{"product_id":"what-is-art-by-leo-tolstoy","title":"What is Art? by Leo Tolstoy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in \u003cem\u003eWhat is Art?\u003c\/em\u003e, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticises the elitist nature of art in nineteenth-century Western society, and rejects the idea that its sole purpose should be the creation of beauty.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire and Wagner are all vigorously condemned, as Tolstoy explores what he believes to be the spiritual role of the artist - arguing that true art must work with religion and science as a force for the advancement of mankind.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pushkin House Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57511503561082,"sku":null,"price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0510\/3406\/3009\/files\/803e3cd3c1410f61ee939257a7c88173.jpg?v=1793636994","url":"https:\/\/shop.pushkinhouse.org\/products\/what-is-art-by-leo-tolstoy","provider":"Pushkin House Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}