Scarica L'era Vittoriana e l'Aestheticism e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Victorian age The reign of Victoria was a period of social reform and political development thanks to the queen who reigned constitutionally, managing to avoid the wave of revolution of 1848. In this period one of the protagonists was the working class, which required a social reform; only the Chartism movement was able to help them with the people's charter, requiring the extension of the vote to all adult males. Another major reform was the Ten Hours Act which limited working hours to ten hours a day for all workers. Politically, there were two main parties: - the liberals who promoted a strong campaign for free trade -> leading to the repeal of the corn laws - The conservatives. Britain had become a nation of urban dwellers thanks to its industrial development and a reform was wanted to solve the problems related to the overcrowded urban environment. The poor lived in unhealthy neighborhoods invaded by disease and crime, where the mortality rate was very high and poor working conditions in polluting environments were dangerous characteristics especially for the health of children. Despite the two building laws passed to improve sanitation in the city, changes were slow. However, they also managed to improve medicine, with the construction of modern hospitals and organizations to regulate education. After the death of Prince Albert, the queen was estranged from society for 10 years in mourning. The political scene was dominated by: - the liberal party led by William Gladstone - The conservative party led by Benjamin Disraeli A series of reforms governing living conditions were introduced such as the Artisans 'and Laborers' Dwellings Act, passed by the Disraeli government to allow authorities to clear slums and provide housing for the poor, a public health law and a factory act that limited working hours in the factory; other reforms were passed by the Gladstone government as an Education act establishing a national primary education system. Britain Empire decided to gain control and influence the new overseas territories and india was considered the crown jewel of the empire, so Disreali intensified more and more trade with india and bought shares of the channel company. of Suez to protect Britain's eastward route. Thanks to this, the queen received the title of empress of India. In South Africa, the British control two colonies while the Icelandic colonists, the Boers, control two republics including transvaal. When the British tried to take Transvaal, the Boers rebelled and war broke out. The Boer Wars ended in 1902 with the British victory. The British Empire had expanded greatly and controlled many areas and it had become difficult to control them all. The Victorian era ended with the queen's death in 1901. Aestheticism In the second half of the 19th century, traditional Victorian values of strict morality, respectability and material usefulness were challenged by a new artistic and literary movement, aestheticism. According to which art had to be an elevation of taste and a search for beauty, for this reason the famous motto "Art for Art's Sake" was developed, that is to praise the sensual qualities of art and the sensation of pleasure that art could create. And. Walter Pater is considered the leading theorist of the Aesthetic Movement in England and thought that life should be lived in the spirit of art, ie "as a work of art". The artist's task was to feel and express the detachment from contemporary society. Pater's works had a profound influence on Oscar Wilde. Wilde said that life imitates art. The dandy The dandy was a movement according to which his followers used their money extravagantly. Dandies were friends of the bohemians and frequented the same cafes. Although bohemian and dandy influenced different attitudes and adopted slightly different lifestyles, they were closely related and both rejected the bourgeois lifestyle. THE DECLINE OF VICTORIAN OPTIMISM In the second half of the nineteenth century, Great Britain reached the apex of its power abroad, but the ideological conflicts began to undermine the positive attitude that had characterized the first part of Victoria's reign, thus developing a pessimism, the which influenced intellectuals and artists. In 1884 the Fabian Society was formed, a socialist organization inspired by the ideas of Marx, but it aimed to transform Great Britain into a socialist state not through revolution, as Marx advised, but through gradual reforms. Pessimism about human existence was reinforced by social Darwinism. THE PRE-RAPHAELITES 'Pre-Raphaelite' is a current that highlights the purity and simplicity of 14th and 15th century Italian art; they therefore reject Raphael's style and classical doctrines. Pre-Raphaelite painters criticized the contemporary industrial and urban world and conceived the creation of beauty as a duty to society. Rossetti was the strongest personality of the group. Followers of this current emphasized medieval erotic themes.
