Aesthetics and the Legal Definition of Art on the Example of the Jurisprudence of German Courts and German Legal Literature in the Period of 1954–2019

This Article is an attempt to identify the multi-dimensional problems related to the usefulness or non-usefulness of aesthetic categories for the practice of law application (primarily judicial practice). The discussion will focus on the decisions of German courts with the longest experience in determining the artistic quality of works of art. However, to extend the scope of this Article, I will adapt a comparative legal perspective and show examples from other countries. I will analyse court rulings from the period of 100 years, from 1919 to 2019.