What Exactly Is Kitsch Anyway?

The Barge Haulers of Volga, Ilya Repin, 1873 — to early 20th C art critic Clement Greenberg, this was this worst it could get.

Previously I explored the question: was 20th century album cover art kitsch? Let’s take a step back and explore a more basic question — what exactly is kitsch anyway?

Well, here’s the thing — while there’s a general notion there is no definitive answer.

In a 2014 article for Forbes, Roger Scruton wrote, “Whatever we think of the history of modern art since (Clement) Greenberg, we have…