There are many ways to judge a work of art. I think the most important, but nearly independent, scales are: concept, impact, and execution. A true connoisseur focuses almost exclusively on execution, particularly the artisanship involved.
For a casual audience, it is impact that counts. And this is exactly similar to the effects of nature _ a sunset or a stormy ocean. For intellectuals, the concept overrides almost everything. But the connoisseur recognizes difficulty and workmanship and compares those to other known masterpieces.
For those not know, swooning over tiny and usually unnoticed or even irrelevant details is quite tiresome. They often see those who do so as bores at best, snobs at worst.
However, I believe that being a connoisseur is a way to become close to an artist, particularly a great artist. The work’s concept is certainly important, its impact depends on circumstance. But understanding how well something is accomplished, how hard a thing is to do, how much actual handicraft is involved, is very similar to actually doing that something oneself.
Today, in art as in all activities, much can be conceived with little effort, given impact with instant fads. A connoisseur feels a deeper satisfaction in what can be truly appreciated for how well it has been done.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 