Aestheticism and Decadence Flashcards
When did the Aesthetic Movement began?
in France with Théophile Gautier
What did the Aesthetic movement reflect?
the artist’s reaction against the materialism and restrictive moral code of the bourgeoisie and his need to redefine the role of art
What did the artist escape into?
French artists escaped into aesthetic isolation, into “Art for Art’s Sake”
How did the bohemian live?
they lex an unconventional existence, pursuing sensation and excess and cultivating art and beauty
Where can the roots of English Aesthetic Movement ve traced back to?
can be traced back to the Romantic poet John Keats as well as to Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Who was regarded as the main theorist of the movement in England?
Walter Peter is regarded as the main theorist of the movement
Who’s works were immediately successful?
Walter Peter’s Studies in the History of the Renaissance and his masterpiece Marius the Epicurean were immediately successful especially with the young because of their subversive and potentially demoralizing message
What did Walter Peter think of life?
He rejected religious faith and said that art was the only means to halt the passage of time, the only certainty
he thought life should be lived as a work of art filling each passing moment with intense experience
What was artist’s task?
artist’s task was to feel sensations and to be the transcriber “not of the world, not of mere fact, but his sense of it”
What was the main implication of the new aesthetic position?
the main implications was that art had no reference to life and therefore it had nothing to do with morality and did not need to be didactic
Who had Peter’s works influenced?
the poets and writers of the 1890s especially Oscar Wilde as well as the group of artists that met in the Rhymers Club and contributed to The Yellow Book
What was published in The Yellow Book?
This periodical reflected decadent taste in its sensational subjects
What did the term decadent implied?
The term decadent implied a process of decline of recognized values
What were the main features of Aesthetic works?
excessive attention to the self hedonistic and sensuous attitude perversity in subject matter disenchantment with contemporary society evocative use of language
