ABSTRACT
Discussion of both works of art and artifacts frequently refer to them in terms of their style. This may be applied to the analysis of the qualities and characteristic of an individual work, in order to describe and evaluate it, or it may be used as a means of placing different works in recognizable groups which have common characteristics. This is apparent with pottery, furniture, clothes ard even motor cars, as well as the more durable components of a culture such as buildings. In literary criticism, the question of style is regarded as important, and is used as a means of contrasting and even judging literary works. In painting, virtually all individual products are categorized by type, taking into account such things as subject matter, medium and the individual manner or method of expression of the artist.
