Showing results by author "Walter Pater" in All Categories

Dive into Marius the Epicurean, a thought-provoking philosophical novel by Walter Pater, first published in 1885. This richly crafted narrative explores Paters vision of the aesthetic life, celebrating beauty and its profound impact on human experience, while contrasting it with mere asceticism. The book laid foundational ideas for the Aesthetic movement, influencing iconic figures like Oscar Wilde, who was inspired by Pater during his time at Oxford. Experience the elegance of Paters prose as he invites you to ponder the pursuit of beauty as an essential ideal.

Published in 1873, Studies in the History of the Renaissance is considered one of the most influential works in the field of aestheticism. The book is a collection of essays that explore various artists of the Renaissance period, focusing primarily on the art, culture, and philosophy of the time.

Published to great acclaim in 1873, Walter Pater’s compendium of idiosyncratic, impressionistic essays on the Renaissance gained him a reputation as a daring modern philosopher. Oscar Wilde called it the “holy writ of beauty.” It was Pater’s cry of “art for art’s sake” that became the manifesto for the aesthetic movement. He believed that art should be sensual and that beauty should rank as the highest ideal. Marked by elegant fluency, Pater’s essays discuss Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and other artists who, for him, embodied the spirit of the Renaissance.