Concetti Chiave
- Walter Pater, an Oxford professor, led a movement emphasizing the inseparability of form and matter in art, advocating life as a work of art.
- The Cult of Beauty emerged as a reaction against Victorian morality, challenging repression, materialism, and Puritan values.
- The Aesthetic movement in the 1890s championed the idea that life should imitate art, focusing on pleasure and sensory experiences.
- Aesthetes sought beauty and sensations, often critiqued by those fearing the power of natural instincts.
- The movement significantly influenced interior design, with figures like William Morris and Edward Burne Jones creating elaborate wallpapers and founding a design firm.
What is Walter Pater and the Cult of Beauty?
Walter's Pater was an Oxford professor who is considered the high priest of the movement, and his philosophy in which he said that in art, as in music, form and matter are indistinguishable and life had to be lived as a work of art, appealed to a group of British artists who in the 1870's reacted against the Victorian ideals of morality and Puritanism on the basis that the cult of beauty was the central factor in life.
Reaction Against Victorian Morality
So, the movement born as a reaction against Victorian morality, the repression of instincts, the materialism and the procreation.
In England, the Aesthetic movement reached its height in the 1890's.
The aesthetes stated that life should copy art and not the opposite.
The aesthetes live life in search of pleasure and sensations. Art has to be used to follow beauty. So, life is above all art. The exaltation of the worship of the senses are often condemned by men who are terrified by natural instincts that are stronger than themselves.
Expression in Interior Design
The Aesthetic movement found his expression also in interior design such as furniture, ceramics, textiles and wallpaper. Two of the major artists of that period are the English architect William Morris who produced rich, colored and flowery patterned wallpapers, and the painter Edward Burne Jones. Together, they founded the own design firm.
Domande da interrogazione
- Who was Walter Pater and what was his role in the Cult of Beauty?
- What was the Aesthetic movement's stance on Victorian morality?
Walter Pater was an Oxford professor and is considered the high priest of the Cult of Beauty movement. He believed that in art, form and matter are indistinguishable, and life should be lived as a work of art. His philosophy appealed to British artists in the 1870s who opposed Victorian ideals of morality and Puritanism.
The Aesthetic movement emerged as a reaction against Victorian morality, which emphasized repression of instincts, materialism, and procreation. The aesthetes believed that life should imitate art, prioritizing beauty and the pursuit of pleasure and sensations over traditional moral values.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
