Essays on the Nature of Art

Deutsch posits that an art work has as its intentionality the striving to be aesthetically forceful, meaningful, and beautiful, with each of these dimensions culturally situated. Working from traditional imitation and expression theories, he argues that the manner of an artwork's coming into being and one's experience of it constitutes an integral whole.

Selected aspects of painting, poetry, dance, architecture, films, and music are offered to deepen an understanding of the concepts presented. Also included are several inter-connected themes focusing on the difficult and controversial issues of interpreting art, truth in art, and the relations between art and morality, and art and religion.