“Art is not an end in itself, but a means of addressing humanity.”
Modest Mussorgsky
As philosopher Richard Wollheim says, art is “one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture.” In its simplest manifestation, art is a form of communication that serves as a vehicle for the expression of emotions and ideas. As ideas and beliefs are culturally specific and constantly changing over time, there really is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes art. That being said, the classical branches of the visual arts are identified as painting, sculpture and architecture. Literature and poetry are considered part of the humanities or as one of the arts, while music, alongside theatre, film and dance belong to the performing arts. In this section you will discover not only specific explorations of individual art forms, but also a more detailed probing of the relationship between the visual arts and music, including painting and music, sculpture and music and architecture and music. Originally, poetry and music were treated as a unity, but gradually they have become more independent. Nevertheless, the two art forms have never forgotten their shared genetic makeup, and been intertwined for millennia. Art and music have engaged in a dynamic relationship that reveals a diverse range of human activity intended to be appreciated for their beauty.
We don’t really think about what the heart symbol (♥) really means. We know it’s not the shape of a real heart, which is much more asymmetrical. It’s been discovered in jewelry dating back to 3,000 years BCE, and is
The master ceramic designer Johann Joachim Kändler observed the world around him and re-created it for the ceramic company Meissen. Kändler, through his work, established the appropriate scale and style for porcelain figures, based on his previous training as a
In 1962, the American poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) published his last book of poetry, Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems. The book opens with a ten-poem cycle based on paintings by the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca.
“Fine and Delicate Taste Is the Fruit of Education and Experience” The popular French expression “le violon d’Ingres” essentially makes reference to a secondary skill or hobby, that is, an activity done in one’s leisure time. This figurative term originated
Usually when we write about musicians and artists, we write about how one inspires the other, either how an artist might choose a musical work as the inspiration for his work or how a composer might choose to portray a
The most famous opera in America had its premiere 70 years ago on Christmas Eve. At its debut, it was estimated that it had audience of 5 million people – a record for any opera. Giancarlo Menotti’s Amahl and the
The American visionary poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was one of the transitional writers between transcendentalism and realism and his works reflect both points of view. He is considered the ‘father of free verse’ and his non-sectarian poems and his views
The Cleveland Museum of Art was founded in 1913 by 3 Cleveland industrialists and has grown to be the 4th wealthiest in the US. It holds international collections ranging from Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art to Western Medieval through Modern.
