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 Hunt
Hudson 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
Manchester, MA
Kragsyde - Peabody and Stearns
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.