Full Idea
Art's primary function, for Hegel, is to give expression to the unity and wholeness of life - especially human life - that the contingencies of everyday existence frequently conceal.
Gist of Idea
The main purpose of art is to express the unity of human life
Source
Georg W.F.Hegel (Lectures on Aesthetics [1826]), quoted by Stephen Houlgate - An Introduction to Hegel 09 'Beauty'
Book Reference
Houlgate,Stephen: 'An Introduction to Hegel' [Blackwell 2005], p.220
A Reaction
I don't find the view that human life is 'unified' and 'whole' vary illuminating, and I have no objection to art which reflects the fragmentary and unstable aspects of life. I suspect Hegel would just prefer it if life were a unity.