Tolstoy qualifies art as that which passes on the emotions of the artist to the receiver, "infecting" them with it. The best art, in his opinion, is art that clearly and sincerely passes a strong emotion. I like this definition of art because it is easy to apply and agrees with what I classify as art myself.
I think that the two are talking about the same thing (though tolstoy is a little more concise). Nietzsche does not necessarily say that the apollonian is not art, but as it breaks down and leads to the dionysian, emotion takes the place of rational thought. This is in a sense what tolstoy is saying in that it is the emotions that infect others and cause them to react to art, not cold logic.
Erik
I agree that Tolstoy is much clearer, though I question whether they mean precisely the same thing. Nietsche talks about more of a capitalistic society, where Tolstoy is more general in his description of art. Good blog!
ReplyDeleteAre we really 'engaging emotionally,' Erik, when we stand in front of a great painting? Or do we rather 'take it in' more in a Kantian 'disinterested' sense? You rarely see people break down on the floor in museums in front of paintings in emotional spasms.
ReplyDeletei just meant that you feel good paintings rather than analyze them. and no they both dont mean exactly the same thing but both are talking about the emotional aspects of art.
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