An Analysis Of Leo Tolstoy's Philosophy Of Art

The view of art has many interpretations of what characteristics constitute this particular activity. Fortunately, Leo Tolstoy helps to shed light on the aspects of art that are concerned with the transferring of emotions and the cultivation of originality. Within Tolstoy’s philosophy of art, there are solid reasons that help me to shift my perspective towards the end of viewing art without concepts of pleasure interfering. One of these reasons are that the activity of art becomes more than the mere cultivation of visually appealing shapes and symbols; it is an act that brings people together under the union of beauty. Additionally, Tolstoy deliberates about the definition he wants to create for art and does so with the awareness that pleasure

Tolstoy explains that the process of creating art allows for the artist to incorporate his own sense of emotion as a means of expressing his experiences. This is crucial to understanding how the artist is able to create art that influence others in such a way that enables the receiver to become subsumed under the beauty of creative productions. As Tolstoy says, “The more individual the feeling transmitted the more strongly does it act on the recipient; the more individual the state of the soul into which he is transferred the more pleasure does the recipient obtain and therefore the more readily and strongly does he join in it” (Tolstoy 514). This quote clarifies the capabilities of art and how it can manifest emotions within the viewers just as easily as it was for the artist to generate his own passions. Additionally, Tolstoy is showing how the degree to which an emotion is perceived is dependent on the level of individuality the artist cultivates within his productions. This notion becomes interesting to me in the sense that humans have the power to influence others through the means of consciously creating shapes and lines in such way that grabs the attention of people who are interested in the complexities of art. I agree with Tolstoy’s idea about how the level of individuality within a piece of art becomes enhanced when perceived under the lens of

An artist becomes more than a creator of art in the sense that they are synthesizing their knowledge about a particular experience and transferring the emotional aspects of their experience into a piece of work that represents the inner workings of their imagination. As Tolstoy states, “Art begins when one person with the object of joining another or others to himself in one and the same feeling, expresses that feeling by certain external indications” (Tolstoy 510). In this sense, artists are beings who contain the creative capacity to induce powerful feelings within themselves as well as the recipients of art. I find this idea interesting in regard to individuals cultivating the faculty of imagination to the extent of commanding this passion in such a way that unifies minds together under the form of