This painted screen by American artist Thomas Wilmer Dewing is representative of the Aesthetic movent in art that emerged out of the mid-19th century. Posing itself in opposition to repressive and overbearing strains of the Victorian culture of the age, Aesthetics valued sensuous and beautiful artwork. Conservative Victorians turned their noses up at Aestheticism, but many appreciated the movement. Art, Aesthetics argued, need not have a didactic or moralizing purpose, but could be en end in itself.
Dewing was a master of this tradition, and the screen here, called _Morning Glories_, shows why. Lush colors surround the three female figures, who wear classical, draping gowns that harkened back to Ancient Greek figurines known as Tanagra. The screen itself was a common decorous object from Japan. The morning glory flowers in the background have similarities with French impressionism.
Love of Classical imagery, beautiful women, Impressionism, and Japanese culture infused the entire Aesthetic movement. Dewing’s statement that “the purpose of the artist [is] to see beautifully” certainly is embodied in this screen, which is on display at the Carnegie Museum of Art.
I have been thinking about the Aesthetic idea of art for its own sake lately on my hikes.
Source(s): Carnegie Museum of Art. _Morning Glories_, about 1900 CE. @theartstory.org, “The Aesthetic Movement”
