Aesthete

An Aesthete is a person who is deeply appreciative of and sensitive to art and beauty in its various forms.

• AKA: Art Lover, Aesthetician, Cultural Connoisseur.
• Context:
  • It can cultivate Aesthetic Sensibility through artistic appreciation.
  • It can evaluate Artistic Expression through critical analysis.
  • It can discover Aesthetic Quality through sensory perception.
  • It can interpret Cultural Artifacts through aesthetic lens.
  • It can understand Beauty Standards through cultural context.
  • ...
  • It can often engage in Artistic Discourse through critical dialogue.
  • It can often collect Art Works for aesthetic pleasure.
  • It can often support Artistic Community through patronage.
  • It can often influence Cultural Taste through aesthetic judgment.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Casual Art Appreciator to being a Professional Art Critic, depending on its engagement level.
  • It can range from being a Traditional Aesthete to being an Avant-Garde Enthusiast, depending on its artistic preference.
  • It can range from being a Personal Collector to being a Public Patron, depending on its involvement scope.
  • ...
  • It can integrate Historical Knowledge for contextual understanding.
  • It can incorporate Cultural Theory for analytical framework.
  • It can utilize Aesthetic Philosophy for evaluative approach.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Aesthetic Roles, such as:
    • Art Critics, such as:
      • John Ruskin for Victorian art criticism.
      • Clement Greenberg for modernist criticism.
    • Art Collectors, such as:
      • Peggy Guggenheim for modern art patronage.
      • Charles Saatchi for contemporary art promotion.
  • Aesthetic Movement Figures, such as:
    • Literary Aesthetes, such as:
      • Oscar Wilde for aesthetic philosophy.
      • Walter Pater for aesthetic criticism.
    • Visual Art Aesthetes, such as:
      • William Morris for decorative arts.
      • Dante Gabriel Rossetti for pre-raphaelite movement.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Philistine, which lacks aesthetic sensitivity.
  • Pure Functionalist, which rejects aesthetic consideration.
  • Anti-Art Activist, which opposes aesthetic values.
  • Commercial Opportunist, which prioritizes profit over aesthetic quality.
• See: Aesthetic Philosophy, Art History, Cultural Criticism, Fine Arts, Aestheticism, Beauty Theory, Artistic Judgment, Cultural Connoisseurship.

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References

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aestheticism Retrieved:2023-11-21.
  • Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which valued the appearance of literature, music and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to be beautiful, rather than to teach a lesson, create a parallel, or perform another didactic purpose, a sentiment best illustrated by the slogan "art for art's sake.” Aestheticism originated in 1860s England with a radical group of artists and designers, including William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It flourished in the 1870s and 1880s, gaining prominence and the support of notable writers such as Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde. Aestheticism challenged the values of mainstream Victorian culture, as many Victorians believed that literature and art fulfilled important ethical roles. Writing in The Guardian, Fiona McCarthy states that "the aesthetic movement stood in stark and sometimes shocking contrast to the crass materialism of Britain in the 19th century.” Aestheticism was named by the critic Walter Hamilton in The Aesthetic Movement in England in 1882. By the 1890s, decadence, a term with origins in common with aestheticism, was in use across Europe.

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