1. Introduction
The Origin of Art
Northwest University, China
Several major theories about the origin of art
• 1. The Theory of Mimesis
• Art derives from the human imitation of
nature.
• Aristotle Leonardo da Vinci Diderot
Chernyshevsky
Aristotle
Da Vinci
Diderot
Chernyshevsky
Several major theories about the origin of art
• 2. The Theory of Game
• Game Theory contends that art originates
from games.
• Its representative figures are the German
aesthetician Friedrich Schiller and the British
scholar Spencer.------ “Schiller-Spencer theory.”
Schiller, Letters on the
Aesthetical Education of Man.
• Schiller first put
forward the view that
art originates from
games.
• He believed that art is
a game that entails
exercising aesthetic
freedom with the
intention of creating
forms.
Several major theories about the origin of art
• 3. Expression Theory
• This theory proposes that art originates from the need for
human expression and emotional communication.
• This theory was notably propounded by the British poet
Shelley, the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy,
and some modern and contemporary aestheticians in
Europe and America.
Several major theories about the origin of art
• 4. Witchcraft Theory
• It was founded on the direct study of the relationship
• between original works of art and primitive religious
witchcraft activities.
It was first proposed by the
famous British anthropologist
Taylor in his book Primitive
Culture.
Taylor, Primitive Culture
Several major theories about the origin of art
• 5. Labor Theory
• Labor Theory proposes that art originates from work.
• The representative figures in this school are Bichelle,
Hieren, Max Dessau, and Plekhanov.
• In short, the above doctrine on the origin of art can
help us understand the emergence of art from
different aspects, and provides a point of reference
for us to correctly understand fine art activities and
works of art.
Thanks!