Art and Morality The book argues that art is inseparable from morality and religious perception; art that serves only pleasure or sensuality is harmful, while true art transmits feelings that advance human brotherhood and spiritual progress. ### Where it surfaces - [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vii): The chapter emphasizes that art should serve goodness, contrasting the Greek conflation of beauty and goodness with the Christian moral ideal. ## Social Class and Exclusivity in Art Tolstoy critiques the art of the upper classes as exclusive, inaccessible to the common people, and dependent on the labor of the masses, arguing that this art is perverted and disconnected from universal human experience. ### Where it surfaces - [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/viii): Tolstoy argues that upper-class art is exclusive, inaccessible to the working majority, and sustained by their labor, making it a class-based counterfeit of true art. - [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ix): The chapter contrasts the rich, varied feelings of working people with the limited, trivial feelings of the idle rich, showing how class exclusivity has narrowed art's emotional range. - [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ii): The poems are drawn from a 'thick book' and are presented as art for a select few, highlighting the exclusivity of upper-class art. ## Religious Perception as the Guide for Art The author asserts that true art must be guided by the highest religious perception of its time, which in the modern era is the ideal of universal brotherhood and unity, rather than by doctrines of any particular church. ### Where it surfaces - [Chapter V: The Infection Theory of Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/v): Tolstoy argues that art transmitting feelings from religious perception has been given special importance, contrasting with modern art that only seeks pleasure. - [Chapter VI: The Religious Basis of Art and Its Decline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vi): Tolstoy argues that throughout history, the value of art has been determined by the religious conception of what is good and evil in a society. - [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ix): He asserts that only art based on religious perception can transmit fresh, new feelings, and that the upper classes' lack of belief has impoverished art's subject-matter. - [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xvi): Christian religious perception is the ultimate criterion for distinguishing good art from bad. - [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xviii): Tolstoy argues that the religious perception of the age—the union of mankind—must consciously guide art, replacing the false theory of beauty. - [XX: The Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xx-the-conclusion): He insists that art must be guided by the religious perception of the age, which is the consciousness of brotherhood. ## Infection Theory of Art Tolstoy defines art as the transmission of feeling from artist to audience, where the work's success is measured by its infectiousness—the degree to which it unites receiver and creator in a shared emotional experience. ### Where it surfaces - [Chapter V: The Infection Theory of Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/v): Tolstoy defines art as the transmission of feelings from one person to another, causing infection, and distinguishes it from speech which transmits thoughts. - [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/x): Art's essence is to infect all people with the artist's feeling, making universal comprehensibility a test of true art. - [The Substitution of Counterfeits for Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xi): Tolstoy reiterates that genuine art transmits feeling from artist to receiver, a process absent in counterfeits. - [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xiv): Art is defined by its ability to infect the receiver with the artist's feeling; peasant singing exemplifies this, while most upper-class art fails. - [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xv): Tolstoy defines art by its capacity to infect the receiver with the artist's feeling, uniting them in a shared emotional experience. The degree of infectiousness is the sole measure of artistic merit. - [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xvi): Tolstoy reiterates that true art is judged by its infectiousness and ability to transmit feelings. ## Critique of Aesthetics and Art Criticism The book condemns formal aesthetic theories and professional art critics for justifying whatever art pleases the elite, thereby perverting taste and promoting counterfeit works over genuine art. ### Where it surfaces - [What Is Art?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/what-is-art): Tolstoy directly challenges the foundations of aesthetic philosophy, arguing that existing definitions are subjective and fail to capture the essence of art. - [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/i): Tolstoy highlights the self-contradictory nature of art criticism, where different schools deny each other's legitimacy, leaving no clear definition of art. - [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ii): Tolstoy deconstructs the vague and contradictory definitions of beauty offered by philosophers over 150 years. - [Chapter III: Aesthetic Theories of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iii): Tolstoy systematically critiques the major aesthetic theories, finding them contradictory and obscure. - [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iv): Tolstoy systematically dismantles existing aesthetic theories that define art by beauty or pleasure, arguing they are circular and self-serving. - [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vii): Tolstoy systematically dismantles the invented science of aesthetics, arguing it has no foundation in ancient thought and merely justifies the pleasure-seeking art of the elite. ## Art as a Means of Human Union Art is presented as a vital spiritual organ for humanity, essential for uniting people across time and space through shared feelings, and for progressing toward collective well-being and brotherhood. ### Where it surfaces - [Chapter V: The Infection Theory of Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/v): Art is described as a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, indispensable for life and progress. - [Chapter XIII: Wagner and the Counterfeit of Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xiii): Implied in the critique: Wagner's forced union of music and drama fails to achieve the genuine union of artistic infection that true art creates. - [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xvi): True Christian art unites all people through love and simple universal feelings, while exclusive art divides. - [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xviii): True art transmits feelings that unite all people without exception, and the highest aim of art is to contribute to the brotherhood and unity of mankind. - [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xix): Tolstoy emphasizes that future art will transmit feelings that draw people together in brotherly union. - [XX: The Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xx-the-conclusion): Tolstoy argues that art's destiny is to establish brotherly union among men, transmitting the feeling of love and unity. ## Perversion of Art by Professionalism and Gain Tolstoy argues that when artists become professionals motivated by remuneration, art loses its sincerity and becomes a trade, producing counterfeit works that corrupt rather than elevate society. ### Where it surfaces - [The Author’s Preface](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/the-author-s-preface): Tolstoy's compromise with the censor for publication illustrates how institutional and professional pressures can distort artistic integrity. - [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/i): Tolstoy criticizes the immense labor and resources spent on art, the stunting of human lives through specialized training, and the cruelty of conductors, suggesting art has been perverted by professional demands and financial interests. - [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ii): He highlights how art is supported by the unwilling labor of the poor and questions whether it justifies such sacrifices. - [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iv): He criticizes how art is defined to justify the productions that please a certain class, rather than seeking a true, universal definition. - [Chapter VI: The Religious Basis of Art and Its Decline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/vi): Tolstoy implies that the upper classes, lacking a religious guide, perverted art by using it for personal enjoyment and to maintain their social position. - [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/ix): Tolstoy argues that upper-class art, driven by the pursuit of enjoyment rather than religious perception, has become artificial, brain-spun, and deprived of true artistic value. 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