Aestheticism and Gothic/Roman

Revival

Aestheticism

• Stress on beauty for beauty’s sake

• Philosophical discourse on the importanc of the classical perception of beauty

• Plato said that there is an ideal of beauty

• Aristotle said that the beautiful mimics reality.

Aestheticism Cont.

• Turn of the century - Advances of psychology really make the idea of “reality” complicated. Is reality what one sees or what one feels?

• A lot of art was innovative and original (like Impressionism) introducing new ideas about beauty and reality

• BUT…….

Aestheticism Cont.

• There was also a movement of painters and poets who were called the Pre-Raphaelites

• At first, they studied/reflected traditional notions of beauty -- then they began to play with or pervert these notions in a decadent way

Pre-Raphaelites

• Instead of being truly innovative, returned to the Greek and Arthurian subject matter

• Painted in the tradition of the early Renaissance with its sensuous use of color and more idealized (Platonic) depict of the human form

Raphael

Architecture and Decorative Arts

• Decorative arts were extremely popular due to Gilded Age wealth and imperial occupation of Asian countries (giving new forms/materials from which to decorate)

• Gothic and Romanesque Revival mixed classical influence with this decoration

Leonardo da Vinci - “The Last Supper”

Neo-Classicism (18th Ct.)

“Oath of Horatii” - David

“Blessed D’amozel”DR Rossetti

“Merlin” - Burne-Jones

“Hope” Burne Jones

“Atlas” - Bourne-Jones

“Ophelia” - Callais

“Anunciation” - DR Rossetti

Oscar Wilde

• Idea of the allegorical detail• The argument for and against ideal beauty

• Indulgence in the decadence of the sensual life represented by flowers, riches, gold, idyllic and idealistic heroes and situations, etc.

Waterhouse - “Lady of Shallott

William Morris

William Morris

Louis Tiffany

Vienna is to come

• Art Deco• Emphasis on “new aesthetic” different from 19th Century

• Secession Movement/Gustav Klimt• You can see the use of pattern/decoration/decadent/sensual subject matter…more to come...

Gothic Revival Architecture

A mix of the broken arches, long verticals and arts and crafts

decoration

Interior

Frank Furness - Penn. Academy of Fine Arts (1870-1880’s)

Interiors

Romanesque Revival

• Thick, exposed stone • Lower buildings• Giant arches • An “old” look • Use of multiple colors (especially in roofs) new to the period

Ames Gate Lodge - HH Richardson

Trinity Church - HH Richardson

Olana - WM HuntHudson Valley, NY

Victorian House Style

Shingle Style Architecture

• 1860’s and 1880’s (concurrent with Gothic and Romanesque style)

• A reaction against aestheticism/decoration

• Tight surfaces, subtlety, stateliness• Use of some mixed materials, but usually or an organic or natural look (especially wood)

• Almost exclusively a New England thing!

Main Artists

• McKim, Mead and White (note: they also did a lot of European Revival works, such as the Boston Public Library)

• William Morris Hunt (who also did some Newport Mansions of the Gilded Age)

• Peabody and Stearns• Henry Hobson Richardson (of Romanesque Revival)

Bell House - Rhode Island

McKim Mead and White

Newport Casino - McKim, Mead and White

Back of Newport Casino

Newport Casino - Detail

McKim, Mead and White, Rhode Island

Lowe House

Kragsyde - Peabody and Stearns

Manchester, MA

Griswold House - WM Hunt (1862)

Henry Hobson Richardson - Stoughton House

Cambridge, MA

Details - Stoughton House

McKim, Mead and White - Watts Sherman House

Bell House - McKim, Mead and White

FL Wright….to be cont.