Aesthetics

What is the Mimetic Theory?

  • Mimetic Theory
  • The Mimetic Theory is concerned with the art work itself.

    It is a reflection of nature.

    The work is a correct representation of reality.
  • Assertions
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  • Questions
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  • Philosophy
  • Where do the ideas of the Mimetic Theory come from?

    Activities
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  • What is the Mimetic Theory?

    What is the definition of the Mimetic Theory?

    What is the Hedonist Theory?

  • Hedonist Theory
  • The Hedonist Theory is concerned with the art work and the audience.

    For a work of art to be considered a good work of art, it needs to bring pleasure to the audience.
  • Assertions
  • These assertions will help you understand what the Hedonist Theory means.
  • Questions
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  • Philosophy
  • Where do the ideas of the Hedonist Theory come from?

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  • What is the definition of the Hedonist Theory?

    What is the Expressivist Theory?

  • Expressivist Theory
  • The Expressivist Theory is concerned with the artist in a work of art.

    Art that fits this category may communicate ideas, feelings and the emotions of the artists.

    It does not necessarily have to involve the audience, as long as the artist was able to express their inner feelings.

    These ideas, if conveyed, are usually communicated forcefully by the artist.
  • Assertions
  • These assertions will help you understand what the Expressivist Theory means.
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  • Philosophy
  • Where do the ideas of the Expressivist Theory come from?

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  • What is the Expressivist Theory?

    What is the definition of the Expressivist Theory?

    What is the Formalist Theory?

  • Formalist Theory
  • The Formalist Theory is concerned with the art work itself. It is concened with the "formal properties", such as color, shape, rhythm, balance, etc... Is is not interested in what the art work represents or what it expresses. What matters most is form, not content.
  • Assertions
  • Use these assertions to help you better understand the meaning of the Formalist Theory.
  • Questions
  • Answer these questions to help you better understand the Formalist Theory.
  • Philosophy
  • Where do the ideas of the Formalist Theory come from?

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  • What is the Formalist Theory?

    What is the definition of the Formalist Theory?

    What is the Instrumentalist Theory?

  • Instrumentalist Theory


  • The Instrumentalist Theory is concerned with the audience. Having the audience receive the message that the artist if trying to convey is the most important thing. It can be an idea, a statement, but the depth of communication is most important.
  • Assertions
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  • Questions
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  • Philosophy
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  • What is the Instrumentalist Theory?

    What is the definition of the Instrumentalist Theory?

    How to Look at a Work of Art

  • Looking at Art Work


  • How to Look at a Work of Art:


    Activities
  • How to be an Art Critic in 5 Easy Steps
  • Art criticism sounds like it could be easy. It is. There are 5 easy steps that you must follow.

    Art Definitions


    Activities
  • Art Definitions
  • Use this web-sit to help you understand the meanings of the art vocabulary that you do not understand.

    Tour Images

  • Thomas Cole
  • "Youth"
  • Jaques Louis David
  • "The Oath of the Horatii"
  • Chardin
  • "The Return from Market"
  • Carraviggio
  • "The Conversion of Saint Paul"
  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • "Mona Lisa"
  • Albrecht Dürer
  • "A Young Hare"
  • Jan van Eyck
  • "The Arnolfini Marriage"
  • Claude Oscar Monet
  • "Woman with a Parasol"
  • Edouard Manet
  • "The Railroad"
  • Edgar Degas
  • "Dance Class at the Opéra"
  • John William Waterhouse
  • "The Flower Picker"
  • Paul Cezanne
  • "Tulips in a Vase"
  • Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder
  • "Flowers in a Glass Beaker "
  • Pierre Auguste Renoir
  • "La Promenade"
  • Jacques-Louis David
  • "The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis"
  • Gabriele Munter
  • "Autumn"
  • Vincent Van Gogh
  • "Starry Night"
  • Henri Matisse
  • "Green Stripe (Madame Matisse)"
  • Edvard Munch
  • "The Scream"
  • Wassily Kandinsky
  • "Composition IV"

    Kandinsky said...... "Black is like the silence of the body after death, the close of life."
  • Franz Marc
  • "Fighting Forms"
  • "Ash Wednesday"
  • Robert Motherwell
  • "Vega Lep G"
  • Victor Vasserely
  • "Earth and Green"
  • Mark Rothko
  • "New York Mural"
  • Stuart Davis
  • "I and the Village"
  • Marc Chagall
  • "False Start"
  • Jasper Johns
  • "Bay Area"
  • Helen Frankenthaler
  • "Composition"
  • Joan Miro
  • "Judith Beheading Holofernes"
  • Carraviggio
  • "The Shootings of May Third 1808"
  • Francisco Goya
  • "The Burden or The Laundress"
  • Honre Daumier
  • "Night Hawks"
  • Edward Hopper
  • "Death"
  • Kathe Kollwitz
  • "Bottom of the Sixth"
  • Norman Rockwell
  • "Mill Pond"
  • Maxfield Parrish
  • "Where the Wild Things Are"
  • Maurice Sendak
  • "Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky"
  • Faith Ringgold