• a branch of philosophy concerned with the

essence and perception of beauty and ugliness

• deals with the question of whether such qualities
are objectively present in the things they
appear to qualify, or whether they exist only in
the mind of the individual
• a set of criteria that is used to evaluate an
artwork
• each theory's criteria is based on what the
artwork is intended to accomplish - the
primary purpose of the artwork
• before you can judge an artwork, you will
need to determine what the goal of the
artwork is
• applies to artworks that look
realistic. These artworks contain
recognizable, realistic looking objects and
scenes that closely imitate what we see in
the real world
• its primary purpose is to portray the
subject matter as realistically as possible.
• stresses the expressive qualities in an
artwork.
• Its primary purpose of an emotionalist
artwork is to vividly communicate moods,
feelings and ideas to the viewer
• stresses the visual qualities of an
artwork
• the focus is on the effective
arrangements of lines, colors,
shapes and other elements of art.