The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2345
The Yellow Book Volume 13 Cover
Mabel Syrett
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The Yellow Book, a magazine publication running from 1894-1897, is known as an avant-garde periodical filled with art from many genres. The magazine was published in the Pre-Raphaelite Era of arts, which was recognized for its unconventional style of creativity (Oxford Reference). The art featured in The Yellow Book ranged from prose and poetry to reproductions of paintings and drawings. This variety of art is portrayed under the theme of denying the classical and embracing the misunderstood. The Yellow Book may not be considered a Pre-Raphaelite work, but there are Pre-Raphaelite traits in the art published. Works like Sleeping Beauty by Richard Le Gallienne and Under the Moon by Francis Henry Newbery (F H Newbery) are just two examples among the many that entertain the idea of exploring the unorthodox.
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Sleeping Beauty was one of many Prose Fancies that Le Gallienne contributed to The Yellow Book. Located in Volume 13, which was published in April of 1897, this short story falls under the genre of fiction. Under the Moon was created by F H Newbery and appeared in Volume 8, which was published in January of 1896. It is in the genre of visual art and was reproduced using the halftone engraving technique.
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Both of these works are linked under the context of Ideals of Feminine Beauty In 1890s Art. Le Gallienne spent the majority of Sleeping Beauty discussing what is the true meaning of feminine beauty in a society with narrow ideals. He discussed that it was up to each individual person to find what was beautiful to them. He also noted that artists had the ability to change society's view of attractive femininity. Artists were able to open the eyes of the beauty-blind to see a different type of beauty (Le Gallienne 310). F H Newbery's painting Under the Moon displayed one said type of beauty which was found in the everyday and yet was underrated. His depiction of beauty was in the feminine forms of serenity and community.
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The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2482
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Much of the research on The Yellow Book includes a heavy discussion on Oscar Wilde. This is unsurprising as he was put to trial in 1895, making his association with The Yellow Book a great topic of interest. This happened regardless of Harland's denial of any involvement of Wilde in the project (Ledger 6). As a cultural project which gives place to the avant-garde (Ledger 7), what are we to consider of specific pieces of work themselves?
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Eileen Lavery
Francis Henry Newbery
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In a magazine where the visual art was meant to be independent of the literature (Dowling 119), cultural influences connected the works so that readers could find meaning. Both Sleeping Beauty and Under the Moon reflected on beauty in an unpopular light. As the definition of beauty developed, what it means to be feminine and beautiful changed. These works presented beauty as an interpretive form instead of a standard form built for few but advertised to many.
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The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2486
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Bodley Heads. No. I: Mr. Richard Le Gallienne
Walter Sickert
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Le Gallienne was known for his sentimental form. While some found this unappealing ("The Yellow Book"), others saw it as a fresh and original take on personal topics (Brawley 60). In Sleeping Beauty, the narrator used the narration as a form of rumination.This, he said, enhanced his abilities to think and therefore write. The narrator discussed the true meaning of beauty in a personal manner. This had the effect of convincing the reader to reconsider preconceived notions of beauty. The ideals that are supposed to be maintained by society were flawed in reason and were in the process of expanding.
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Art and Beauty: Muses
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In this expansion, art was recognized as dynamic. The muses of such art had to therefore change frequently for art to be successful. Within this change of muses, conventional beauty was said to be key. Le Gallienne denied the notion that people in pictures and paintings were only striking or fascinating but not beautiful ("Le Gallienne's Prose Fancies"). In Sleeping Beauty, the narrator's editor friend spoke as a representative of society. It was normal of society to sympathize with and enjoy the conventionally attractive muses but then undervalue those muses that were widely-acclaimed to be plain. This type of society, with a beauty-blind (Le Gallienne 301) definition of beauty, still found art to be very significant. Le Gallienne said that many of the heroines in revered art and literature were rarely beautiful by societal definition. They were instead slowly accepted as beautiful as time passed and humanity adapted different ideas of beauty.
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Nature As A Metaphor For Femininity
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Viewership found it easier to accept beauty in art about nature than in art about the feminine condition and all the diversities it entails. This was in spite of nature's similarities to femininity. Nature is a complex and progressive phenomenon. Everything from the hills to the plains is celebrated for it's beauty. In order for society to have gained this widespread acceptance of the beauty in the complexity of nature, artists had to show their perspectives, or genius (Le Gallienne 316), to the public. They had to open the eyes of the beauty-blind. Society, then, had the ability to accept femininity as a complex mixture of both unique outer beauty and the beauty of character. This process was slow but constant.
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Beauty ideals and How They Are Broken
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People assumed that being able to identify what is beautiful is a part of the human condition. It seemed to be one commonality among humans. Women were seen as beautiful if they met certain specifications. These specifications included dimensions of the eyebrows, nose, facial structure, mouth, and eyes. Le Gallienne noted, however, that beauty was rooted in change. Each person had an innate beauty that can only be fully appreciated by specific people. Beauty, Le Gallienne expressed, was a unanimous characteristic of women that was awakened when a genius or great love was able to see it. Characteristics that were not considered beautiful, like unpopular complexions or red hair or even aging, have been discovered to be beautiful. Eventually, appreciation for beauty should grow to encompass everything (Le Gallienne 311).
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The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2485
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Francis Henry Newbery
Glasgow West Address
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In reviewing The Yellow book, the National Observer noted that the art featured in Volume 8 was excellent and each of the Glasgow artists was represented by a somewhat characteristic piece of work (401). One such Glasgow artist was F H Newbery. Francis H Newbery was the headmaster of the Glasgow School of Art from 1885 to 1917. He believed public art to be an educative tool in history (Rawson). Newbery wanted to share and celebrate the traditional background of the areas in which art works were situated. The Yellow Book uniqueness when it comes to art is that it did not offer up a context for the art. In this case, it offered a title and an artist as the only additional information. This left the readers of The Yellow Book to come up with their own interpretations about the work. This meant there was no specific historical background for Newbery's presentation of females in an idyllic scene. These females do not have the striking features that are supposed to make them fascinating.
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Under the Moon
F. H. Newbury
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The age of the females in the painting Under the Moon is ambiguous. Their faces, hairstyles, and style of dress lends way for the insertion of one's self into any character.They are individuals within a group. Each female seems to dress and carry herself the same way. While each of them has her own character, she still finds her identity within a group. Beauty in this way does not have to be an individualistic experience. It can be a united experience as well.
We also understand that as viewers, there is a beauty that Newbery saw in these girls who seem plain. There is merit in their relaxed characters and their ability find pleasure in simplicity. |
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Nature As A Metaphor For Femininity
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The girls seem to be an inseparable part of the natural scenery around them. The scene is extraordinary in its tranquility. The rolling hills and quiet waters in the background of this painting serve as a reminder that beauty can be found in the seemingly inconsequential. The serenity of the background ties in with the serenity of the females in such a way that nature and femininity seem to become one.
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The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2481
Conclusion
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Le Gallienne and Newbery's work helped pave the path of The Yellow Book's progressive nature, alongside various other pieces by both male and female creators. Among all the cultural themes covered in The Yellow Book, what it meant to be a beautiful woman was one of the most pioneering topics of all. Femininity and beauty in Art in the 1890s can be summed up in one term: The New Woman. The New Woman was not one to be tied down by the definition society put on her. She could be as tranquil or as vivacious as she wanted to be.
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Copyright Statement
Images in this online exhibit are either in the public domain or being used under fair dealing for the purpose of research and are provided solely for the purposes of research, private study, or education.
The Philosophy of Aesthetics: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in 1890s Art
Chantal Townsend
Ryerson University
2499
Works Cited
Brawley, Benjamin. “Richard Le Gallienne and the Tradition of Beauty.” The Sewanee Review 26.1 (1918): 47–62. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Dowling, Linda. “Letterpress and Picture in the Literary Periodicals of the 1890s.” The Yearbook of English Studies 16 (1986): 117–131. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
Le Gallienne, Richard. "Two Prose Fancies: Sleeping Beauty." The Yellow Book 13 (April 1897): 308-316. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University. Web. [15 Oct. 2015].
http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV13_gallienne_twoprose.html
Ledger, Sally. "Wilde Women and the Yellow Book: The Sexual Politics of Aestheticism and Decadence." English Literature in Transition, 1880- 1920 50.1 (2007): 5-26. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Newbery, F. H. "Under the Moon." The Yellow Book 8 (January 1896): 139. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2013. Web. [15 Oct 2015]. http://www.1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV8_newbery_under.html
"Plunket of Dublin: La Galliene's Prose Fancies." New York Times 3 Feb. 1901. TimesMachine. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
"Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood." Oxford Reference. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100343470
Rawson, George. "Fra H Newbery: An Artist in Purbeck." Dorset Life. The Dorset Magazine, 1 May 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
"The Yellow Book." Rev. of The Yellow Book 8. The National Observer 8 February 1896: 401. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2010. Web. [10 Nov. 2015].
http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=review_v8_national_observer_feb_1896.html
Brawley, Benjamin. “Richard Le Gallienne and the Tradition of Beauty.” The Sewanee Review 26.1 (1918): 47–62. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Dowling, Linda. “Letterpress and Picture in the Literary Periodicals of the 1890s.” The Yearbook of English Studies 16 (1986): 117–131. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
Le Gallienne, Richard. "Two Prose Fancies: Sleeping Beauty." The Yellow Book 13 (April 1897): 308-316. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University. Web. [15 Oct. 2015].
http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV13_gallienne_twoprose.html
Ledger, Sally. "Wilde Women and the Yellow Book: The Sexual Politics of Aestheticism and Decadence." English Literature in Transition, 1880- 1920 50.1 (2007): 5-26. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Newbery, F. H. "Under the Moon." The Yellow Book 8 (January 1896): 139. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2013. Web. [15 Oct 2015]. http://www.1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=YBV8_newbery_under.html
"Plunket of Dublin: La Galliene's Prose Fancies." New York Times 3 Feb. 1901. TimesMachine. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
"Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood." Oxford Reference. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100343470
Rawson, George. "Fra H Newbery: An Artist in Purbeck." Dorset Life. The Dorset Magazine, 1 May 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
"The Yellow Book." Rev. of The Yellow Book 8. The National Observer 8 February 1896: 401. The Yellow Nineties Online. Ed. Dennis Denisoff and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Ryerson University, 2010. Web. [10 Nov. 2015].
http://1890s.ca/HTML.aspx?s=review_v8_national_observer_feb_1896.html