Art can be very complicated and there is no agreed definition of what it is or what it should look like. Some people think it is anything that is created to please the eye and delight the mind, while others have a much more rigid definition of what can be called art. Throughout history, people have used art to communicate many different messages and emotions. It can be used to teach or remind us of past events, celebrate the achievements of great men and women or simply be a beautiful thing to look at.
Some artists work from life and need to be outside to produce a realistic representation of what they see, while others work from photographs or other sketches. Some are very organized and plan their work carefully, using a variety of techniques to achieve the final result they want. Others are very spontaneous and use paint or marks to doodle until they find shapes and lines that they like.
For some time, art was seen as a way to glorify God or to illustrate Biblical stories of miracles and spirituality. It also could be a means of memorializing important figures and events, from the Coronation of Napoleon to a portrait of someone’s family member.
With the growth of secularism in many cultures, the focus of art started to change to include more realistic and everyday subjects. This was also when the development of new styles such as portraiture, landscape and still life became commonplace. However, there is always the possibility that something that does not fit into any of these categories may be considered as art, for example, a scribble on a napkin or a piece of graffiti.
The question of what can be considered art has been debated throughout history and even more so in modern times. Some people have argued that the world of art is too diverse to accept any unifying definition, while others have said that a strict definition would stifle artistic creativity.
Other people have argued that a definition of art can be as simple as the basic human instinct for harmony, balance and rhythm. They say that this can be felt through any form of expression such as painting, music or poetry. It is also a way of experiencing the mysterious, which can be stimulated by anything from a piece of art to a natural phenomenon such as a sunset or an earthquake.