Aestheticism

1. Aestheticism Last decades of XIX century

2. Decadent Art A reaction against the middle class vision of society Second half of XIX century • Middle class culture: • Capitalism in economy • Positivism in philosophy • Naturalism in art. Middle class culture and its moral code are attacked and criticized by an increasing number of artists and philosophers. • Capitalism is criticized by the theories expounded by Marx and Engels; • The Victorian moral code is rejected by several artists who show unconventional or even scandalous behaviour to underline their refusal of Victorianism; • Aestheticism is the artistic movement that sums up the artists’ critical attitude towards contemporary society. Positivism:the belief that knowledge comes from things that can be experienced with the senses or proved by logic

3. The decadent artist’sdisengagement The decadent artist lives isolated from society because he ... • cannot accept Victorian hypocrisy and moral code and • despises the emphasis placed by Victorians on money and business • finds mass production goods revolting; He is not socially or politically involved and is not concerned for the destiny of common man; He shows an aristocratic attitude towards the masses and tries to live a life of refined sensations. The cult of beauty is the supreme value in art and life and “Art for art’s sake” is the main slogan of decadent artists

4. The archetype of decadent artist The decadent artist par excellence is the protagonist of Huysman’s novel “À Rebours” (1884) – Des Esseintes This book becomes Oscar Wilde’s and Gabriele D’Annunzio’s book of reference. It inspires their lives and works: “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Il Piacere” The cult of beauty is the supreme value in art and the only way the Aesthete has to contrast the vulgarity of modern world

5. Aesthetic Movement • Ruskin had emphasized the importance of Art and Beauty as a means of moral progress. • The Pre-Raphaelites had also worshipped beauty above everything. • The Oxford university professor Walter Pater, in his essays published in 1867– 68, stated that life had to be lived intensely, following an ideal of beauty. • Given such a cultural atmosphere, the French doctrine of “Art for Art’s sake ” could be easily introduced into England. • This doctrine placed the artist’s activity outside and above morals and led to the beginning of English literary Aestheticism, which can be defined as.... • a reaction against any utilitarian or moral conception of Art.

6. “Art for Art’s sake” meant: • art for the pleasure and sensations that it could produce, without any regard to standards of morality or utility. • The fundamental principles of this movement were the following: • The cult of beauty. • The choice for a life beyond common morality. • The solution of the dichotomy between senses and spirit through the theory of the spiritualization of the senses. • The reversal of the principle of art imitating life into that of life imitating art.

7. Walter Pater (1839-1894) • Pater was the defender of hedonism, a doctrine according to which ... • pleasure is the chief good to be pursued by man, • i.e. the end of all human actions. • In his opinion , life should be treated in the spirit of art, • i.e. life as a work of art. • In his “Studies in the history of Renaissance”(1873) he stated that : • “the secret of happiness lies in the enjoyment of beauty”; • “the finest sensations are to be found in art”; • “the deepest and noblest emotions can be experienced in a life meant as a work of art.” • Through our senses we can enjoy any form of artistic beauty and thus live a deep spiritual experience. • This is particularly true if we live our life as if it were a work of art.