Beauty is an aesthetic quality that satisfies the aesthetic senses. It is a term used to describe a variety of different aspects, such as colour, shape, weight, age, gender, popular culture, and race. Some philosophers also equate it with pleasure, although this association may be purely subjective. There are also laws of beauty that attempt to help us clarify the concept.
Beauty is a positive aesthetic value. It is characterized by symmetry and harmony. The classical conception of beauty is a foundational Western understanding of this phenomenon. This conception is embodied in classical literature, architecture, and music.
It is also often characterized by a combination of qualities, including integrity, proportion, and consonance. These elements can be found in nature as well as in art. In order to create an artwork that will truly be beautiful, it is important to consider what factors make it desirable.
When a work of art is created, it can be viewed in three primary ways: through its design, as a physical object, or as an experience. This can involve a painting, sculpture, photograph, musical composition, video, or even a TV advertisement. To determine the criteria for a particular work, students must decide what makes it aesthetically desirable. For example, a cubist painting of a woman posing with three eyes would not have integrity, though it could be considered beautiful.
According to the classical conception, beauty is a relation between parts of an object. A beautiful landscape might be composed of several mountains, trees, and streams. One object might be beautiful to a particular person at mid-day, while another might be seen as a dazzling sunset at night. While beauty might be defined by symmetry, the light from the sun does not qualify as beautiful because of its symmetry.
Historically, the term “beautiful” was derived from the Latin word Bellus, which means charming. The word was used widely for women in classical times. However, it has also been used pejoratively to mean attractive for men.
Generally, a work of art must have integrity in order to be deemed beautiful. This means that the artwork must be complete by interior logic, and that it must be the product of a coherent process.
Another approach to the definition of beauty is to define it as an objective virtue. Specifically, it requires a combination of traits, including integrity, proportion, and clarity. Other concepts that are associated with beauty include play and pleasure. If the viewer enjoys a musical composition, for example, that song is beautiful. However, if a piece of music is created for entertainment, it is not necessarily considered beautiful.
Although the classical understanding of beauty is a foundational Western view of the phenomenon, the twentieth century saw a decline in the importance of beauty. This decline largely stemmed from the influence of political and economic associations. As a result, artists began to create more urgent projects. At the same time, the concept of beauty itself began to be subject to critique.