Précis. There are hundreds of definitions of the art in the history of aesthetics; therefore, it seems hardly possible to propose the only one and ultimate research-based definition. A deep impact on the emotional and intellectual levels of human consciousness that works of art produce is their distinctive feature. The problem of authenticity of the works of art is among the topical for contemporary scholar and controversial issues, especially in Russia, where the industry of fakes have recently boosted producing the need to protect artistic authenticity with all the means including the legal ones.

Shestakov Vyacheslav Pavlovich,