What is art ?

Derived from the Latin word "ars" (meaning "skill" or "craft") - is a 

useful starting point. This broad approach leads to art being defined 

as: "the product of a body of knowledge, most often using a set of 

skills." Thus Renaissance painters and sculptors were viewed merely 

as highly skilled artisans (interior-decorators?). No wonder Leonardo 

Da Vinci and Michelangelo went to such efforts to elevate the status 

of artists (and by implication art itself) onto a more intellectual plane.

Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use.