The distinction between the decorative and the fine arts
has
essentially arisen from the post-Renaissance art of the West, where the
distinction is for the most part meaningful. This is much less meaningful when
considering the art of other cultures and periods, where the most highly
regarded works – or even all works – include those in decorative media
. For
example, Islamic art
in many periods and places consists entirely of the
decorative arts, often using geometric and plant forms, as does the art of many
traditional cultures.
The distinction
between decorative and fine arts
is not very useful for appreciating Chinese
art, and neither is it for understanding Early Medieval art in Europe. In that
period in Europe, fine arts such as manuscript illumination and monumental
sculpture existed, but the most prestigious works tended to be in goldsmith
work, in cast metals such as bronze, or in other techniques such as ivory
carving. Large-scale wall-paintings
were much less regarded, crudely executed,
and rarely mentioned in contemporary sources. They were probably seen as an
inferior substitute for mosaic, which for this period must be viewed as a fine
art, though in recent centuries mosaics have tended to be seen as decorative.
The term "ars sacra" ("sacred arts") is sometimes used for
medieval Christian art done in metal, ivory, textiles, and other high-value
materials but not for rarer secular works from that period.
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