Plato's philosophies are broadly held under the umbrella of 'Platonism', which is borne from what he calls the "Theory of Forms". According to Plato, they were the abstract blueprint ideas of reality, the essence of objects - any objects; people, dogs, trees etc. - and distinct from 'matter' - the objects themselves. Much like Socrates suggested that the Idea is the highest form of reason and wisdom, Plato wrote that the form is the highest measure of a 'thing', and that physical reality is simply a shade - an imperfect copy - of the form. It is impossible for the reality to be as perfect as the form. In terms of creation and art, the form - Plato suggests - is the perfect notion we have in our minds of what we will make, but when created it cannot be as perfect as that notion - it is an imperfect physical facsimile.
