... The word "Konst" which indeed does translate to "Art" has several meanings in swedish, of which but one is "Decorative art, like a painting". It also can be used to describe the application of theoretical knowledge in concert with practical experience to achieve a superior result, sometimes with a theoretical content varying close to zero. ...
The usages of "art" in English are the same. In English one can also describe something as "artless" to convey the idea of clumsy construction or design, of being inelegant when an elegant solution is possible. Using a whole op amp where an emitter follower would have done the job just as well is artless.
Arguably applied science is what turns a craft into engineering. Medieval craft bridge builders were fully capable of building bridges that worked, anyone who lives in a city more than 500 years old can probably point to a bridge that is still in use that was constructed entirely without the benefits of engineering mechanics. Science is being able to prove that the foundation stone of a bridge doesn't need to be set in mortar made with blood, or any other such practice passed down from master to apprentice over the years; engineering is systematically applying the results to future bridge building efforts.
Either way, there is no doubt that some bridges are beautiful, both in terms of aesthetics and engineering, others are ugly on the same terms. Artfulness is a necessity in producing good engineering, failing to be artful results in engineering that is the application of mere rote learning - one might as well use a copy of
Bridge Buildertm 3.1. To loosely quote Prof. Roger Needham "If there's an algorithm for it then it's mere administration, if there isn't an algorithm then it's management"; I'd propose that if you can get there by application of a set of rules and formulae then it's mere engineering, if it requires more then it's an art.
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