Response to Leo Tolstoy's "What is Art?"

For some, art is not a concept of realistic action; it is a waste of time and energy. This harsh definition of art applied quite heavily to a man known as Leo Tolstoy. He believed that the theatre was a shallow waste of purpose and that there was other word that could have been done. In Leo Tolstoy’s prompt about art, he identifies numerous categories of art expression and theatre, but then them as congruently extinct.
Tolstoy states, in the sake of art, that “not only is enormous labor spent on this activity, but in it, as in war, the lives of very men are sacrificed” [Tolstoy]. In this he means to state that there are people who are utterly and unfathomably dedicated and devoted to the idea of art and theatre. Alternatively, he goes on to say that there are only five forms of art; the art of the five senses. Tolstoy does not believe that art holds any aesthetic value, rather it is a great hindrance to mankind’s success.
Time and time again, Tolstoy expresses his belief that art is a waste of mankind’s usefulness; it is thoroughly expressed that he is not a believer of art. He is open about expressing that he finds art to be wasteful and opaque. But one must look at the direction of opinion before striking down his character; Tolstoy grew up in a harsh time for Russia, and in that sense there was a great demand for work force. In this sense, Tolstoy’s criticism could be condoned by even the greatest art fanatic.