Beauty and the Sublime
“Whatever is filled in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime; beauty is a name I shall apply to all such qualities in things as induce in us a sense of affection and tenderness, or some other passion the most resembling these.” (Burke) Edmund Burke sees painting as two very different realms of emotions. On one side, there are beauties, which are the emotions that might cause feelings of calmness, gentleness, joyfulness, brightness. Where sublime emotions are darker and opposite of beauty, like, gloomy, tragic, strong and powerful. Beauty is an enthusiastic expression of pleasure or agreement. When looking at the beauty of art those senses is normally what draws a viewer to gaze at the painting. In Edmund Burke’s The Sublime and Beautiful, he defines beauty “as any quality which inspires the individual to feel affection that which is perceived as beautiful.” (Scott)
A main part of painting is emotions, the emotions of the painter either while painting or if it is the emotional reaction of the viewer. Beauty is something that is delicate and sparks a sense of lust through the body. Edmund defined beauty as such because of the way he looked at paintings and the way his body reacted to the paintings. On the other hand, Burke describes the sublime, “as being the cause of the strongest emotions which the individual is capable of feeling.”(Scott). He mentions numerous times that sublimity is derived from pain and the emotions associated with it. “While the beauty of a work of art may inspire love or admiration, the sublimity of a work of art may inspire sense of astonishment or the shocking feeling. Burke was the first to explain beauty and sublimity purely in terms of process of perception and its effect upon the perceiver.” (Victorianweb.org).
A prime example of sublime is the painting “A coming
A main part of painting is emotions, the emotions of the painter either while painting or if it is the emotional reaction of the viewer. Beauty is something that is delicate and sparks a sense of lust through the body. Edmund defined beauty as such because of the way he looked at paintings and the way his body reacted to the paintings. On the other hand, Burke describes the sublime, “as being the cause of the strongest emotions which the individual is capable of feeling.”(Scott). He mentions numerous times that sublimity is derived from pain and the emotions associated with it. “While the beauty of a work of art may inspire love or admiration, the sublimity of a work of art may inspire sense of astonishment or the shocking feeling. Burke was the first to explain beauty and sublimity purely in terms of process of perception and its effect upon the perceiver.” (Victorianweb.org).
A prime example of sublime is the painting “A coming
Bibliography: 1. Ferbet, L.S. William Trost Richards (1835 – 1905): American Landscape and Marine Painter. New York. 1980 2. Morris, Harrison S. William T. Richards: masterpieces of the sea. Philadelphia and London J. B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia, Pa. 1912 3. Scott, Alex. Edmund Burke’s: A philosophical enquiry into the sublime and beautiful. www.angelfire.com/md2/timewarp/burke.html. 2002. 4. Siegel, Nancy. Along the Juniata: Thomas Cole and the dissemination of American landscape imagery. University of Washington Press. Seattle, Washington. 2003. 5. Weiss, I.S. Sanford Robinson Gifford, 1823- 1880. New York. 1986. 6. Wilmerding, John. American Views: essays on American art. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ. 1991. 7. www.bartleby.com/24/2/107.html 8. www.bartleby.com/24/2/110/html