Aestheticism Art Movement Guide: 4 Iconic Aesthetic Artists

Aestheticism was an art movement that rejected the new industrialization and mass production of the late nineteenth century. Largely influenced by Pre-Raphaelites like William Morris, aesthetes emphasized the elevation of taste and the pursuit of beauty over utilitarianism and convenience. Aestheticism inspired later artists in the Art Nouveau style and the Arts and Crafts movement.

The aesthetic movement began in the 1860s and continued throughout the late nineteenth century. Sparked by the artworks of textile designer William Morris and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, aestheticism grew in popularity as a response to the stuffy moralism of the Victorian era. Aesthetic writers like Walter Pater and poets like Algernon Charles Swinburne propelled the movement forward with their published works. Notable aesthetic writer Oscar Wilde gained attention when the hedonistic worldview in his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, offended England’s moral elite.

Aestheticism was a target of satire, with publications like the magazine Punch heavily critiquing the movement. One issue of the magazine published in 1880 featured a cartoon of the fictional poet Jellaby Postlethwaite sitting at a restaurant, too consumed by the beauty of a lily to bother ordering food from the waiter. A controversial art movement in its day, aestheticism pushed the boundaries of art forms with new visual styles and sensual subject matters, impacting culture well into the twentieth century.

While artists from a variety of disciplines contributed to the aesthetic movement, a few dominant themes were consistent across their work.

1. 1. Art for art’s sake: In the early nineteenth century, French philosopher Victor Cousin coined the phrase art pour l'art, which became central to the aesthetic movement. Aesthetes believed that a work of art should be evaluated based on its artistic beauty rather than any moral or philosophical meaning. This idea ran counter to the popular views in Victorian England, where most considered art as a means to inspire socially-acceptable values and higher morals.
2. 2. A wide variety of influences: The aesthetic movement drew inspiration from French impressionist painters, East Asian art, and early Renaissance art. This sensitivity to a wide array of art forms made the movement even more eclectic in style.
3. 3. An emphasis on individual craftsmanship: During an era of mass production, the aesthetes took the time to handcraft artworks that incorporated lush colors and thoughtful compositions. This aesthetic style influenced many areas of fine art like architecture, sculpture, and painting, as well as decorative arts like ceramics, interior design, fashion, furniture making, and metalwork.

Many artists influenced the aesthetic movement, and a few gained widespread recognition for their contributions.

1. 1. James Abbott Mcneill Whistler: Born in the United States in 1834, Whistler moved to Paris in his early twenties. There, he adopted a bohemian lifestyle and a deep appreciation for modernist painters and Japanese art. Whistler settled in London during the 1860s, where he remained for the majority of his life. His most influential painting is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871), also known as Portrait of the Artist's Mother, an oil-on-canvas portrait of his mother sitting in profile. Whistler’s use of muted tones and thoughtful composition garnered praise from French art critics like Charles Baudelaire. Later that decade, Whistler redecorated a dining room in London that belonged to a wealthy shipowner named Frederick Richards Leyland. The result was Whistler’s The Peacock Room (1876–1877), an aesthetic interior design featuring intricate wall paintings made from blue-green paint and gold leaf.
   
2. 2. Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Rossetti was born in London in 1828 and grew up reading William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Blake. By the time he was an adult, medieval art captured his fascination and influenced his work throughout his career. In 1848, Rossetti founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with six other members, but by the 1870s, his work had developed to be more in line with the aesthetic style. His painting Proserpine (1874) features the Roman goddess taking a bite out of a forbidden pomegranate from the underworld. The model for this painting was Jane Morris, the wife of Rossetti’s old friend, William Morris.
3. 3. Aubrey Beardsley: Although he died at the age of 25, Beardsley’s short career made a powerful impact on aestheticism in the final decade of the nineteenth century. His provocative illustrations were inspired by Japanese woodcuts and art nouveau. He drew illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s play, Salomé (1894). That same year, Beardsley became the art editor for The Yellow Book (1894–1897), a quarterly literary periodical that included essays, poetry, short stories, and illustrations promoting aesthetic principles. Beardsley’s illustrations in The Yellow Book were witty, decadent, and often erotic. After suffering from tuberculosis, Beardsley died in 1898 while living on the French Riviera.
4. 4. Christopher Dresser: One of the most influential designers of the nineteenth century, Christopher Dresser was pivotal in the development of the aesthetic movement. After studying at the Government School of Design in London, Dresser experimented with new styles for ceramics, carpets, metalwork, and wallpaper design. His greatest inspirations were botanical forms and Japanese art, which he studied on a trip to Japan in 1876 at the age of 42. He created plush side chairs with muted green tones, uniquely shaped teapots, and ornate three-panel screens with a distinctly aesthetic design.

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