Tolstoy's "What is Art"

Chapter 1
There is a lot of money spent by people just jumping and twisting and such and money could be used more usefully elsewhere. Who can all of this please and who is it for?
Chapter 2
Is art worth the cost and the sacrifice of so many people that have no access to art? Is art worth anything especially if it is harmful? What is art and what is good art? He looks at other authors that claim that all the senses are subject to art and aesthetics. What does beauty have to do with it and is it all? Beauty does not equal good.
Chapter 3
T goes through all philosophy on the subject author by author.
Chapter 4
From all the philosophy he shows that there are two definitions of beauty. 1 approaching perfection, 2 it pleases. However these two ideas are essentially the same thing. and there is no objective idea of beauty, so it is all moot. It makes it all very elite too. We like a certain type of art and thus create a definition to include it rather than the other way around. Thus pleasure cannot be a rule for beauty.
Chapter 5
The problem with all the precious definitions of art is that they attempt to answer incompletely the question of pleasure without looking at the question of purpose. Art is a part of life and as such must be looked at as a means of intercourse between men - the one who made it and the one that takes it in. In art he transmits his feelings, like with words he transmits thoughts. It is the capacity of man to receive the feelings that make something art. Infection of the feeling transmitted is the activity of art. Without the ability to convey and receive art we would be like beasts.
Chapter 6
He starts on good art and bad art. Art that elevates the soul is good art. Art that strengthens only the body's passions is bad art. Good and bad is defined by religion, thus religion decides what is good or bad art.
Chapter 7
Beauty and good are not equal. He brings the ancient Greeks into it.
Chapter 8
One of the problems with defining art is that every culture believes they have universal art and it is not true. The art we have now is genteel art and not universal. 2/3 of the world dies without knowing it and if they had it they wouldn't know what to do with it. It is not the ordering of society, it is the type of art. it is done by rich people as a hobby and not as work. If art is that important as religion, then it should be accessible to everyone.
Chapter 9
Art has been perverted and nearly destroyed. First it lost its religiousness proper to it. Then the small group of people for which it is made and by whom perverted its form and made it obscure then it became not-natural and brain-spun. A true work of art is that that transmits a new feeling, however small the feeling may be. Enjoyment is hackneyed, but religious feeling is always fresh because it has no boundaries. Art is made for and by the upper classes, but their lives are far less broad than the life of a worker. Pride, sexuality and weariness of life took over all art of the upper class.
Chapter 10
Art became more exclusive and obscure. all art forms are working in this fashion. It cannot be that T or the other people that do not enjoy it are simply not enlightened enough. The art must be bad. "Good art always pleases everyone." The bible, folk tales and parables are understood and are the best art. Art make sense of things that cannot be understood with words. To understand bad art one must habituate oneself to it, thus it is bad. "The aim of art is to infect people with the emotion of the artist has experienced how can one talk of not understanding?"
Chapter 11
Universal art exists when someone of the people has an emotion and seeks to transmit it to others. A work of art is not if it is simply poetic, realistic, striking or interesting. There are conditions for a man to produce a work of art. He should stand on the highest life-conception for his time, he should experience feeling and want to transmit it to others, and he should have a talent for one of the art forms.
Chapter 12
The counterfeiting of art happens all the time and is what separates the upper class art from the worker class. There are three things that ensure counterfeiting of art. 1 payment for this art. 2 art criticism. 3 art schools. Universal art has a must - religious perception. Criticism is for those that cannot write and they interpret wrongly. Art cannot be taught because it is the transmission of feeling. In order to infect music must do three things. Exact pitch, time and strength needed for the particular music. Art in all forms only exists when the artist finds the infinitely minute degrees where it is perfect. Impossible to teach, can only be felt.
Chapter 13
All art is mutually exclusive of others. If two or more are combined, then one submits to the other for art. In a musical play either the music or the drama will be art, but not both. Wagner is the worst of these. He is so successful because he is able to use all the methods of counterfeiting available to someone with unlimited resources.
Chapter 14
The trouble with non-art is that it cheats and perverts and tricks people into believing it is art. One problem is that externally non-art and art might be almost the same and the non-art might even be more convincing because it uses the tricks of counterfeiting.
Chapter 15
The degree of infection is also the measure of art's worth. The stronger the infection, the better the art. The degree depends on three conditions. 1 the individuality of the feeling transmitted. 2 the clearness of the transmission. 3 sincerity of the artist. The mental condition of the artist infects the receiver. sincerity is the most important.
Chapter 16
Art serves a similar function as speech and that is of progress. To replace the old with the new and evolve towards an ever better and kinder society. The more if fulfills this need the better the art and the less, the worse. The appraisal of this feeling is religion. Religion represents the highest level of understanding of the meaning of life in any society and so it is the arbiter of what is good and what is bad. If people do not see a religious perception in society today it is because they are not looking properly, not because it is not there. If people deny what they see as religion, because they say it is outdated, then that too acknowledges the existence of perception. We should reject anything that does not go with the perception. All art unites people, they unite with the feelings of the artist and with all others that feel the same feeling. Christian art is universal because it does not exclude. It must not exclude anyone and if it is good art it will not. There are two feelings that unite all men. 1 Our sonship with God and the brotherhood of man 2 simple feelings of common life. Art should exclude any art that does not unite. Even when the subject matter is good art often is filled with ornamentation and becomes exclusive to only a few people.
Chapter 17
The consequences of bad art: 1 Money wasted in working hours. Children spend too many hours doing these things and become physically and mentally deformed and morally and incapable of doing anything good for mankind. They get praised for contributing to and assessing counterfeit art and inflate their own vanity. 2 The wealthy that spend their lives with such distractions should realize the waste of their lives and do something good. A false life. 3 the minds of the weak, poor and young are perverted and confused with the hero worship of artists. 4 Beauty gets put before good by the upper classes. 5 European art makes people think of superstition, patriotism and sensuality.
Chapter 18
Art and society is starting to move in the right direction, but not yet. People just need to consciously acknowledge that religious art is the perception that moves their lives and thus should their art for it to replace the art made now.
Chapter 19
Art of the future will be good art from religious perception that infects all people, not just certain people from certain classes. It will not be taught in schools and will not be made by professional artists. Job security and wealth are injurious to artists because they take away his ability to struggle with nature for the maintenance of his life and others. Artists will work another menial jog and be paid in the pride of helping mankind.
Chapter 20
Science and art should work together better. Science finds truth and art transmits it to emotion.