Art and aesthetic appreciation by description

Journal article

While perceptual experience seems necessary for appreciating some artworks, it does not seem necessary for appreciating others. We must arguably see a painting or a reproduction of it if we are to appreciate it and listen to a performance or recording of a work of music if we are to appreciate it. However, there are some artworks the appreciation of which does not require us to perceive them or recordings, reproductions or copies of them. Descriptions of the non-aesthetic properties of some artworks can put those with the requisite background knowledge in a position to appreciate them. The phenomenon of appreciation by description is philosophically interesting because it promises to tell us something about the resources required to appreciate artworks. The puzzle of appreciation by description is why descriptions of the non-aesthetic properties of some artworks could enable us to appreciate the artworks they describe, while descriptions of the non-aesthetic properties of other artworks could not. My aim is to develop a solution to the puzzle that illuminates both the general requirements for appreciation the conditions a face-to-face experience, reproduction, copy or description must meet if it is to enable appreciation of the artwork it describes.

Authors: Abell, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: British Journal of Aesthetics
• Publication date: 2026-06-01
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-11
• DOI: 10.1093/aesthj/ayag006
• EISSN: 1468-2842
• ISSN: 0007-0904
• Language: English