Definitions of art:

(1) Mimetic theory: art is an imitation (representation) of reality. (Plato) (Realism; portaiture; impressionism (?))

(2) Idealization theory: art is an improvement on reality, making it more beautiful, or closer to the ideal or to God, for example. (Hegel) (Baroque art; surrealism; post-impressionism.)

(3) Formal theory: art is to be understood in terms of its formal properties (shapes and colors, for instance) rather than its ≥content.≤ Or: a work of art is a combination of shapes and colors (a formal arrangement) that yield an ≥aesthetic emotion.≤ (Clive Bell). (pure abstraction.)

(4) Expression theory: Art is an expression, communication, or exploration of emotional states, or is a particular kind of expression, communication, or exploration. (Tolstoy; Croce) (expressionism)

(5) Process theory: A work of art is the product of a process that is, to an exemplary degree, engaged in for its own sake, as well as for the sake of the product; or: a work of art is the product of immersion in process. (Craft) (Sartwell)

(5) Anti-Essentialism: åartπ cannot be defined; or what works of art have in common should be understood as a family resemblance, perhaps shifting over history, rather than an essence. (Wittgenstein)

(6) Institutional Theory: a work of art is an item that is incorporated in a certain way in the institutions of art; for example, that is hanging in a gallery or museum. More precisely: a work of art is an object which has had conferred upon the status of a candidate for appreciation by someone acting on behalf of the artworld. (dada; pop etc) (Danto, Dickie)

(7) Historical theory: a work of art is an object that was produced consciously in connection to the history of art. (appropriation) (Levinson)