Esthetism

The esthetism is an attitude of Artiste S and writer S English of the last quarter of the 19th century, taken again in France towards 1890 - 1900.

At that time, a new sensitivity develops in reaction against the naturalism. This movement was interested to describe reality until in its commonplace. The esthètes, as for them, prefer to be devoted to the research of refinement, the beauty, the Art. They adhere to the religion Beau and find it in unknown forms of “vulgar”: the Primitive art (the preraphraelism ) or naive, furniture and clothing old, the forms of esoteric languages , etc “ Any art is completely useless ” (foreword of Dorian Gray )

Three works explore at the same time the possibilities of this “philosophy”:

The reception is enthusiastic within the small circles, coteries and reviews literary. Since years, Théophile Gautier and the movement “art for art's sake” had prepared the way (foreword with Miss Maupin , 1835)

Esthetism, decadentism, even the symbolism, are research to escape the same faintness: the end of the XIXe century is divided on the one hand between the faith in the Science and modernity; in addition, anxiety, pessimism in front of values called into question by the Materialism. The worship of the directions seemed with certain an exit.

esthète

Nobody who is sensitive to the characters of beautiful in art and nature. That which has a refined direction of Beau.
Pejorative: the esthète is that which attaches more importance to the formal aspect of a work,

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