“Ceci n’est pas un oiseau” – The judge as a critic and the work of art concept in tax law

Abstract

“Art Work” is an elusive and mutable concept, object of dispute within philosophy and theory of art. Law regulates the practices and objects involved in artistic activities, and in order to perform its functions – protecting interests and settling disputes in a complex society –, it has to adopt operational and binding art work definitions. Based on these premises, the Brancusi v.United States case serves as a paradigm for a tax law study, with the aim of investigating the existence of legal concept of “art work”, identifying areas in which distinctive legal protection is bestowed upon objects classified as art and the tensions arising between the ever enlarging contemporary art definition and law’s need for certainty.

Keywords

• direito da arte
• direito tributário
• imposto de importação sobre obras de arte
• teoria da arte