The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works valued primarily for their beauty or emotional power. The quote above is the Oxford Dictionary definition of art. It is one of many definitions and theories written in response to the question “what is art?” However, that very question implies an inhibited and essentialist answer such as “Art is…”. Over the centuries, philosophers, critics and authors have attempted to bring us ever closer to the elusive concept that is "art". It is an incredibly difficult concept and practice to theorize and define, especially in the twentieth century, since it is the very essence of art, as of all creative practices, to constantly challenge what has come before and its preconceived definitions. Leo Tolstoy states that: To correctly define art it is necessary, first of all, to stop considering it a means to achieve pleasure and consider it as one of the conditions of human life. Considering it in this way we cannot help but observe that art is one of the means of communication between man and man. This is taken from his iconoclastic collection of essays and polemics on art entitled 'What is Art?' In this passionate and powerful work, Tolstoy criticized the elite artistic society of the nineteenth century and rejected the idea that the sole purpose of art should be the creation of something beautiful. This view alone flies in the face of the Oxford Dictionary's vague definition, and immediately we see the problems of defining art emerge. There are countless theories written by too many people for us to create a definition that can be applicable to all art, from all periods. H...... half of the sheet ......ne Significant form', The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 35, no. 4 (summer, 1977), p.433Bell, (London, 1913), p.83McLaughlin, 'Clive Bell's Aesthetic: Tradition and Significant Form', p.433Burgin, (London, 1986), p.160R. Wollheim, Painting as an Art, (Thames and Hudson, London, 1987), p.358Sluga H., Family Resemblance, (Grazer Philosophische Studien, vol.71, 2006)L. Wittgenstein (tr. GEM Anscombe), Philosophical Investigations 4th Edition, (Blackwell Publishing, West Sussex, 2009)Wittgenstein, (West Sussex, 2009), aphorisms 66-67A. C. Danto, Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective, (University of California Press, USA, 1992), p.53 http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/n9.htm#nomi , 8 March 2014 http://www.lrb.co.uk/v03/n06/peter-lamarque/works-of-art, Peter Lamarque, 9 March, 2014