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Views from the Choir Loft

The Purpose of Art

Fr. David Friel · February 26, 2017

ESTHETICS, the so-called “science of art,” is a subject that interests me greatly. This branch of philosophy explores art and beauty and the manner in which they relate to sense perception. The field has a long history, having received consideration from several of the ancient philosophers, most notably Aristotle, and it is an area that continues to attract attention from philosophers, art historians, and others.

A recent inquiry brought me to the aesthetics section of the stacks in the library at CUA. There I picked up Leo Tolstoy’s short work, What Is Art? Inside, I found a series of terrific reflections on the meaning, value, and purpose of art.

This passage, from section IV, 1 particularly caught my attention:

Beauty, or that which pleases us, can in no way serve as the basis for defining art, and a series of objects that gives us pleasure can in no way be an example of what art should be.

To see the aim and purpose of art in the pleasure we derive from it is the same as to ascribe the aim and significance of food to the pleasure we derive from eating it, as is done by people who stand at the lowest level of moral development (savages, for instance).

Just as people who think that the aim and purpose of food is pleasure cannot perceive the true meaning of eating, so people who think that the aim of art is pleasure cannot know its meaning and purpose, because they ascribe to an activity which has meaning in connection with other phenomena of life the false and exclusive aim of pleasure. People understand that the meaning of eating is the nourishment of the body only when they cease to consider pleasure the aim of this activity.

So it is with art. People will understand the meaning of art only when they cease to regard beauty—that is, pleasure—as the aim of this activity.

The wonderfully concise definition given by St. Thomas Aquinas for beauty is id quod visum placet (“that which, on being seen, gives pleasure”). 2 If we read Aquinas and Tolstoy together, then we can conclude that pleasure is intimately bound up with beauty—indeed, part of its very definition—but not its aim.

The purpose of art, whether sacred or otherwise, is not to incite pleasure. The artfulness of choral harmony, therefore, does not consist simply in the fact that it charms the listener. The artistry of a Rembrandt consists in more than just the fact that it catches the eye.

What, then, shall we say is the authentic purpose of art? Tolstoy reaches the rather unfulfilling conclusion that the purpose of art is to elicit feeling, which he defines quite broadly. Unsatisfied with this notion, I gave the question further consideration, and I have a suggestion of my own. Perhaps it is best to understand art as a means of reflecting Godliness. As the Creator of the universe and “the original source of beauty” (Wisdom 13:3), God is, Himself, an Artist. By making art, therefore, the human artist advances along the way of imitating the divine.

Do you find this to be a satisfactory explanation of the purpose of art? Would you suggest a different understanding?



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Leo Tolstoy, What Is Art?, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (New York: Penguin Books, 1995), 35.

2   See Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia, q. 5, art. 4, ad 1. The text actually renders the definition in this way: “Pulchra enim dicuntur quae visa placent.”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“So, as in delirium a man talks in a long-forgotten tongue, now—when her heart is rent—the Catholic Church drops twenty centuries without an effort, and speaks as she spoke underground in Rome, and in Paul’s hired house, and in Crete and Alexandria and Jerusalem.”

— A non-Catholic describing the “Hagios O Theos” of Good Friday in 1906

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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