Aestheticism (or the Aesthetic Movement) is an art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, music and other arts. It was particularly prominent in Europe during the 19th century, but contemporary critics are also associated with the movement, such as Harold Bloom, who has recently argued against projecting ideology onto literary works, which he believes has been a growing problem in humanities departments over the last century.
In the 19th century, it was related to other movements such as symbolism or decadence represented in France, or decadentismo represented in Italy, and may be considered the British version of the same style.
Read more about Aestheticism: Aesthetic Literature, Aesthetic Visual Arts, Aesthetic Movement Decorative Arts, Irrationalism and Aestheticism
Famous quotes containing the word aestheticism:
“It was easy to recognize in him the anti-social animus of a born evangelist, but there was also something else—a kind of voluptuous delight in the shabby and preposterous, a perverted aestheticism like that of a latter-day movie or radio fan, a wild will to roll in and snuffle balderdash as a cat rolls in and snuffles catnip.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)