Why Should We Study Art?

Our family recently went to visit the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University, who is sponsoring several originals of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz in their Sacred Gifts Exhibition. Some paintings have taken their very first trip ever, from their home at the Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, Denmark. All of us were touched by the beauty,  the feelings it provoked within us and the serenity of Christ's life, Atonement and Resurrection as depicted by these great painters. What a privilege it is to have opportunities to view the works of masters and especially to have working relations with other churches and people all over the world.

I have been reflecting on the subject of art and its place in our world. Why do we go, even travel far, to see it? Why does it have such a hold on us? The obvious is that it brings beauty and refinement, but is that all? What is art? Why do we study it?

Someone has asked, What is the first thing we know about man? His Art. The Cave paintings in France and Spain tell us more about the first inhabitants than anything else we have found. Man has always expressed himself with art and as Cuban artist, Pablo Picasso once said, "Primitive sculpture has never been surpassed."What, then, is art? Is it communication?