What Is Art? What Is Art? What is Art? ( "Chto takoye iskusstvo?") is a book by Leo Tolstoy. It was completed in Russian in 1897 but first published in English due to difficulties with the Russian censors. Tolstoy cites the time, effort, public funds, and public respect spent on art and artists as well as the imprecision of general opinions on art as reason for writing the book. In his words, "it is difficult to say what is meant by art, and especially what is good, useful art, art for the sake of which we might condone such sacrifices as are being
What Is Art? in Tolstoy and his problems: essays. London: Grant Richards. pp. 66–101. Maude, Aylmer (1901b). “"What is Art?" - Tolstoy’s Theory of Art”, in Tolstoy and his problems: essays. London: Grant Richards. pp. 102–127. Noyes, George (1918). Tolstoy. London: Duffield. Pevear, Richard (1995). "Preface" in Tolstoy, Leo (1995 [1897]). "What is Art?" (Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky). London: Penguin. Simmons, Ernest (1973). "What is Art?", in Tolstoy. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 175–189. What Is Art? What is Art? ( "Chto takoye iskusstvo?") is a book by Leo Tolstoy. It was completed in Russian in 1897 but first