A-Z: Fine art

Art History Glossary

Georgia O’Keeffe, Lake George Reflection, c. 1921–1922. Oil on canvas. 34 x 57.9 in (86.4 x 147.3 cm).

Fine art

| fīn ärt | noun |

Traditionally, “fine art” or “high art” refers to purely aesthetic works of art, as opposed to “decorative art,” “applied art,” or “craft,” which is designed to be both aesthetic and functional. Pointedly, “fine art” does not need to have a use or a purpose beyond aesthetics. The distinctions between different types of art are arbitrary and have changed over time. The idea of a “hierarchy of genres” with painting at the top was promoted during the Renaissance, largely by painters. The hierarchy developed further with the rise of art academies, which ranked history painting, portraiture, landscape painting, still life painting, and genre painting (representing everyday life) in that order. Today, the relationship between different art forms and the very distinction between fine and decorative art is being challenged.

See arts and crafts, decorative, hierarchy.

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