This is my second practice Issue Essay

The issue was “The true test of the greatness of a work of art is its ability to be understood by the masses.”

Not sure if I articulated my point well, but if not it’s okay. I finished with like 18minutes left. I just wanted to get used to writing the essays and being timed.

The statement that “the true test” of a work of art’s “greatness” is how it is understood by the public is true, however the reason is not one-sided. To understand art helps a public audience engage with the work, and in this right can give merit to an artwork. But just as often it is the mystique of a piece of art that creates the valuation of greatness.

Various forms of art strive to be easily recognized and understood by masses of people. This can be said for most of the art produced in the Renaissance, a time where art was extremely representational, often telling biblical stories for the illiterate masses. Art often played the role of telling history, or took the place of photography, in an era before the field existed. One of the most widespread, and influential artists of this period was Titian. His most famous work being the Venus of Urbino. This portrait of a reclining nude woman, the first of its kind, is easily understood upon first glance. It is a portrait of a young woman; any audience can marvel in the beauty of this masterpiece. But this same work proves the other contention of a great work of art.

Despite the elegant simplicity of this work, there is many symbolic depictions which would go unnoticed to anyone outside the field of art history. The dog featured laying inconspicuously by the young bride’s feet, actually represents loyalty to her anticipated husband. The draped cloth which accompanies her nude flesh, aptly alludes to female genitalia, as does the sensuous petals of the flower which she holds delicately in her forefingers.

These attributes undoubtedly add to the bulk of why this work is so influential and adored by art historians, where as it’s obvious aesthetics attract any mass audience. The ignorance of the masses, as well as the insight of experts, prove that there are multiple ways to understand a work, yet it is the understanding which does indeed warrant the greatness of a work of art.

Aside from this historic example, contemporary examples can be seen more obviously by Cubism’s founder Pablo Picasso, or the renown Surrealist Salvador Dali. What is represented is never obvious, and many claim they do not “understand” the depictions. Yet thousands of people over several decades have agreed that the works produced are certainly in the realm of greatness, and thus these works have become canonical. Public opinion often reigns supreme, and in the case of modern art this commonly holds true. To understand a work can vary from giving the work a literal meaning, to recognizing and understanding the talent and aesthetics. Regardless of which, it is true that understanding a work of art is necessary to experience the greatness of the art.