In this essay I will discuss what, in my opinion, constitutes good art. To justify what I consider to be a good artistic standard, I will analyze the work of the French symbolist Eugene Carriere and compare it to a work of art that I consider not to be "good art". The artwork, by Eugene Carriere, that I chose first to look at is The First Communion, due to its significant use of symbolism. Symbolism is often used to provoke emotion in a viewer, an example of how it is used in The First Communion is the subject's inner eyes. This evokes a mysterious and isolated atmosphere in the viewer, suggesting the idea of ​​an internal world of thought. I believe that a work of art with symbolic reasons behind its concept helps create good art. Symbolism allows artworks to become a means of visual communication beyond what is obvious. The First Communion was painted at the beginning of the French Symbolism movement. During this period artists rejected the art forms of naturalism and realism, these artists, like Carriere, wanted to express their visions and ...