The Fate of Beauty in Romantic Criticism

It is generally agreed that "beauty" refers to no definite concept, but definitions of beauty are nonetheless generally sought. In art criticism, this paradox results in a tendency among critics to support æsthetic judgments with references to content. This tendency introduces contradictions into arguments by Kant (1790), Baudelaire (1861), and Ruskin (1860). Hugo's "O strophe du poëte" (1854) exemplifies this problem, but analyzes it further, and suggests that the need to find content in beauty is actually a basis of æsthetic pleasure. (TBR)