The Gate of Appreciation: Studies in the Relation of Art to LifeNoyes, Carleton Eldredge
Philosophy
The Gate of Appreciation: Studies in the Relation of Art to Life
Noyes, Carleton Eldredge
Aesthetics; Art appreciation; Art criticism
constitutes the emotional experience.
All language in its material aspect has a sensuous value, as the
wealth of color of Venetian painting, the sumptuousness of
Renaissance architecture, the melody of Mr. Swinburne's verse, the
gem-like brilliance of Stevenson's prose, the all-inclusive
sensuousness, touched with sensuality, of Wagner's music-dramas.
Because of the charm of beautiful language there are many
art-lovers who regard the sensuous qualities of the work itself as
making up the entire experience. Apart from any consideration of
intention or expressiveness, the material _thing_ which the artist's
touch summons into form is held to be "its own excuse for being."
This order of enjoyment, valid as far as it goes, falls short of
complete appreciation. It does not pass the delight one has in the
radiance of gems or the glowing tincture of some fabric. The
element of meaning does not enter in. There is a beauty for the eye
and a beauty for the mind. The qualities of material may give
pleasure to the senses; the object embodying these qualities becomes
beautiful only as it is endowed with a significance wakened in the
human spirit. A landscape, says Walter Crane, "owes a great part of
its beauty to the harmonious relation of its leading lines, or to certain
pleasant contrasts, or a certain impressiveness of form and mass, and
at the same time we shall perceive that this linear expression is
inseparable from the sentiment or emotion suggested by that
particular scene." In the appreciation of art, to stop with the
sensuous appeal of the medium is to mistake means for an end.
"Rhyme," says the author of "Intentions," "in the hands of a real
artist becomes not merely a material element of metrical beauty, but
a spiritual element of thought and passion also." An artist's color,
glorious or tender, is only a symbol and manifestation to sense of his
emotion. At first glance Titian's portrait of the "Man with the Glove"
is an ineffable color-harmony. But truly seen it is infinitely more. By
means of color and formal design Titian has embodied here his
vision of superb young manhood; by the expressive power of his
material symbols he has rendered visible his sense of dignity, of
fineness, of strength in reserve. The color is beautiful because his
idea was beautiful. Through the character of this young man as
revealed and interpreted by the artist, the beholder is brought into
contact with a vital personality, whose influence is communicated to
him; in the appreciation of Titian's message he sees and feels and
lives.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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