AESTHETICISM
It developed in france with Gautier (1811–72) and it reflected:
-the sense of frustration and uncertainty of the artist
-his reaction against the materialism moral code of the bourgeoisie
-the necessity to re-define the role of art
-the french artists , infact, try to get away from the political and social scene and
‘escaped’ into aesthetic isolation.
-the bohemian’s protest against the monotony and vulgarity of bourgeois life
-the artist is led by an unconventional existence full of sensations and excesses,
-born the cult of art and beauty.
The theorist of the aesthetic movement in England is Walter Pater (1839–94)
-he rejected religious faith
-he said that art was the only means to stop time
-thought life should be lived ‘as a work of art feeling all kinds of sensations’.
-the task of the artist is to feel sensations, to be attentive to the ‘attractive’ and
‘gracious’(discovered what is beauty)
-the art for Walter is eternal
-art for art’s sake (the scope of art is art)
-no reference to life, he doesnt want to be moral or do a moral esample
-the artist is the creator of the beautiful things
-art is used only to celebrate beauty and the sensorial pleasures
Features
number of features can be distinguished in the works of aesthetic artists:
-such a use evocative of the language of the senses
-excessive attention to the self
-hedonistic attitude (pleasure is the principally scope of the aesthete life)
-sense of perversity
-disenchantment and estrangement with contemporary society
-absence of any didactic aim.
Born the figure of Dandy
-embodied the typical aesthete
-belonged to the upper classes
-it’s opposite to the bohemian (artist that do a poor and free life)
-elegance= as a reason of life
-‘life as a work of art’.
-interested in beauty and literary works
-opposite to the victorian writers of the first half of the age.
The Aestheticism Trilogy: with the figure of Dandy
-England: Oscar Wilde with Dorian Gray (“The Picture of Dorian Gray”)
-France: Joris-Karl Huysmans with Des Esseintes (“À rebours”)
-Italy: Gabriele D’Annunzio with Andrea Sperelli (“Il Piacere”)
On of the most important and popular aesthete is:
Oscar Wilde 1854-1900
He was born in Dublin in 1854.
he was sent to oxford and he became a disciple of Wlter Pater (the theorist of
aestheticism).
After graduating, he settled in London and became a fashionable dandy.
After publishing his first and only novel, (Dorian Gray) he developed an interest in
drama.
He became one of the most successful playwrights of late victorian London and one
of the greatest celebrities of his days.
Then he went to the USA to hold some lectures about the pre-raphaelites and
aestheticism;
the tour was a big personal success for him.
He suffered a dramatic downfall and, at the end, he was imprisoned after been
convicted of ‘gross indecency’ for homosexual acts.
He died in Paris in 1900.
Oscar Wilde adopted the aesthetical ideal: he affirmed “my life is like a work of art”
works
poetry:
-“Poems” (1891)
-“The Ballad of Reading Gaol”(1898).
short stories:
-“The Happy Prince and Other Tales” (1888),
-“The House of Pomegranates” (1891),
-“Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories” (1891).
novel:
-“The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1891).
plays:
-“Lady Windermere’s Fan” (1892),
-“A Woman of No Importance” (1893),
-“The Importance of Being Earnest” (1895),
-“Salomé” (1893).
