Walter Pater The Aesthetic Moment

Wolfgang Iser's study of Walter Pater (1839–94) was first published in German in 1960. It places the English critic, essayist and novelist in a philosophical tradition whose major exponents were Hegel and Coleridge, at the same time showing how Pater differed crucially from these thinkers to become representative of a late Victorian culture critically poised in transition between Romanticism and Modernism. Pater's new definitions of 'beauty' and 'style' in art, his doctrine of 'art for art's sake', his preoccupation with aesthetic existence, his fascination with periods of balance and historical transition are seen in the light of his scepticism towards all systematisation and his view of art as countering human finiteness by capturing the intensity of the moment. This important book, which remains as illuminating now as when it first appeared, will interest those interested in philosophy and aesthetics and Pater specialists alike.

Foreword; Part I. Introduction; Section 1. Pater Criticism; Section 2. Historical Preliminaries: 1. Art as creation; 2. Art as mimesis; Part II. Autonomous Art; Section 3. The Starting Point: 1. Scepticism; 2. The essay; 3. Defining human existence; 4. Expression; Section 4. Defining Art: 1. 'Art for art's sake'; 2. Impressionism; 3. Style; Section 5. The Problem of Orientation: 1. Beauty; 2. 'Postscript'; Part III. Art and History; Section 6. What Is History?: 1. Hegelian schematism; 2. Historicity; 3. 'House Beautiful'; Section 7. The Limits of Historical Legitimation: 1. Plato and Platonism; 2. Glaston de Latour; Part IV. Art and Myth; Section 8. The Ancient Gods: 1. Cult and ritual; 2. 'The myth of Demeter and Persephone'; 3. 'A study of Dionysis'; Section 9. The Limits of Mythical Legitimation: 1. 'Apollo in Picardy'; 2. Pater and Nietzche; Part V. The Aesthetic Existence; Section 10. Marius the Epicurean: 1. The form; 2. The problem; Section 11. Imaginary Portraits: 1. The form; 2. 'A Prince of Court Painters'; 3. Denys l'Auxerrois'; 4. 'Sebastian van Storck'; 5. 'Duke Carl of Rosenmold'; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Biographical addendum; Index of names; Index of subjects.

First published in German in 1960, this text places the English critic, essayist and novelist in a philosophical tradition whose major exponents were Hegel and Coleridge, at the same time showing how Pater differed crucially from these thinkers to become representative of a late Victorian culture critically poised in transition between Romanticism and Modernism.