What is art? Arthur Danto

Reflections on the nature of art from one of the most prominent American art critics of the 20th century.

In What Is Art, renowned philosopher, art critic, and critic Arthur Danto explores this fundamental question, combining rigorous philosophical reasoning with personal reflections. He challenges the popular belief that art is indefinable and offers his own universal approach.

In an accessible style, Danto guides the reader from Plato’s understanding of art in The Republic to key discoveries in artistic practice, concluding with an analysis of Andy Warhol’s iconic boxes that challenge the division between art and the mundane. Drawing on Descartes, Kant, and Hegel, as well as Michelangelo, Poussin, Duchamp, and Warhol, Danto paints a broad and vivid picture of how aesthetic meanings are formed and why art exists at all.