7/25/2019 Classical Baudelaire Essay

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Throughout history, the occidental beauty ideal has shaped the way of seeing women. In this

essay, I would like to think over two periods of our past.

et!s begin with classical anti"uity. The concept of beauty had a universal meaning. It was a

concept defined in the metaphysical dimension #outside the physical$. Thus, the rationality of the

real world #logos$ set a limit on the ob%ects and its beauty& in contrast, hybriswas defined by e'cess,

confusion and contamination. Therefore, order, harmony and symmetry were e"ual to beauty.

(s a result, Pythagoras was able to apply those laws through mathematics and rational

numbers, as he apprehended that the numerical symmetry defined kosmos symmetry and,

conse"uently, the idea of beauty. In nature, symmetrical proportions are founded on absolute

harmony and beauty. )oreover, the *reat Theory #*oodness, +eauty and Truth$ linked up the

universal elements. iogenes aertius stated that -*oodness is beautiful as far as it is commanded

by measure #...$ that is harmony./ In this sense, female beauty was taken into account considering

harmony #tall, leggy, long hair, a high and wide forehead and a perfect face profile$, and physical

prowess. It was not a concrete or unified notion. It meant different things, related to values such as

temperance, bravery or decency.

0econdly, +audelaire, among others, during the late nineteenth century in Paris, a modern

city, proposed a distinctive way of seeing the beauty, far from the one mentioned above. The beauty

in art was now considered to be understood through a conception of history1 beauty was defined by a

specific moment. There was an interest in the present customs 2confronted to the tradition. 3very

period had its peculiarities and its beauties. 4or e'ample, as 5imbaud said, the beauty that

)ichelangelo pro%ected onDavidwas already old. (t this time, perfection and eternity beyond all

time and cultural determination was obsolete. This historical outlook of beauty highlighted the

circumstantial moment of life. +audelaire considered that artificial beauty was a repudiation of

nature. 6ature was impure and immoral because it compelled men to act by their instinct.

(rtificiality was considered a rise above nature. In the artificial world, goodness was founded

as a product of culture. 4or e'ample, makeup 2as a duty of women to appear magical and

supernatural2 hid masks naturally seen as imperfect. 7onse"uently, in nature +audelaire found the

model of ugliness and shamelessness, which was embodied in bare re%ection. In this sense, this

period has been defined by the lack of aesthetic beauty ideals, framed by political ideals.

To sum up, whether harmony or strangeness is the essential factor of all beauty 2no matter

what occidental people consider as a beauty ideal2 it can be ensured that the beauty of a woman is

one of the greatest delightful things that the world shows us& as +audelaire said, -whether you come

from heaven or hell, what does it matter, 8 +eauty9:.

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