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Aestheticism
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aestheticism(alsotheAestheticMovement)isanart
movementsupportingtheemphasisofaestheticvaluesmorethan
socialpoliticalthemesforliterature,fineart,musicandother
arts.[1][2]ItwasparticularlyprominentinEuropeduringthe19th
century,butcontemporarycriticsarealsoassociatedwiththe
movement,suchasHaroldBloom,whohasrecentlyargued
againstprojectingsocialandpoliticalideologyontoliterary
works,whichhebelieveshasbeenagrowingproblemin
humanitiesdepartmentsoverthelastcentury.

Inthe19thcentury,itwasrelatedtoothermovementssuchas
symbolismordecadencerepresentedinFrance,ordecadentismo
representedinItaly,andmaybeconsideredtheBritishversionof
thesamestyle.

Contents
ThePeacockRoom,Aesthetic
1Aestheticliterature
MovementdesignedbyJamesAbbott
2Aestheticvisualarts
McNeillWhistler,oneofthemost
3AestheticMovementdecorativearts
4Seealso famousexamplesofAestheticstyle
5References interiordesign
6Sources
7Externallinks

Aestheticliterature
TheBritishdecadentwritersweremuchinfluencedbytheOxfordprofessorWalterPaterandhisessays
publishedduring186768,inwhichhestatedthatlifehadtobelivedintensely,withanidealofbeauty.
HistextStudiesintheHistoryoftheRenaissance(1873)wasverywellregardedbyartorientedyoung
menofthelate19thcentury.WritersoftheDecadentmovementusedtheslogan"ArtforArt'sSake"
(L'artpourl'art),theoriginofwhichisdebated.Someclaimthatitwasinventedbythephilosopher
VictorCousin,althoughAngelaLeightoninthepublicationOnForm:Poetry,Aestheticismandthe
LegacyofaWord(2007)notesthatthephrasewasusedbyBenjaminConstantasearlyas1804.[3]Itis
generallyacceptedtohavebeenpromotedbyThophileGautierinFrance,whointerpretedthephraseto
suggestthattherewasnotanyrealassociationbetweenartandmorality.

TheartistsandwritersofAestheticstyletendedtoprofessthattheArtsshouldproviderefinedsensuous
pleasure,ratherthanconveymoralorsentimentalmessages.Asaconsequence,theydidnotacceptJohn
Ruskin,MatthewArnold,andGeorgeMacDonald'sconceptionofartassomethingmoraloruseful,"Art
fortruth'ssake".[4]Instead,theybelievedthatArtdidnothaveanydidacticpurposeitneedonlybe
beautiful.TheAesthetesdevelopedacultofbeauty,whichtheyconsideredthebasicfactorofart.Life
shouldcopyArt,theyasserted.Theyconsiderednatureascrudeandlackingindesignwhencomparedto

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art.Themaincharacteristicsofthestylewere:suggestionratherthanstatement,sensuality,greatuseof
symbols,andsynaesthetic\Ideastheticeffectsthatis,correspondencebetweenwords,coloursand
music.Musicwasusedtoestablishmood.

PredecessorsoftheAestheticsincludedJohnKeatsandPercyByssheShelley,andsomeofthePre
Raphaelites.InBritainthebestrepresentativeswereOscarWildeandAlgernonCharlesSwinburne,both
influencedbytheFrenchSymbolists,andJamesMcNeillWhistlerandDanteGabrielRossetti.Thestyle
andthesepoetsweresatirisedbyGilbertand
Sullivan'scomicoperaPatienceandotherworks,
suchasF.C.Burnand'sdramaTheColonel,andin
comicmagazinessuchasPunch.

ComptonMackenzie'snovelSinisterStreetmakes
useofthetypeasaphasethroughwhichthe
protagonistpassesasheisinfluencedbyolder,
decadentindividuals.ThenovelsofEvelynWaugh,
whowasayoungparticipantofaesthetesocietyat
Oxford,describetheaesthetesmostlysatirically,but
alsoasaformerparticipant.Somenamesassociated
withthisassemblageareRobertByron,Evelyn
Waugh,HaroldActon,NancyMitford,A.E.
HousmanandAnthonyPowell.
OneofmanyPunchcartoonsaboutsthetes
Aestheticvisualarts
ArtistsassociatedwiththeAestheticstyleincludeJamesMcNeillWhistler,DanteGabrielRossetti,and
AubreyBeardsley.AlthoughtheworkofEdwardBurneJoneswasexhibitedattheGrosvenorGallery
whichpromotedthemovement,italsocontainsnarrativeandconveysmoralorsentimentalmessages
henceitfallsoutsidethegivendefinition.

AestheticMovementdecorativearts
TheprimaryelementofDecorativeArtisutility.Theconvenient
buttritemaxim'ArtforArt'sSake',identifyingartorbeautyas
theprimaryelementinotherbranchesoftheAesthetic
Movement,especiallyFineArtcannotapplyinthiscontext.
Decorativeartmustfirsthaveutilitybutmayalsobebeautiful.[5]
DecorativeartisdissociatedfromFineArt.[6]

ImportantelementsoftheAestheticMovementhavebeen
identifiedasReformandEasternArt.[7]TheGovernment
SchoolsofDesignwerefoundedfrom1837onwardsinorderto
improvethedesignofBritishgoods.FollowingtheGreat
Exhibitionof1851effortswereintensifiedandOrientalobjects AestheticMovementantiquesat
purchasedfortheschoolsteachingcollections.OwenJones, FlorianPapp,NewYorkCity
architectandOrientalistwasrequestedtosetoutkeyprinciples
ofdesignandthesebecamenotonlythebasisoftheschools
teachingbutalsothepropositionswhichprefaceTheGrammarofOrnament(1856),whichisstill
regardedasthefinestsystematicstudyorpracticalsourcebookofhistoricworldornament.

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Jonesidentifiedtheneedforanewandmodernstylewhichwouldmeettherequirementsofthemodern
world,ratherthanthecontinualrecyclingofhistoricstyles,butsawnoreasontorejectthelessonsof
thepast.ChristopherDresser,astudentandlaterProfessorattheschoolworkedwithOwenJoneson
TheGrammarofOrnament,aswellasonthe1863decorationofTheOrientalCourts(Chinese,
Japanese,andIndian)attheSouthKensingtonMuseum,advancedthesearchforanewstylewithhis
twopublicationsTheArtofDecorativeDesign1862,andPrinciplesofDesign1873.

ProductionofAestheticstylefurniturewaslimitedtoapproximatelythelate19thcentury.Aesthetic
stylefurnitureischaracterizedbyseveralcommonthemes:

Ebonizedwoodwithgilthighlights.
FarEasterninfluence.
Prominentuseofnature,especiallyflowers,birds,ginkgoleaves,andpeacockfeathers.
Blueandwhiteonporcelainandotherfinechina.

Ebonizedfurnituremeansthatthewoodispaintedorstainedtoablackebonyfinish.Thefurnitureis
sometimescompletelyebonycolored.Moreoftenhowever,thereisgildingaddedtothecarvedsurfaces
ofthefeathersorstylizedflowersthatadornthefurniture.

Asaestheticmovementdecorwassimilartothecorrespondingwritingstyleinthatitwasabout
sensualityandnature,naturethemesoftenappearonthefurniture.Atypicalaestheticfeatureisthe
gildedcarvedflower,orthestylizedpeacockfeather.Coloredpaintingsofbirdsorflowersareoften
seen.Nonebonizedaestheticmovementfurnituremayhaverealisticlooking3dimensionallike
renditionsofbirdsorflowerscarvedintothewood.

Contrastingwiththeebonizedgiltfurnitureisuseofblueandwhiteforporcelainandchina.Similar
themesofpeacockfeathersandnaturewouldbeusedinblueandwhitetonesondinnerwareandother
crockery.Theblueandwhitedesignwasalsopopularonsquareporcelaintiles.ItisreportedthatOscar
Wildeusedaestheticdecorationsduringhisyouth.Thisaspectofthemovementwasalsosatirisedby
PunchmagazineandinPatience.

In1882,OscarWildevisitedCanadawherehetouredthetownofWoodstock,Ontarioandgavea
lectureonMay29entitled"TheHouseBeautiful".[8]ThisparticularlecturefeaturedtheearlyAesthetic
artmovement,alsoknownasthe"OrnamentalAesthetic"artstyle,wherelocalfloraandfaunawere
celebratedasbeautifulandtextured,layeredceilingswerepopular.Anexampleofthiscanbeseenin
AnnandaleNationalHistoricSite,locatedinTillsonburg,Ontario,Canada.Thehousewasbuiltin1880
anddecoratedbyMaryAnnTillson,whohappenedtoattendOscarWilde'slectureinWoodstock,and
wasinfluencedbyit.SincetheAestheticartmovementwasonlyprevalentfromabout1880untilabout
1890,therearenotverymanyexamplesofthisparticularstyleleftnowadays.Butonesuchexampleis
18StaffordTerrace,Londonwhichprovidesaninsightintohowthemiddleclassesinterpretedthe
principlesofAesthetics.

Seealso
ArtsandCraftsmovement
Ideasthesia

References
1. Fargis,Paul(1998).TheNewYorkPublicLibraryDeskReference3rdEdition.MacmillanGeneral
Reference.p.261.ISBN0028621697.

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2. Denney,Colleen."AttheTempleofArt:theGrosvenorGallery,18771890"(http://books.google.com/books?
id=RvTZrnmy5RoC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=%22Aesthetic+movement%22+swinburne&source=bl&ots=f
QGt
5H3y4&sig=Ir3QCh29f7c926rkx620LbcB5fs&hl=en&ei=7kjKSuy9BNDdlAebobGSAw&sa=X&oi=book_res
ult&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22Aesthetic%20movement%22%20swinburne&f=false),Issue
1165,p.38,FairleighDickinsonUniversityPress,2000ISBN0838638503
3. AngelaLeighton(2007)32.
4. Raeper,William(1987)GeorgeMacDonald,p.183.Tring,Herts.,andBatavia,IL:LionPublishing.
5. ChristopherDresser.TheArtofDecorativeDesign1862.
6. TheIllustratedLondonNewsLXXXI,Saturday,August12,1882,p.175.
7. ChristopherMorley.ReformandEasternArtDecorativeArtsSocietyJournal,2010.
8. O'brien(1982)114.

Sources
Gaunt,William.TheAestheticAdventure.NewYork:Harcourt,1945.ISBNNone.
Halen,Widar.ChristopherDresser,aPioneerofModernDesign.Phaidon:1990.ISBN07148
29528.
Lambourne,Lionel.TheAestheticMovement.PhaidonPress:1996.ISBN0714830003.
O'Brien,Kevin.OscarWildeinCanada,anapostleforthearts.PersonalLibrary,Publishers:
1982.
Snodin,MichaelandJohnStyles.Design&TheDecorativeArts,Britain15001900.V&A
Publications:2001.ISBN185177338X.
ChristopherMorley."'ReformandEasternArt'inDecorativeArtsSocietyJournal"2010
VictoriaandAlbertMuseum"AHigherAmbition:OwenJones(1809
74).www.vam.ac.uk/collection/paintings/features/owenjones/index/

Externallinks
Aesthetes&DecadentsonVictorianWeb
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedto
Aestheticism.
(http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/decadence/decadentov.html)
AnnandaleNationalHistoricSite(http://www.tillsonburg.ca/site/1256/default.aspx)
Books,Research&Information(http://www.achome.co.uk/architecture/aesthetic.htm)
"AestheticismStyleGuide"
(http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/british_galleries/bg_styles/Style08a/homepage.html).
BritishGalleries.VictoriaandAlbertMuseum.Retrieved20070717.
EdwardBurneJones,Victorianartistdreamer
(http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/67586),afull
textexhibitioncatalogfromTheMetropolitanMuseumofArt

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Categories: Aesthetics Modernart Humanappearance CultureinOxford Artmovements

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