American Catholic Arts and Fictions Culture Ideology Aesthetics

The Aesthetic Movement

Artful Bridegroom, "Information technology is quite consummate, is information technology not?" Intense Bride, "It is, indeed! Oh, Algernon, let us live upwardly to it!" (from Punch Oct. 1880)

"To ascertain beauty, not in the most abstract but in the near concrete terms possible, to find not its universal formula, but the formula which expresses most adequately this or that special manifestation of it, is the aim of the truthful educatee of aesthetics."- Walter Pater

"Alas! ladies and gentlemen, Art has been maligned… people have caused the habit of looking, equally who should say, not at a motion picture, only through information technology, at some human being fact, that shall, or shall non, from a social signal of view, better their mental or moral state. [Art] is, withal, selfishly occupied with her own perfection just–having no want to teach–seeking and finding the beautiful in all conditions and in all times…"- James McNeill Whistler

---

Fin de Siècle

The roots of Aestheticism can exist traced back to the 1860'south; however, it was non until the 1880'southward that the motion gained noticeable popularity. The Aesthetic movement is often associated with the French term "fin de siècle," or the "end of the century," which refers to the closing of an existing era and implies the outset of a new i. It is often used to describe late nineteenth-century Britain, a time when the ideals of the Victorian Historic period were losing precedence and existence replaced past Aesthetic values. The established Victorian lifestyle broke down partly because U.k.'south political and economical supremacy faced new challenges in the class of emerging world powers, similar the United States. Substantially, the glory days of Britain's empire were coming to an cease, which laid the foundation for a new, strictly anti-Victorian method of thought. The Aesthetic move denounced the sober morality and eye-class values that characterized the Victorian Historic period and embraced beauty every bit the primary pursuit of both art and life. The motion is often considered to accept concluded with Oscar Wilde's trials, which began in 1895. In doing then, it cleared the path for the emergence of Modernism in the twentieth century.

Art for Art's Sake

Aesthetic writers and artists rallied behind this slogan, first adopted past French poet Théophile Gautier, in their attempts to stress the autonomy of art. They felt fine art should be contained from worldly issues, like politics, and should be appreciated for its own intrinsic beauty rather than for whatever moral purpose. The aesthetes also refuted the thought that there was a correlation betwixt fine art and the historic period in which information technology was created. In other words, art should not be interpreted every bit historical bear witness, merely rather appreciated for its ain, independent history and progress. Stylistically, their work was highly refined and appealed to the senses. The French author, Vernon Lee, perfectly captured the aesthetes' philosophy on fine art when she remarked, "to capeesh a work of art means, therefore, to appreciate that work of art itself, equally distinguished from appreciating something exterior information technology, something accidentally or arbitrarily connected with it" (Evangelista 5).

Influences

Aestheticism did non suddenly emerge independent from outside influence. Like all movements, it grew from the ideas of its predecessors and eventually adult its own unique characteristics. While many individuals influenced the aesthetes, the two most important were Walter Pater and Charles Baudelaire.

Walter Pater (1839- 1894)

The aesthetes were heavily influenced by the English writer Walter Pater and his book, T he Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, which was published in 1873. The slice sought to outline the important aspects of the Renaissance past examining the works and lives of its artists. Many writers, like John Addington Symonds and Oscar Wilde, had him as a tutor during their Oxford years and thus, familiarized themselves with his work. Consequently, it is the conclusion of The Renaissance which served equally the basic outline for the development of artful thought. Within it, Pater controversially states, "non the fruit of experience, but experience itself, is the end." He is attempting to convey that it is the atypical moment, and not the resulting effects of that moment, that is truly important. Such a statement encourages one to live in the present, and furthermore, to appreciate physical objects themselves rather than the lingering impressions of them. He feels that reflection diminishes the value of the object because our minds will focus on general aspects rather than the true beauty of the object as it existed within a singled-out and fleeting moment. The aesthetes embraced Pater's theories as a ways of agreement the supremacy of beauty over morality and the nowadays over longevity.

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

Charles Baudelaire

Baudelaire was a French poet who is by and large considered to be the fore-runner of the French symbolists, a movement which held numerous parallels to British Aestheticism. Baudelaire'south poesy exhibited many qualities that the aesthetes would later prefer. For example, Baudelaire was one of the outset writers to include sexually explicit material within his poems, as some of his subjects were lesbians and vampires (Charles Baudelaire). The aesthetes, following his example, connected to push dorsum the boundaries, which enclosed sexuality, within their ain work. They also gained from Baudelaire an intense desire for sensuality and a demand to sympathise the relationship between art and life. In his volume, Aestheticism: The Organized religion of Art in Post- Romantic Literature, Leon Chai takes i of Baudelaire'south poems, "Harmonie du Soir"(1857), and uses it to show how Baudelaire's ideas influenced the aesthetes. He notes that Baudelaire appeals to the senses with his clarification of fragrance within the air, and furthermore, equates life to art when he implies that the trunk is like a violin (Chai 48-62). Oscar Wilde, an artful writer, would further develop this supposed relationship between fine art and life. In his essay, "The Decay of Lying: An Ascertainment"(1891), Wilde claims that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life." He is essentially arguing that art is superior to life because life relies on fine art every bit a ways of finding expression and beauty. This notion, which was built upon the foundation of Baudelaire's ideas, would somewhen become a major function of aesthetic doctrine.

Hellenism and Aestheticism

The shift in focus from Latin to Greek during the Victorian era had a profound impact on British society. Initially, the field of Greek studies belonged to scholars and politicians, and stressed morality; however, it was the aesthetes who transformed the field into 1 of dissent (Evangelista 11). They did and then by reestablishing the Greek concept of hedonism, or the pursuit of pleasure and dazzler, every bit the purpose of life. Every bit a result, the aesthetes became infamous for their habits of passion and excess, in the forms of sensuality and sexuality. They refuted the strict morality of the age, which was based on Christian principles (Damrosch 1939); instead the aesthetes opted to follow the philosophies of the pagan Greeks. This breakdown in conventional moral conviction amidst the aesthetes led to the frequent association of "decadence" with Aestheticism.

Information technology is also of import to notation that Victorian England was an age of scientific development and more specifically, ane in which the ideas of Charles Darwin flourished. Science is often viewed as a threat to art, as its developments are practical and art's are largely abstract. If a lodge makes a meaning shift towards the sciences, there is a adventure that the arts will be neglected or made inferior. Consequently, one author notes that the aesthetes praised Greece as a prime example of a culture that was able to secure a place for fine art within a scientific age, and furthermore, sought to emulate their example (Evangelista 12). This is not to say that the aesthetes were adverse to scientific innovation. They likewise favored the "triumph" of scientific progress over superstition and the "dream-earth of Christianity" (Evangelista 12).

The Artful Lifestyle

The aesthetes' delivery to their theories and beliefs was so strong that eventually aestheticism transcended the boundaries of art and became a way of life. This meant that an aesthete was not only confirmed equally such by his piece of work, but likewise by his behavior. For example, one could typically pick out an aesthete simply by his word pick. They tended to utilize exaggerated metaphors and top adjectives, like "supreme, consummate, utter, and preciously sublime" (Damrosch 1939). Essentially, components of aesthetic credo tin be seen in the way the aesthetes approached manner, sexuality, and alcohol/drugs.

Dandyism

An example of bully fashion, Oscar Wilde

Dandyism, to some extent, has ever existed. In general, a dandy is one who pays particular attention to his own personal appearance. Their dress is frequently eccentric, yet elegant. Specific to late-Victorian England, to be a nifty meant to besides drag the bogus over the natural. The opening lines of Oscar Wilde's "Phrases and Philosophies for the Utilise of the Young"(1894) country, "The commencement duty in life is to be every bit bogus as possible." I example of their attraction to artificiality is that they preferred urban, rather than rural, settings and were particularly enamored with London (Jackson 132). Furthermore, Victorian dandies aimed to uphold a high level of sophistication and valued wit equally a measure out of such. Many artful writers were well-known dandies, such as Oscar Wilde, Algernon Charles Swinburne, and Walter Pater.

Take the "How Neat Are Yous?" Quiz

Sexuality & Habits

In 1885 U.k.'south Parliament outlawed homosexuality with the Labouchere Amendment. Males caught engaging in any blazon of sexual activity with another male could be sentenced to up to ii years in prison house. Despite this constabulary, the late-Victorian catamenia saw an increased interest in the exploration of sexuality. Non simply were gender distinctions increasingly blurred, but the presence of homoerotic desires became more than and more obvious inside the public sphere. In fact, it was during this flow that the words "homosexual" and "lesbian" were start used. The aesthetes were both products and propagators of these new liberal attitudes towards sexuality. Deborah Lutz claims that "Something of the erotic always lurks about the Aesthete: he faints with love; he luxuriates in exotic decadence; he tends even towards the perverse. He quivers, he throbs with the pure ecstasy of life, with the exquisiteness of his own feel" (Fox 247). Many aesthetes are known to have been either homosexuals or interested in homoeroticism, which can exist partly attributed to their fondness of Greek culture. Since the Greeks immune male to male love and fifty-fifty encouraged it as an acceptable source of pleasure, the concept of homosexuality appears oftentimes in their art and literature. (Case?) Many aesthetes saw the Greek instance as a justification for their ain homoeroticism and felt that such desires were "inseparable from [their] creative and intellectual activities" (Evangelista 19).

Yet, it was more than just a connection to the past that led the artists of this movement to cover sexual deviance. The aesthetes were fiercely individualistic, and as a issue, opposed anything mainstream. They adult a dear of "shocking" the middle classes with both their fine art and lifestyles (Jackson 152). Therefore, they created sexually suggestive pieces of work and adopted liberal sexual attitudes, both of which opposed the Victorian sense of morality. Furthermore, the combination of this desire to stupor the conservative minded with their demand to live within the present moment, led to the development of many habits which were considered to be vices. Aesthetes were more often than not seen as heavy consumers of alcohol, particularly absinthe, and were fascinated with drugs similar opium and hashish, all of which granted them a greater intensity of sensation (Jackson 153). Though not all of the aesthetic artists developed these habits the death of many of them at a young age suggests that the habits were adequately prevalent. For example, Wilde died at twoscore, Aubrey Beardsley at twenty-six, and Ernest Dowson at xxx-three, amid others. Jackson clearly summarizes this notion: "It would seem as if these restless and tragic figures thirsted and then much for life, and for the life of the 60 minutes, that they put the loving cup to their lips and drained it in 1 deep draught…" (158).

Important Writers

• Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)
• John Addington Symonds (1840-1893)
• Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
• Vernon Lee (1856-1935)
• Arthur Symons (1865-1945)
• Ernest Dowson (1867-1900)
• Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898)
• Max Beerbohm (1872-1956)

---

References

Chai, Leon. Aestheticism the religion of art in mail-romantic literature. New York: Columbia UP, 1990. Print.
"Charles Baudelaire." American Academy of Poets. half dozen October 2009 <http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/607>.
Damrosch, David. The Longman Anthology of British Literature, 2d Meaty Edition Book B. New York: Longman Group, 2003. Impress.
Evangelista, Stefano. British Aestheticism and Ancient Greece: Hellenism, Reception, Gods in Exile. Great U.k.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.
Fox, Paul (ed.). Decadences: Morality and Aesthetics in British Literature. New York: Ibidem-Verlag, 2007. Print.
Jackson, Holbrook. The 18 Nineties A Review of Art and Ideas at the Shut of the Nineteenth Century. New York: Tantallon, 2002. Impress.
Pater, Walter. The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Verse. 11th ed. Projection Gutenberg. Spider web. v Oct 2009.
Wilde, Oscar. "The Decay Of Lying: An Observation." Online Books, Poems, Brusk Stories – Read Impress Library. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. <http://world wide web.readprint.com/work-6371/The-Disuse-Of-Lying-An-Ascertainment-Oscar-Wilde>.
Wilde, Oscar. "Shorter Prose Pieces." Online Books, Poems, Brusk Stories – Read Impress Library. Web. 27 October. 2009. <http://www.readprint.com/work-6382/Shorter-Prose-Pieces-Oscar-Wilde>.

Images of Baudelaire, Pater, and Wilde courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Illustration from Punch magazine at
https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/punch-ane.jpg
Correspondent:
Delanie Laws

smartliferom.blogspot.com

Source: https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/aestheticism/

Share this post