Art begins when a man, with a purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs.
Leo TolstoyRead
The business of art lies just in this, -- to make that understood and felt which, in the form of an argument, might be incomprehensible and inaccessible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art's purpose is to express complex ideas and emotions that words alone cannot convey.
In this quote, Tolstoy emphasizes the unique ability of art to communicate profound and often abstract concepts in a way that transcends verbal explanation. He suggests that while arguments and rational discourse can sometimes fail to convey deep truths, art can evoke understanding and emotional resonance in a more immediate and impactful manner.
Themes
ArtExpressionUnderstandingEmotionCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in an art class to highlight the importance of emotional expression in artistic works.
More from Leo Tolstoy
All quotes βPierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the retreating, twinkling stars. "And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!" thought Pierre. "And all this they've caught and put in a shed and boarded it up!
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People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing-refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.
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It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes.
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Music is the shorthand of emotion. Emotions, which let themselves be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man in music, and in that is its power and significance.
Leo TolstoyRead
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor β such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead
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