Concetti Chiave
- The Aesthetic Movement emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction against materialism and the restrictive moral code of the bourgeoisie, emphasizing "Art for Art’s sake".
- Walter Pater, a key figure in the movement, advocated for living life as a work of art, focusing on intense experiences and sensations.
- Decadent artists were characterized by self-focus, hedonism, and a sensuous approach, often showcasing disenchantment with society.
- The Decadence movement was a pan-European phenomenon, with notable contributors including French Symbolists and Italian figures like D’Annunzio and Pascoli.
- Dandyism, originating from England with George Brummell, was associated with a refined lifestyle and was linked to artistic movements opposed to capitalism.
AESTHETICISM AND DECADENCE
The Aesthetic Movement developed in the universities and intellectual circles in the last decades of 19th century. Born in France with Thèophile Gautier (“Smalti e cammei”). It reflected the sense of frustration and uncertainty of the artist, his reaction against the materialism and the restrictive moral code of the bourgeoisie, his need to redefine the role of the art. They desires to escape in an aesthetic isolation called by Gautier “Art for Art’s sake”. The bohemien embodied his protest against the monotony of bourgeois life leading an unconventional life cultivating art and beauty. Walter Pater is the theorist of the Aesthetic Movement in England. In his masterpiece “Marius the Epicurean” (1885) he rejected religious faith and said that art was only means to stop time, the only certainly. Life should be lived in the spirit of art, namely “as a work of art”, filling each passing moment with intense experience, feeling all kinds of sensations.
A number of features can be distinguished in the works of these decadent artists:
-excessive attention to the self;
-hedonistic and sensuous attitude;
-perversity in subject matter;
-disenchantment with contemporary society;
-evocative use of language.
Decadence must be seen as a European movement. In the late 1880s a group of French writers contributed to the journal La Decadent, they were the Symbolists Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Huysmans. The representatives of Decadence in Italy are D’Annunzio, Pascoli, Gozzano.
Dandy
The term “dandy” is used in a song Yankee Doodle and it’s a world of the song that mocked the garish uniform of the American soldiers. The term referred to a man who boasts about his appearance even through he is wearing odd and ordinary clothes. Vanity, extravagance, refinement were linked to the more positive idea of the dandy which developed with George Brummell. He created dandyism as a lifestyle, from England this trend spread in France where it was connected to those artistic movements, such as Symbolism and Aestheticism, which rejected the capitalistic outlook.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è l'origine del Movimento Estetico e quali sono i suoi principi fondamentali?
- Chi è considerato il teorico del Movimento Estetico in Inghilterra e quale concetto ha introdotto?
- Quali sono le caratteristiche distintive delle opere degli artisti decadenti?
Il Movimento Estetico è nato in Francia con Thèophile Gautier e si è sviluppato negli ambienti universitari e intellettuali alla fine del XIX secolo. Esso rifletteva la frustrazione e l'incertezza degli artisti contro il materialismo e il codice morale borghese, promuovendo l'idea dell'"Arte per l'Arte".
Walter Pater è considerato il teorico del Movimento Estetico in Inghilterra. Nel suo capolavoro "Marius the Epicurean", ha introdotto l'idea che l'arte fosse l'unico mezzo per fermare il tempo, suggerendo che la vita dovrebbe essere vissuta come un'opera d'arte.
Le opere degli artisti decadenti si distinguono per un'eccessiva attenzione al sé, un atteggiamento edonistico e sensuale, la perversione nei temi trattati, il disincanto verso la società contemporanea e l'uso evocativo del linguaggio.
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