noun
- Plural of estheticism; philosophical or artistic movements or doctrines emphasizing the pursuit of beauty and aesthetic experience as primary values.
- Instances or expressions of excessive concern with beauty, style, or artistic refinement, sometimes viewed as superficial or affected.
Usage: Often refers to late 19th-century artistic movements that prioritized art and beauty over moral or social utility.; Also spelled 'aestheticism' in British English.
Usage: Can carry a mildly critical connotation when referring to overly ornamental or pretentious artistic attitudes.
Examples
- The estheticisms of the 1890s rejected Victorian moral constraints in favor of pure artistic expression.
- Oscar Wilde's works exemplified the estheticisms that dominated literary circles of his era.
- Critics dismissed some of the movement's estheticisms as mere decoration without deeper meaning.
- The museum's exhibition traced various estheticisms from Romanticism through Modernism.
- Her writing was filled with estheticisms that prioritized lyrical beauty over narrative clarity.
- The estheticisms embraced by the Decadent movement challenged conventional artistic standards.