What Is Art?

A Definition
Author(s): F. Wellington Ruckstuhl
Source: The Art World , Oct., 1916, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Oct., 1916), pp. 21-28
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 WHAT IS ART?
A DEFINITION
By F. WELLINGTON RUCKSTUHL
AT present, when the inquiring Public which
define art, but it had been completely defined when
pays for works of art enters the gates of the world
he nailed up his half-true ipse dixit! What we need
of art in search of knowledge, it becomes bewildered
to do is not to worry about finding a Definition, but
by the fog and nauseated by the Anarchy it finds select the best and broadest one capable of being
there. made, correct its formula until it is invulnerable and
In order to know how to thread its way through then:-agree to accept it, as the fundamental law
this miserable Confusion, in its effort to obtain if we really wish to clean out the Augean Stables in
sound notions as to what constitutes Enduring Art, the world of art. For, as Voltaire said: "If you
the only sort worthy of being paid for by public wish to converse with me-define your terms ?" And,
savings and taxes, the first thing the Public must unless we do agree on "What is Art?" we might as
know is:-That there is no more distressing im well quit all talking on the subject. -
pertinence in life than the criticizing of Art-above Another cause of the lack of an Accepted definition
all adversely-by a man who has not a well-defined of art is the innate vice of the human mind to
Standard by which to judge a work of art. And Confound things. How many writers have con
how few among Artists and Critics have even founded Art with Beauty, with Style, with tech
so much as a sane, not to speak of an invulner nique, et cetera, when in reality Art is neither of
able, Definition of Art? How unlike a Banker, those-though they all may enter as elements into a
who judges a gold dollar by a clear and fixed finished Work of Art?
Standard! The final cause is: that there is one portion of
Tolstoi spent, he said, twelve years writing his thinkers in the world of art which regards art as
book: "What Is Art?" and he came near answering a PROCESS, or an ACTIVITY, while the public at
it correctly. He spoiled his job by assuming that large-when the word "Art" is mentioned-thinks
a moujik can appreciate every great work of art only of art as a PRODUCT-of completed Works
as well as a master and a man of esthetic culture. of Art.
By this sort of mental bias, moral excessivism and For example: Dr. Johnson said: "Art is the
slipshod thinking, the anarchy in the world of art power of doing things which 'is not taught by
has been propagated, until that field of human Nature."
endeavor is no longer one of unalloyed joy. John Stewart Mill said: "Art is but the employ
The anarchy in the Intellectual World ceased ment of the powers of Nature for an end."
when Bacon substituted Inductive for Deductive Coleridge said: "Art is not a thing; it is a way."
reasoning, common-sense for cryptic ratiocination. A certain class of Artists, taking these as a cue
He insisted that we begin, in our reasoning, at the and for private, selfish ends-agreed, and then
bottom of things, and reason up to God, instead of R. D. W. Stevenson said: "Technique is Art, and
the reverse. And Kant destroyed the anarchy in those who are not interested in technique are not
the Moral World when, out of the muck of specula interested in Art."
tion, he drew his common-sense "Categorical Impera As definitions of Art: as an Activity, these are
tive: "Act so that your action may be made the all very well, but as definitions of Art: as a Product,
standard of universal action !" And the world of art as Works of Art, they are all absurd. Because tech
will never be purged of its anarchy until we use nique is not-Art, it is only a part of art. And if
baconian common-sense: go first to the bottom, find you are going to use the word art to designate every
the broadest foundation, and build up from there activity, or process, you will have to include among
to find an invulnerable Definition of art. the arts every handicraft in the world and call them
What do we mean by the word-Art? The word all-Art. Take billiards, baseball-pitching, or mule
has been used to designate everything under the sun, skinning. Does any one suppose that any of these are
from "The Art of Poetry" to "The Art of Goose easy to do? Only a cow-boy knows the "fine art"
Washing"; from "The Art of Living" to "The Art of "skinning a mule." I
of Dying!" until every charlatan has his pet defini Every human activity, from driving nails to driv
tion which he knows he cannot successfully defend. ing locomotives can be raised: from a bungling-into
One of the causes of the anarchy in the World of an "art." If that is what you mean by Art, let us
Art is: the joy some would-be thinkers seem to find define it thus: Every simple human activity becomes
in throwing out half-truths, more bewildering than an Art in ratio of the degree of quick perception,
deliberate falsehoods. For example: The painter sound judgment, unfailing memory, rapid decision
Abbey nailed up in the Dome of the Harrisburg and dexterity of hand necessary to obtain a result
Capitol this dictum: "Art deals with things forever surprisingly above the ordinary.
incapable of definition." As though anything in But, your would-be esthetician knows full well we
art is beyond human definition! Not only can we do not include the art of shaving and juggling when
21

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 22 THE ART WORLD October 1916

we speak of: Art! Andin he a cottonknows

factory, is about asalso that ther
drab and deadening
because Emotionless-an
something far higher involved in existence
artas thanone can imagthe m
intellectual admiration ine. we
But, whenfeel
a surprisebefore any
is Unusual, then we are dis
of mere technical skill instirred,
agitated, the process
out of of
our lethargy and drab stateProdu
of consciousness
a work of art. And it is that Something into an Emotional State; and the
Else, wh
must be made the basis agitation
of inour us is great in ratio of the unusualof ar
Definition
The question is: What does
ness and immensity the public
of our surprise. Then we think
call
when we use the word: it a Art? It instinctively
surprise or astonishment. But, I repeat, every th
of Finished Products-complete Works
Change in our state of consciousness of Art,
is a-surprise,
as: Poems, Statues, Palaces, Oratorios,
and also every surprise Parks,
is followed by an emotion,
Paintings. Therefore, to
of some select
kind, or degree.the Process of d
art and then defining Now, that from the Process
moment we openas art,
our eyes on ins
of defining art as a Product-complete
awakening, the Ego or the "Will," or whatever works we of
choose to call
is nonsense, and perhaps the the "I"most
or the "Me" prolific
in us, sits en ca
of the present execrable
throned, I confusion inready
repeat, in a state of Expectancy, the to wo
of art. receive Trains of Sensations from the Minister
Let us not waste any time on refuting the mass called Physical, or trains of Thought from the
of faulty definitions of art: most of them made to Minister called Intellectual or trains of Emotions
justify, or condone, the peculiar art of some selfish from the Minister called Spiritual. These Ministers
"Individualist" bent on defending his technical may enter singly, doubly, or all three at once. When
process in art-in order to help him unload his novel Minister Physical brings in simple sensations, we
art products on the, naturally easily gullible, public. have a simple state of consciousness, unaccompanied
Let us attack the problem with common-sense and by thoughts or high emotions; when Minister Physi
try to define art: as a Product. cal and Ministier Intellectual and Minister Spiritual
Poe said, in the foreword to his "Eureka": "To bring in sensations, thoughts and emotions: in quick
the few who love me and whom I love . . . I succession, we have a Complex State of conscious
present this composition as an Art Product alone: ness.
let us say as a Romance; or, if it be not urging too Now, these may be pleasant or unpleasant: de
lofty a claim, as a Poem." Let us do likewise, above pending on the nature of our environment, and on
all since the greatest thinkers since Aristotle have the proportion of the dominance and force in us of
always regarded art as: a Product. And let us go either Minister Physical, or Intellectual or Spiritual.
to the foundation of things: But, in all cases, it is the Ego which: Passes Judg
That mankind is traveling from a low, animal ment on the desirability or undesirability of the
state toward a more and more spiritual state, evolu states of consciousness, as they are offered by the
tion proves. And, without going too deep into Psy three Ministers aforesaid and accepts or rejects
chology, we may say: We are, practically, made up them and acts accordingly.
of a Body, a Mind, a Soul, and an Ego. Of course, we do not know where the body begins
These may be likened, so to speak, to a Throne and ends, or where the mind and soul begin and end.
room, the seat of the Ego in which the Ego sits in They are so interrelated, interwoven, that, now and
eternal expectancy, surrounded by three other rooms, then, they seem as one, or two, or three, when, in
in which are ever busy three Ministers, called: reality, they are three-dominated by a fourth: the
Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual. Ego. Hence, also, our sensations, thoughts and
When we are asleep we merely Exist. We begin emotions overlap, so that some states of conscious
to Live only when we awake into a state of con ness are made up of physical, intellectual and spirit
sciousness, and we Live only as long as succeeding ual elements-fused into one whole; but our Life,
states of consciousness occur. apart from mere Existence, is carried on mainly in
As soon as we awake we have the first Surprise these three fields of experience-physical, intel
of the day, the first Emotion, i. e., the recognition lectual and spiritual Emotions.
that we are, that we exist. When we open our eyes Our Emotions are of two kinds: Negative and
we have the next Surprise, or emotion: caused by the Positive.
nature of the impact upon our body, mind, or soul The negative emotions are such as are neither
by our environment. agreeable nor disagreeable. The positive emotions
Every impact of nature on the body, mind or soul are such as are distinctly agreeable or disagreeable.
of man is a surprise, and creates an Agitation, weak And, since stagnation is near unto death, and move
or powerful. James, in his "Psychology" says: ment means life, it follows that: the more emotions
"The entire organism may be called a sounding we experience and live through, the more varied and
board, which every change in consciousness, however pleasurable they are, the richer and happier our life
slight, may make reverberate." on this earth will be. By pleasure I do not mean
Now, the agitations of the body we call Sensations, merely sensuous pleasure, but also intellectual and
those of the mind we call Thoughts, and the agita spiritual pleasure.
tions of the soul we call Emotions. Thus, we see, that the Experiencing of Emotion,
If our environment is the one we are used to, our is at the very base of our Life. It remains to be
surprises will not appear to us as surprises any shown that the Expression of Emotion is at the very
longer, because they have become commonplace base of all Art.
surprises, through repetition, day by day. But they Nature has so organized us that, as soon as we
are surprises, nevertheless. But, when repeated experience an emotion, we feel a sudden impulse
often enough, these surprises fail to Agitate us, to to Express it. And this impulse is powerful- in
startle or emotion us. Hence, the daily mechanical ratio of the Intensity of the emotion. "No impres
routine of tending, let us say a spinning-machine sion without expression," says James. Because

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October 1916 THE ART WORLD 23

another
every surprise and every motion man's alsoexpression
exert a p
capable
sure: strong in ratio of the native of experiencing
impressiona
ity and emotionability the 'ofman a man,who which,
expressed unl it
art-in the abstract-as
relieved, becomes a Burden. Thatfollows: ART IS AN
is why so f
EXPRESSION
people can keep a secret. The OF hearing
HUMAN EMOTION.
of Butathat
sec
is not sufficient.
causes a surprise, an emotion, and the first impu
in the vast majority of There
normal are all sorts of normal and is
people, abnormal
to men.
Unlo
this secret on some one There are mento
else, so self-centered
pass it thaton.
they doIf
not we
care
bound by a promise not totoexpress their emotions,
reveal even to their
a secret, itmost inti
becom
a burden which only the mate strongest
acquaintances. These can
are the silent men. These t
support,
never become
average person being devoid ofartists,-because
enough they never have
self-contr
anything to
to hold back the Pressure thecommunicate.
secret exerts. W
we give away the secretThen
we therefeel
are other
a men
realwhoserelief-O
greatest joy
of a burden! This is consists
what Aristotle
in expressing their emotions, called
but who are
so utterly indifferent
"katharsis of the emotions"-an to the happiness ofexpressi
explosive others that,
of our emotion. to relieve themselves of their own emotional pres
Now, this act: of the sure,
mere they willexpression
sing, or rhyme, or danceof
a jig, an
draw orem
tion-if it ends in some paint:
kind onlyof
to please
Form,themselves-just
in a to relieve
defini
PRODUCT, in the shape of
their own a finished Poem,
emotions.
Statue, or Picture, or Building,
Some go further; and, or
full ofGarden,
contempt for man or
kind, they express
Story or even a Dog Collar, or their emotions andis
a Joke, throw the
alrea
a Work of Art. product on the junk-pile, and they are usually not
It makes no differenceworth
how muchtrivial
more than that.orThese are all more or
sublime, h
beautiful or ugly, how less abnormal
moral men. or immoral: eve
Expression of human Emotion, in
But, then, there is the whatever
Normal Majority of men, F
it may be made-is a Work ofjoyArt;
whose greatest and
consists, not it expressing
in merely make
their emotions,
difference whether it stirs the glad or sad, but in Communicating
emotions of one m
or of all mankind. them to others: in order to Share them.
Because, in your effortOthers
to go still further;your
express and, not content
ownwith em
tions you must use somemerely sharingof
sort theirvehicle,
emotions, yearn orto Stir
Formthe
emotions of their
or shape, which has no other usefellows,
on and mankind: to
earth, stimulate
primar
them to action. These are the highly developed, emo
than to express your emotions.
Now, if anything that tional you create
men who usually is made
become professional Artistson
for a Use-other than -in
to oneserve
of the eightas
arts.a Vehicle for
These Artists
expression of your emotions, itvery
is rarely
notchoose a subject for
a work of an a
but merely an article art-work
of Use. that is disagreeable;
Material because, for stirring
Usefuln
the emotions
is the factor which places one humanof mankind profoundly,
object, a work
or of art
wo
must not be disagreeable
into the category of: Industry; or ugly. To Usefuln
Spiritual be, for a long
is the factor which places
time, worth any
while, ithuman product
must be as Agreeable and Beau
tiful as possible, and express, not a low, but a high
into the category of: Art.
Moreover, if an article state of
of emotion.
mere use: is used as
vehicle for the expression To the highly
ofdeveloped
your manemotions,
an emotional state
applying to it expressive is high ornaments:
and agreeable, or low andfor disagreeable,
the in s
of Beautifying it, or forratio the
of the distance
expressionto which it Lifts ofhim: anabove
ide
or of a mere emotion of merely animal existence,
delight, oraway of from the muck and i
sadness,
by that act taken outmisery of of the commonplace
the category things ofof the earth,
mer
earthy.
useful articles and, at once, becomes a work of ar
rudimentary art, perhaps, but
There are three still-a
Categories work
of these lifting, pleas of
Therefore, every man urableis
emotions: the various kinds of MIRTH, DE arti
a rudimentary
LIGHT and AWE. Theseto
as soon as he merely Attempts we experience
Express in various his E
tion, even in rudimentarydegreesform.
of intensity. And however much an ac
quired hunger
Moreover, the strongest wisdom may, for the
of sake the
of varietysoul
in life, is fo
self-expression. Our whole life,
dictate an occasional passing from waking
through a disciplinary
unpleasant
going to sleep, is but one state of emotional
process of experience, the Ego
self-expressi
usually punishment
Hence, there is no greater prefers to experience and express-Pleasant
than enfor
perpetual silence. emotions. As that great Artist, Emerson, said:
In fact, every animal, insect, tree, flower and roc
also answers to the Cosmic"We mount to Paradise
Urge and craves to
On the stairway of Surprise!"
press itself in some Form-and nearly always
some form of Beauty. What he meant is that we mount on the stairway
This deep truth found again an adequate expr
of pleasant-Emotions.
sion in Emerson's profound
Now, suppose a man remark: "ALL
hears a funny story, laughs
TURE IS BENT UPON EXPRESSION."
like a lord, and rushes off to tell it to you and says: Beca
self-expression is the "Jack,
greatest relief
I've got a new one, a corker!" and and
then tells great
joy vouchsafed by the universe,
a story with every trickand reflection
he can muster-to make you w
convince the reader that this
laugh. must
He does this because he befindsso.
a real happi
Therefore, Tolstoi is ness
correct when
and relief in Forcing you to Sharehe says: "T
his happiness.
activity of art is based on
If you do notthe
laugh, hefact
will look at that a man
you, quizzically,
ceiving through his senses of
and say to himself: Well,hearing and sig
that story seemed awfully

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 24 THE ART WORLD
funny to me. Am
unhappy-because heof escaping the critical condemnation
failed to make
of his contemporaries,
you. If you then say: "Well, which is old
a desire fortop,
a good one, but a a negative human recognition,
'chestnut!'
years ago," he will the primal desire
feel for self-preservation.that
relieved
queer as he seemed feebleness of desire for human recognition
to himself, but
your non-display ofaccompanies
social, Creative Mediocrity.
hypocrisy: in
ing, any way, just
happiness with
"treat !"
Therefore, a mere Funny Story, even a Joke, is
already a work of art-because it is an effort at:
the Expression of Emotion.
Hence, the primordial spiritual push in every
normal man-and abnormal men do not count in a
discussion of Art-is not only to stimulate him to
Express his emotions, but to: Stir the emotions of
his nearest Neighbor. If he succeeds, his reward
for the effort is a certain satisfaction, at having
successfully relieved himself of his emotional burden,
or pressure.
But there is a higher reason. Carlyle said: "The
deepest hunger of the human soul is for human
recognition." Why? Because as James says in his
"Psychology": "No more fiendish punishment could
be devised, were such a thing physically possible,
than that one should be turned loose in society and
remain absolutely unnoticed by all the members
thereof." That is to say: men cannot live without
the recognition of their fellow-men. And three years
of solitary confinement in the prisons of Italy suffices
to drag a man to insanity and the grave.
Moreover, man knows by instinct that if he can
share the happiness of his own glad emotions with
his neighbors, by arousing in them the same emo
tions and joy-by adequately expressing them-he
will obtain for himself not only the joy of recog
nition, but the Love of his Neighbors and, so, Bind
them to himself, and thus, gradually, more or less
according to his power of expression-conquer the
world and carve out a place-immortality-in the
hearts of mankind. Thus he satisfies that feeling
which, when healthy, we call Self-love or Egotism,
which is rooted in the elemental hunger for self
preservation: Nature's first command.
Says Darwin, in his "Autobiography"-in order
to explain why he succeeded in life: "What is far
more important, my love of natural science has been
steady and ardent. This pure love has, however,
been much aided by the ambition to be esteemed by
my fellow naturalists." Thus we see that the hun
ger for human recognition, with the vast majority
of men, even the greatest, is the strongest driving
power in the world, the very cosmic urge which is
pushing man from high to higher toward an ever
more perfect state of civilization: through the more
and more perfect Expression of those of his emotions
which lift his fellows up to himself, and beyond.
Hence, those men who have the largest and deep
est hunger for the love of their fellow-men-for
"human recognition"-are impelled to serve them
most and so enter the ranks, not only of the great
artists, but of great heroes and the saviors of the
race. And the more gifted the artist-the more of
this "hunger for human recognition" will he possess.
He may not care for a "blatant beating of the big
bazoo," or for a vulgar notoriety, but, deep down, he
will have enough of that "decent respect for the
opinion of mankind," as Jefferson said, to make his
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October 1916
I work
thickso perfect that
or he will
is run he?"
the chance at And
least, he
or ridicule a "
at least th
and equally rooted in over
I laughed
Hence, he
always
he w
toIf this
give hunger for human recognition
him a chance is so strong to
you-because you
that it will make a man, with a beneficent purpose, ref
Work for it: by clean, rational methods, it may be
called and welcomed as-Beneficent Egotism. A
man so possessed will never be content merely to
express his own emotions, and "let it go at that!"
He will be doubly urged on, first by a natural impulse,
and second, by an acquired desire: to Communicate
his emotions to his fellow-men, to Stir the emotions
of mankind,-in some language or medium of ex
pression. And the greater this urge in a man, and
the greater the skill and power he manifests in
stirring the emotions of mankind, and the more lofty
and sublime the emotions with which he fills the
majority of men, and for the longest period of time,
the greater artist he will prove to be!
Per contra, should a man's self-love and desire for
human recognition take on a diseased form, and urge
him to seek a quick Notoriety: simply to have him
self talked about, like Beaudelaire, Oscar Wilde or
Cagliostro, by methods at once charlatanistic and
unclean, then it becomes: Egomania, a destructive
force, not only in Life but in Art.
Thus, we have gradually dug down to the funda
mental truths of life:-that a Surprise is an Emo
tion; that Agreeable emotions give us Happiness;
that to Share this happiness with our Neighbors is
a desire implanted in us by Nature; that to do this
we Express our emotions in the most adequate and
forceful Form we can command: by Poetry, Oratory,
Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture, etc., all
of which we call-Art.
In short, the Joy of Experiencing and Expressing
human Emotion is at the basis of both Life and Art.
Now, these facts are the deepest and broadest basis
for an invulnerable definition of art. Hence, I re
peat, the simplest, solid definition of art, in the ab
stract, is this: Art is an Expression of Human
Emotion. But, as I said before, this is not sufficient.
Therefore, philosophers have striven for a more
comprehensive and detailed definition.
The best of these is by Eugene Veron in his
"ZEsthetics," 1873:-"We may, therefore, as a gen
eral definition say, that art is the manifestation of
an emotion, translating itself, exteriorily, either by
a combination of lines, of forms or of colors, or by
a series of gestures, of sounds or of words, subjected
to certain rhythms." A perfect definition of art
in the abstract.
But this is not enough: because it only defines Art
in the abstract, fails to be explicit: as to whether
art means a Process or a Product, and fails to imply
that there are Two Kinds of artists: Those who are
merely content to Express their own emotions, and,
so, nearly always remain trivial artists, and those
who aim to Stir the emotions of their fellow-men,
and, so, sometimes become truly great.
The next important definition is by Tolstoi in his:
'WVhat Is Art?" 1898 :-"Art is a human activity,
consisting in this, that one man consciously, by
means of certain external signs, hands on to others
the feelings (emotions) he has lived through, and
 October 1916 THE ART WORLD 25
never gone to by
that other people are infected the bottom of things infeelings
these their thinking on the and
also experience them." theory of art and esthetics.'
"'Well,' he said, with a sardonic air, 'can you define art?'
This is faulty: because it"'Yes,
Excludes
I can,' I replied. Works of Art
which were made without: "One
"'Will you kindly domanso?' Consciously
handing over to others the "I then feelings
gave him this definition(emotions)
of art: he
has lived through." Because "EVERY a HUMAN
man WORK,
may MADE express
IN ANY LAN his
GUAGE, WITH THE PURPOSE OF EXPRESSING,
own emotions and produce a work
OR STIRRING, HUMAN of EMOTION,art, without
IS A WORK OF
ever dreaming of "infectingART; AND others"
A WORK OF ART with IS GREAT IN hisRATIOown
emotions, and, sometimes, OF produce
ITS POWER OF STIRRING a great THE HIGHEST
work EMO of
TIONS OF THE
art; besides, a Sound definition mustLARGEST not NUMBERexcludeOF CULTURED any
PEOPLE FOR THE LONGEST PERIOD OF TIME.
work of art. Also, it defines
"'Well,'art
he said,only as broad?'
'isn't that rather an Activity,
which is unphilosophic. We know
"'Of course Tolstoi
it is broad. A definition, framed
in order to define,
his one-sided definition must
tobe serve his
both inclusive and own
exclusive, and I think purpose:
you will find
mine conclusive.'
social reform, in which labor he went to extremes,
"He looked stalemated. And I continued: 'All thinkers
forgetting the Greek injunction:
on art, however they may differ"Nothing
on detail, agree on this: to
Excess." That the function of all artists is: First, to express their
Taine, an important French writer,
own emotions, and second, to stirmade a their
the emotions of defi
fellowmen, beat
nition which is not a definition those all,
emotions but
trivial or great, high or low.
a direction:
how to produce a Work ofNow,Art. a Cathedral is the greatest instrument on earth for
stirring the highest human emotion, and the altar is the
Bacon's definition: "Art
most importantis
part ofman added
that instrument. If the altar is a to
Nature!" is also not a definition
mere rock, it is not aof work ofArt, but
art; it is a mere articleit
of is a
use. But, ifthat
definition of Style because the altar shows
is somewhatkind of design,
styleand an is
effort to make the altar beautiful,
-an addition of a man's personality to in order
a to arouse the of
work
emotions and lift the soul of the worshipers, it is a work of
nature. art, no matter what its design. You have not asked me if
Delsarte's definition: "Art is an emotion passed this altar is a Great Work of Art. And that is none of
through thought and fixed in form," is an excellent the government's business. The question the government
definition of art in the abstract, much like Veron's, alone should ask is this: "Is this altar a work of art?"
I reply that, if it were the most grotesque design in the
but also insufficient: because merely defining art world, so long as the deliberate purpose of the artist was to
in the abstract, and giving no hint that there are express his emotions and to aroue the emotions of his
men who care only to express their own emotions fellowmen, however simple or complex, skilful or crude, his
and others who long to arouse the emotions of others, design may be, it is a work of art, no matter how it may
grate upon the feelings of other men whose tastes differ
and that there are various degrees of excellence in from that of the artist. The sculptors who testified that the
art, from the Trivial to the Great. altar is not a work of art meant to imply that it is not a
Now, lest the laymen may think that the defining Great Work of Art. But, for the purpose of the infliction
of Art is not an important national matter, I will of a tariff, the government should not ask, is a work of art
Great or Trivial. It should allow every original work of art,
quote a part of an address delivered at the National however good or bad, to come in free, for an American, and
Arts Club about a year ago, in which I said: strike with fifteen per cent. duty every such work of art of an
alien. The only question the government should ask is this:
"Previous to the fall of 1898 I was frequently called by 'Is it morally clean and an original work of art; that is,
the United States Government, as an expert, to testify as to not a duplicate, not a copy?" Many critics call many of
whether certain statues, held for duty at the Custom House the works of Rodin fine; many others call them crimes in
here, were works of art. One day in 1898, while at work marble. Who is going to decide? Hence, the question of
as general manager of the building of the Dewey Arch the excellence or greatness of a work of art, imported, is
on Twenty-third Street and Fifth Avenue, one of the archi beyond the province of the government, so long as the
tects engaged in the work appeared to me looking somewhat work is morally clean.'
gloomy. 'What's the matter, old man?' I queried. 'Oh,' he "'That is all,' he said.
replied, 'I have just come from the Custom House. where "The case went to Washington and the architect won.
I lost a case. I had one of my Church Altars cut in Caen The government accepted my definition of art; and, revers
stone, in Caen, France; and, when it got here, I was forced ing the Collector's decision, even though bolstered up by
to pay duty, on the plea that it was not a work of art. the testimony of the leading sculptors named above, returned
I protested. But a number of sculptors said it was not a him his money.
work of art. And so I lose.' "This incident shows the supreme importance of a final
"'Whatl' I said. 'They testified your altar is not a work and correct definition of art, from which no one can escape..
of art?' And I think that my definition, as above given, is such a
"'Yes,' he replied. final one.
"'Why, they are dreaming!' I said, and I told him my idea "The importance of my definition of art is derived not
of what constitutes a work of art, and why his altar is, from my defining art in the abstract, not because the United
inevitably, a work of art. States Government accepted my definition, but because it is
"'Will you testify to that before the Collector?' he asked. the first definition in the history of esthetics which, besides
"'Surely!' I replied. And we proceeded with work on defining art in the abstract, also defines Great Art, and
the Arch. asserts that the greatness of a work of art depends upon
"Later, I was subpoenaed before the Collector and, as near its power of stirring our highest emotions and for the longest
as I can recollect, this took place: Arrived at the Custom period of time. Thus it furnishes a beacon light for all
House I took my seat, and, while the stenographer and the those artists who wish to create truly great and enduring
Collector listened, his attorney established my status as an art, instead of wasting their lives producing ephemeral
expert. Then he placed before me a blueprint of an altar. artistic stunts, destined for the morgue of oblivion.
After examining it I said: 'Well, sir?' "Another important point Every sesthetician, from
"'Do you consider that a work of art?' he asked. Baumgarten to Tolstoi, agrees that Art is a Language,
"'I certainly do.' for communicating with our fellowmen. This has, lately, been
"'You do?' questioned by a few aberrated writers on art. My definition
" 'I do.' reaffirms that art is a language.
" 'Well,' with a solemn pause, 'do you know that St. "Finally, my definition divides art into two great cate
Gaudens, Ward, Hartley, MacDonald, Rhind and others gories: Trivial and Great Art. That is, merely Decorative
have testified that it is not a work of art?' and Playful Art, and Expressive and Stimulative Art. What
"'That does not worry me. A man may be a great divides the two like a wall? The spiri,t of Social Service.
success as a synthetic sculptor and a great failure as an "A merely decorative work of art is addressed only to
analytical thinker. All the men you mention have simply the senses, having no meaning beyond satisfyring our sensuous

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26 THE ART WORLD October 1916

Art
love of agreeable lines, colors, into and
sounds at least three An
movements. di
this is a trivial function by the side
Art, of the
Clever Artgreat
andspiritua
Grea
function of arousing the highest emotions of the soul o
mankind. An expressive work And what
of art is itkind,
of any that in
divide
whic
the artist clearly aimed to It is: their
produce relative
a thing power
so beautiful,
the
by poetizing his subject, as to Sensuous,
arouse, or merely
universally, the em
tions of mankind, belongs Spiritual
to the category of Great
emotions of Art
ma
even if it lacks mere technical cleverness. Why? Because
when we produce a thing which gives joy and ecstasy we
three categories of Art to
the majority of mankind, or and atgreater
least of anxiety, energ
our own race, w
of the
create an active, unifying social Artist,
force, a thingfirst:
that to Ex
bring
all men of our race, high or low, prince
emotions or, or peasant,
second, into
his tr
sympathetic relation. It tends
of tohisincrease the love betwee
fellow-men.
man and man. And that is the highest thing possible
For in
this earth. And, when we engage example,
such an a crude Japa
activity, we al
ourselves with the loftiest a few of
forces grotesquely drawn
nature, or with our
manifestly
Heavenly Father, 'Who so loved made
the world in sent
that he a carh
only begotten Son' to lift mankind
great into a greater
energy and grand
or labor of
unity. Therefore, those expressive works of art, which sh
only to our love of Sensu
that the artists struggled hard to stir our loftiest emotion
us only
they belong to the category a gentle
of great art. emotion
It makes of
n
to say:
difference if they are technically as "Hello!
defectiveisn't that
and awkwar
as are the works of Fra Angelico
of Art:at Florence, or
but it is, of Orcag
neverthel
at Pisa, when compared with such perfect works as Titian
'Assumption,' or Leonardo'sbecause
'Lastthe man who
Supper.' Justmade
as th
hunchback slave Aesop is injoy in category
the merely expressing
of great meh
grotesque
because he solaced and buttressed emotion.
the courage of mankin
and spiritualized its aspirations,
Anso, even theof
example awkward
CleverworAr
of Angelico and Orcagna are great
with because they
Fragonard radiate a
decoratio
social spirit which has lifted the souls of millions of me
above the commonplace to the screen is aabove
sublime, trivial
theone and t
material
the spiritual. Thus they becametionsa are trivial
social power, also. But
working
for higher social ends. They
out become
of the unifying,
category bindin
of pu
forces which still work in category
the direction of concentratin
of Clever Art, by
the energies of men-for the perfection of the race and it
environment. That is what entitles them to be placedplus
of Intellectual Skill, in th
temple of truly Great Art.dexterity
Therefore, of whenhand,
the and
factsano
and into
life and of nature lift an artist execution ofsublime
a state of so perfe cre
tive emotion and he translates that emotion
exponent of theinto a work o
cleverne
supreme beauty that arouses sublime emotions in his fello
we can imagine
men, high or humble, he becomes a conqueror of the the joy bo
worl
While the artist who spends the painter
a long life infound
merely in the m
expressin
Hence,
himself in smart ox clever works, it appeals
which to our
show clearly tha
he thought nothing of lifting his fellowmen
senses, to noble,
and arouses in ussp
itual enterprises but, rather, of calling the attention of th
higher emotion than the
world to his clever, technical, stylistic stunts, he is destin em
An example
to be forgotten. For, as Emerson said: 'The oftrue
a Great
artistWoh
the planet for his pedestal; "Last Supper." after
the adventurer, We know
years ofo
strife, has nothing broaderof than
thehis own shoes.'
great That is
Renaissance
say, the difference between Trivial and
Raphael, Great Art is one
Ghirlandajo, Del
Morals-of a spiritual and a social purpose."
toretto was so little Emot
he handled it in a nonchala
The main cause of so much confusion in aesthetics
trivial - and makes us sm
is the fact that every AEsthetician, heretofore,
Raphael's decoration has
is dig
tried to define-in one definition, more than is be
trivial as Tintoretto's, p
sible to define in any one definition
cleverness in any hum
of composition o
language and, in addition,the has done it
dramatic in slipsho
expression
language, like Plato, whenlacks he defined Beauty
character. The one as
"Variety in Unity," which is childish,
Clever, because seeing
of thetha cle
Variety and Unity will position
also produce-the
and color Ugly!
schem Yo
cannot define two diametrically
that pervadesopposedit. things
But it i b
one definition! A definition of Day will not
lacks the profoundly dra defi
Night. And it is amazing in thethat, during
subject. The two
oneth b
sand years, hundreds of writers have, like
ing in color and composi stup
parrots, repeated this error. Variety in Unity
but greater-because more i
one element of beauty, butmore those three words
profoundly do n
express
define: Beauty. faces of the actors in the
It is impossible to include in a definition
us loftier emotions. of Art
every element that entersBut intothe
a Work of Art.
greatest of Henc
the
all we can do is: to find the Fundamental
greatest works of thing
the tha
pai
separates a Work of Art from
that byeverything
Leonardo. Why? else, a
that is: The Expression five
of Human Emotion.
was himself Afte
Emotion
that, the most we can do is to pitch,
highest suggestandwhatthen mak
ma
a Work of Art greater and -and with infinite
greater, from the love
mo
Trivial to the most Great.imagining and then expres
Hence it is astonishing matic
that disturbance,
no aesthetician whichhas,m
Jesus
heretofore, been able to see said:
that, to "Verily I say u
avoid destructi
confusion in the Worldbetrayof Art, mewethis
mustvery nigh
divide a

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 October 1916 THE ART WORLD 27

A great poemthe
plate the large copy in Milan, is Bryant's
more"Thanatopsis,"
we the gradu
closing lines of which
feel an emotion of Awe-the are:
highest emotion
soul can experience. And this emotion becom
stronger as we note the "So live, that when thy summons
perfect comes to join
science of co
The innumerable caravan that moves
position, drawing and expression ofwhere
To the pale realms of shade, the picture,
each shall take
then the loving anxiety with
His chamber inwhich he aimed to
the silent halls of death,
perfect his work so that Thou
itgoshould Stir
not like the quarry-slave the emoti
at night,
Scourged make
of his fellow-men and, so, to his dungeon; but,
themsustained and soothed
Share in
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
own emotional exaltation!
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
In Leonardo's own day the
About him, and lies world already a
down to pleasant dreams."
claimed this picture as the greatest of all "La
As we gradually
Suppers." And to-day the world read and
isgrasp the meaningthan
more of e
this poem,
united in the opinion that itoneis of the
notfour greatest
only shortthe
poems in great
the language,
"Last Supper" ever painted, we are slowly
but that filled with
it anis emotion
one of of t
Awe by the grandeur
six greatest painted Pictures ever and cadence
produced. of the lines, and
by the nobilityyou
Before some trivial work of the thought.
will But, far more than peop
hear
that. As we feel, gradually,
say: "What, that? that isn't a work of Art!" with the passing years, T
do not mean it is not "asteal over us the of
work increasing consolation that this
art"-they do me
poem makes
is that it is not a Clever or us feel,
a asGreat
we become impressed
work with the of ar
thought that all men must in
and, unable to express themselves share our fate and that or c
correct
"death levels all
language, they use general ranks and lays the
terms, shepherd's crook in a
ending
shod remark. beside the scepter of a king," we gradually find our
selves sustained and calmed in the face of death on
In fact, slipshod thinking, talling, and writing a
our sick-bed; and, as we gradually learn to feel that
responsible for most of the anarchy in aesthetics
the Poet aimed to console us, aimed to lift us to a
the world of art.
lofty plane of thought and emotion, we feel an ever
You cannot say a manincreasing
is not love for ahim man: because
and, finally, thank destiny he
a stupid and not a clever orlent
for having a thegreat man,
world so fine a soul longcan y
Even an African Pigmy enoughis a man.
to enable it to evolve soYou
sublime a cannot
master
an Expression of Human Emotion,
piece and to endow made
mankind with it, to serve for all in
language whatsoever, istime:not a work
as a stimulus of
to noble action, and asart:
a forti beca
it is trivial and not clever or great.
fying consolation No helping
to afflicted humanity, matter it to ho
trivial or bad a man is, a serene
he resignation
is still a itself
as it sees man; graduallyno
forcedmatt
how trivial and weak a work
to depart from thisofworld, art is,
so adorably itto is sti
beautiful
work of art. the soul, in spite of the miseries the mind and body
People often say: "Isn't
may, now and that-Artistic?"
then, pass through during our span Wh
they really mean, and should
of life. And then thesay, universal is: "Isn't
veneration we th
Clever?" That is what feel
they really
for the Poet do
apotheosizes him mean.
into a sure Eve
art work is "artistic," immortality.
but even the greatest wo
of art lack-cleverness.What is true of Poetry and Painting is true of
But, to go deeply into Sculpture, Architecture, Music and all the
the differences Arts, all
which divi
of which are
the trivial from the clever governed
and theby the clever
same fundamental from t
Laws.
great would take a volume. All we can consider
one sample of each. Now, beginning with the most rudimentary and
trivial works ofis
What is true of Painting art, there
true are less and
of less trivial
Poetry
works: up to the line where the higher category:
trivial poem is the following:
the clever works of art, begins; then there are more
and more
"Yankee Doodle came to clever
townworks: until we reach the line where
A-riding of a pony,
the category of great works of art begin-the three
Stuck a feather in his hat
categories overlapping each other; then we reach
And called him Maccaroni."
greater and greater works of art: until we arrive at
the merely
It is a grotesque poem, greatest work, in each of the eight arts our
arouses of the Mir
and, then, ridicule, butworld.
itAndisthat
awork
Poemis: the one nevertheless.
which the largest
number of cultured people have voted-after the
A clever poem is Poe's:
longest period of time since its creation-to be the
"I dwelt alone greatest work of art of its kind.
In a world of moan Why do I say cultured people? Because Tolstoi
And my soul was a stagnant tide,
made the mistake
Till the fair and gentle Eulalie became of supposing
my thatblushing
a crowd of un bri
cultured moujiks,
Till the yellow-haired, smiling with rudimentary
Eulalie became brains, are
myable smi
bride." to judge a work of art. They are not! Why? Be
cause into the creation of a great work of art enter
It is of no special significance, but its varied and many complex elements, capable of stirring many
melodious lines, skilful composition and dextrous different emotions of different people to different
rhyming, arouse, to a certain extent, our intellectual degrees, many of which are technical, intellec
admiration and, to a certain degree, an emotion of tual elements, of which an uncultured man can know
Delight, though falling short of arousing in us an nothing, elements which can make an appeal only
emotion of Awe, and, therefore, lifts it from the to the intellectual emotions of cultured men.
category of Trivial and puts it into the category of For instance, a Spanish peasant will enter the
Clever Art. cathedral at Seville and look at a fine Madonna by

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 28 THE ART WORLD October 1916

Murillo and be scarcely moved,

bad, in then
its effect, on the highest intereststurn
of the race, to a
and see a waxwork Madonna
and who has a fixed desire bedizened
to contribute his sharewith
toward the
red, blue and green silk, brasselevation of mankind as far as inand
spangles him tin
and be emotioned to lies.delight, even to raptur
the wax-doll and the He alone knows the real value
Murillo of any spoken word,
are-works of a
one is utterly trivial,whether
the in type,
otherpaint, sound isor stone. He alone
great; the d
is able to look back in imagination
ence being one of intellectual science over the and
past, craf
and, reasoning by analogy, say what work oftotally
ship and a spiritual suggestiveness: art b
the grasp of the peasant,
will likely endure inandthe future.within
Are there many the c
such men among artists?
hension and appreciation of No! Many
only, among peas cultur
spiritually awake people.
ants? No! And very few of these are found among
It is astonishing thattheso so-called upper and rich
great an classes. It is in the as Tol
artist
should have so ignored greatthe
middle class that most menvalue
social of culture areof the
intellectual elements in found. aSomework
are poor and some
of are art,
rich. in view
crusade for social uplift! This cultured This
class embraces, is another
of course, artists of pr
his excessiveism and of all kinds.
his But it being
also includes philosophers,
not states a deep an
cal thinker, but rather men, metaphysicians,
a synthetic lawyers, critics, savants,
and edu sympa
artist. cators and men of high intellectual activity generally.
Finally, time is a great factor in determining the And it is this great cultured class which finally gives
greatness of a work of art. Time has a contempt for to every work of art its place and rank.
all things made without its aid. The artist who ig Thus, to sum up, we see: that we exist only so
nores time, both in the making of his art work long as we are asleep; we begin to live only when we
and in entrusting it to its care, is doomed to ob are awake, because we then literally enjoy various
livion, and all his esthetic tergiversations and states of consciousness in which we, our ego, experi
"artistic jumping-jacking" will be but-pitiable ence different kinds of agitations or emotions-some
waste of energy. physical, some intellectual, some spiritual. By a fiat
It is safe to say that those among the works of of nature we are impelled to express those emotions
Greek art which have come down to us and have, all the more certainly, the stronger the emotions; to
uniformly, during two thousand years of time, been do this we must use certain kinds of language or
voted, by all sorts of minds, as the best and still the form; and, as soon as our emotion is expressed, in
best, that they really are-the best. some form, merely with the purpose of expressing
Thus, it is certain that the "Jupiter Otricoli" in that emotion-no matter how trivial the emotion
the Vatican is the greatest representation of the or how trivial the form of expression-it is already
Godhead ever made by man, as far as we know; be -a work of art-rudimentary in ratio of the trivial
cause it has been successively decided to be so by ity of the emotion and of the form. When, however,
the majority of the wisest and most profoundly cul the emotion is a powerful one, and of a lofty kind,
tured men of the world. Against such a verdict the and expressed with an extraordinary power of stir
ipse-dixit of any individual merely. raises a laugh. ring the emotions, not only of an individual, but of
And what is a "cultured" man? He is a man who, mankind: then we have a great work of art.
first of all, is able to reason logically; who has So, I repeat: EVERY HUMAN WORK MADE,
learned the meaning of life, i. e., to get away from IN ANY LANGUAGE, WITH THE PURPOSE OF
the animal toward the spiritual; who will not do an EXPRESSING, OR STIRRING, HUMAN EMO
unjust thing; who has learned the value of things; TION IS A WORK OF ART; AND A WORK OF
who has enough self-control to prevent his judgment ART IS GREAT IN RATIO OF ITS POWER
from being too much warped by his own taste and OF STIRRING THE HIGHEST EMOTIONS OF
temperament; who is dominated by common-sense; THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CULTURED
and who, finally, is filled with enough love for his PEOPLE FOR THE LONGEST PERIOD OF
fellow-men to enable him to feel what is good or TIME.
F. W. Ruckstuhl

A..H .

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