Aesthetic vs. Romantic Movement

        In “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Basil was hesitant to publicize his painting of Dorian, but he was afraid that it would reveal too much of himself. At the time this book was published, there were contrasting views on whether or not art should incorporate the artist’s feelings in the work or whether art should strictly be made for the purpose of pleasing the eye (the romantic movement vs. the aesthetic movement, respectively).

The aesthetic movement (1860-1900) arose in an attempt to recover from the gloomy and materialistic aspects of the Industrial Age. Its goal was to incorporate art into everyday life but to refrain from any personal feelings conveyed in it - basically to create art that simply pleases the eye as a distraction from everything going on in real life. Artworks from this era include The Princess from the Land of Porcelain, Proserpine, In the Days of Sappho (Reverie), etc. These images are not of much sentimental value, but are more aesthetically delightful.

The romantic movement (1798-1837), on the other hand, was about the value and expression of art. Just as how authors have a purpose while writing, so did artists at the time. They didn’t create art solely for the purpose of creating art. Their goal was to promote social reform and self-assurance by creating art with a purpose, allowing people to feel comfortable with having feelings in general. Examples of art from this era are Liberty Leading the People, Saturn Devouring His Son, The Desperate Man, etc.

Nowadays, we are more aligned with the romantic era, as we incorporate our emotions into not only art but various other fields as well. We are currently in the contemporary art era, where art is created to portray global issues that have haunted, currently haunt, or could/will haunt us in the future. It is exciting to see how art will change over time and what kind of art will be the standard in the future.