Oscar Wilde

lingue

Oscar Wilde

He is an very brilliant author, fascinating and witty.

He was born in a Irish family. his family was known in the upper and middle class society

His mother wrote some books about Irish question, and so he gro 939c24j w up in a family where culture learning were important.

Very successful life more abroad than in England, as France or USA

John Ruskin

He was an art historian very famous in his time; he gave a great importance to beauty in art, but anyway he affirmed that also the moral aspect of art must be taken into consideration.

Walter Peter

He is considered the priest of the Aesthetic Movement (Aestheticism). The Aestheticism developed in England during the last decades of the 19th century. It originated in France and then it was brought in England. It was a rejection of the Utilitarism and materialistic philosophy. It stressed the importance of the spirit of art, and above all, the concept of "Art for Art's sake" (this is the mote of Aestheticism)

Peter affirmed that:

life is fleeting, elusive, and so he stressed the brevity of life

beauty in life and in art can give the best sensation, feeling, passion

happiness means looking for good sensations, feelings passion and so men's purpose in life is pleasure, and this philosophy was called Hedonism

artistic beauty is pure form, it is not essential to have a correspondence with any moral values, so art is detached, separated from any moral considerations.

Peter said

that we (artists) should live in the spirit of art.

Art is perfect, essential, pure form, so if we have to live in the spirit of art, we have to adopt the same features as art, and to make our own life a sort of "work of art".

Of course life cannot be eternal, but we can avoid the moral complication of life, so we can be superior to moral values, so (this is typical of Wilde) men have the complete freedom from moral bounds in order to pursue (proseguire) the only aim in life which is pleasure, physical happiness.

It's art that imitated life

Task:

romantic( reveal the truth to ordinary people

Dickens( moralistic and didactic task

Wilde(he wanted to communicated nothing, it's a personal task which is the search for the finest pleasure, sensation, emotion.