Identify a piece of art which has communicated beauty to you, what precisely is this beauty and how is it that art manages to convey it?

The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting created by Leonardo da Vinci. It represents the last meal that Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifixion, where he announces that an apostle would betray him.

This piece of art communicates beauty to me, through the way Leonardo has tried to communicate a certain message, as well as the unique style that he used to recreate this scene. Through this piece of art, da Vinci has portrayed the various expressions of the apostles. I find it intriguing that Leonardo would think that the different apostles would act the way they did in the painting. The beauty of history has been conveyed to me through this simple painting. In addition, Leonardo painted it on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster. He had tried a new and unique style called ‘tempera’, which he created himself. But there were various challenges in doing this instead of the traditional method. Hence, this painting reflects the creativity that Leonardo had, as well as the hard work and effort that he put into this work, hence showing the beauty of this artwork.

Art is said to be expressing one’s opinions to the world, however, we, as a society, rate art as better than others. This is because an important and influential person (of high status) might think that a particular piece of art is valuable, of high standard, or having a deep and meaningful purpose, hence he will fervently advertise it. His followers would, of course, not doubt his decision, and often follow behind his footsteps, hence becoming fond of the piece of art, and will start to promote it as well. Upon seeing the vast amount of positive response to that work of art, others will unknowingly start to appreciate it. Therefore, it is the decision of the majority that rates various pieces of art in different ways.

I feel that the reason why art that were created centuries ago are still well-known and valuable today is due to its rarity, as well as the fame of the artist. Various pieces of art, for example the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, were by Leonardo da Vinci. It is because he has passed away, and his art style can never be fully replicated by anyone again, which is why people tend to appreciate more than contemporary art. Even though the art can be replicated easily through the use of technology, people still regard it to be magnificent, and to some extent, “worship” its style. In the case of Leonardo da Vinci again, he is very famous for his various works, such as paintings, scientific contributions and inventions. This is how people get to know his artworks, through his fame and recognition in the world.

To me, art is not really an important area of knowledge for myself. I feel that I can obtain more information through my own perception, science and mathematics. However, I feel that the language arts is more useful than pictorial art. I think that the hidden messages hidden in pictures are usually not going to help me in life, which is why I think they are useless. On the other hand, art in the form of language is often used, whether in the written or oral form. People can easily obtain information through language arts, perception, science and mathematics, which is why other forms of art are not that important in gathering information.

Compared to science and mathematics, art is able to show the history and culture of a certain place, or a certain religion. For example, the very first form of art includes sculptures and paintings on rocks and in caves made by prehistoric man. From these artworks, people are able to arrive at a conclusion about the lifestyle of the prehistoric man, including how they had lived, and their culture at that time.