Artwork is a term used to describe a physical object that has been deemed by an expert, usually in the field of art criticism and history, to have aesthetic value. It can be a painting, sculpture or drawing. Other objects that may be considered artworks are video installations and performances. In some cases, a piece of music may also be considered an artwork. However, the definition of art is still a controversial issue. For example, some philosophers have argued that a work of art is any object that can inspire the imagination or provoke a response from its audience. Other philosophers have argued that a work must be intentionally created to be considered an artwork, or that it must have been created by a human being.
Some of the most famous artworks of all time are paintings by famous artists such as Jan Van Eyck, Bruegel and Gustav Klimt. These masterpieces are often described as beautiful and have inspired millions of people to create new creative works. They have set the tone for artistic movements and established new fashion trends.
Moreover, the beauty of an artwork can also have religious and philosophical significance. For example, the German philosopher Hegel believed that the best pieces of art convey through sensuous/perceptual means the deepest metaphysical truths that humanity shares with religion and philosophy. Hegel argued that these ideas are accessible through the mind and that, since art is capable of conveying these ideas, it is a true expression of human culture.
The concept of art is explored in a discipline called the philosophy of art, and the study of artworks is an integral part of the field of art history. In addition, many of the questions that are raised about art and its nature are investigated by a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.
One of the main worries about enumerative definitions of art is that they do not provide a sufficient degree of unity to be informative. For example, it is not clear that any enumerative list of characteristics of art can capture the full range of properties that make a thing an artwork. Another concern is that an enumerative definition of art tends to overextend the class of objects that it purports to include.
Some scholars have responded to the problems that are raised by enumerative definitions of art by arguing that different types of objects are united by different sets of properties. For example, some scholars have argued that artistic value requires the existence of certain time-sensitive formal properties (see the entry on aesthetic judgment).
Others have claimed that these properties are not necessary or sufficient to distinguish artworks from nonartistic things. This suggests that some of the defining characteristics of art are not properties but rather a kind of social institution (see the entry on institutions). Similarly, it has been argued that a work may be considered an artwork because experts confer it this status and that experts have reasons for doing so.