On the Contribution and Status of Leo Tolstoy in the Modern History of Aesthetics

The essentialismabout beauty and art of Tolstoy is based on the criticismof the traditional trinity ideology of the true,the good and the beautiful. H e resolutely denies the discussion of the essence of beauty of the traditional aesthetics,denying that the essence of beauty is in the pleasant sensation and the traditional fine arts. At the same time,he believes that the concept of art cannot be based on beauty and that the essence of art is determined —art is nothing but communication of emotion,putting forward the pure,clear and sincere aesthetical standard and revealing the essence of emotion and the functions of art. Tolstoy is the milestone in the history of the western aesthetics and is of great significance to the development of the western modern aesthetics.