Design for a Cassone, Italian, 16th Century, Anonymous, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Decorative Art, Definition Sadly most people do not know the definition of decorative art, albeit decorative arts are well represented at every major museum across the globe (where the term is employed).  Decorative art differs from fine art not in quality (in the vernacular sense of 'fine'), but in medium and perhaps usage. Dictionary.com defines the term: 'art that is meant to