Art is the process or product of deliberately organizing elements in a way that appeals to the senses and emotions. It encompasses a wide range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture and painting. The meaning of art is considered a branch of philosophy called aesthetics.

The definition and evaluation of art has become particularly difficult since the early 20th century. Richard Wollheim distinguishes three approaches: the Realist, whereby aesthetic quality is an absolute value, independent of any human point of view, the Objectivist, whereby it is also an absolute, but depends on human experience in general and the relativist position, that it is not absolute, but depends and varies with the human experience of different people. An object may be characterized by the intentions, or the absence of its creator, regardless of its apparent purpose. A cup, which clearly can be used as a container, may be considered art if intended solely as an ornament, while a painting  if mass-produced would only be craft.

Traditionally the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. This conception changed during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as “a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science.” In general, the art is done with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions.