No one has ever arrived at a definition of art that is entirely satisfactory. Over the centuries art has been considered to be imitation and expression. (71) Traditionally the word art has referred to skill in the making of something--------－－whether a poem or a shoe－－and the artist is one who makes it.(72) What the artist makes is considered in some respect imitative of the natural world. A painting may mirror some small portion of nature. A statue may imitate a person or animal. A building imitates the shelter offered by a cave. A shoe both imitates and protects the foot. (73) It was only in the 19th century that art came to be looked upon as expression; that is, it expresses the feelings, ideas, and notions of the artist as well as the skill involved.
It seems fair to conclude that art is a combination of both imitation and expression; artists imitate life in their work, and they also make a statement about some aspect or quality of life. Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” is strongly imitative in its accurate description of 19th century. It is also singularly expressive, in its vivid portrayal of Captain Ahab’s obsession with the great white whale, of an interpretation of life.
(74) Critics, in their work, must be aware of their own definitions of art and of the movements and styles in the medium being appraised. (75) They must also understand specific techniques because much of their work is a matter of comparison and contrast. They describe and interpret a single work of art, and they analyze the excellence in that work by comparing it to others of the same kind.