G.M Trevelyan - SHE - Chapter XIII
[alert-success] DR. JOHNSON'S ENGLAND - III
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[alert-primary] Art and Culture in the Age of Johnson [/alert-primary]
[alert-primary] Art and Culture in the Age of Johnson [/alert-primary]
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Peace and prosperity
characterised the 18th century. At all levels of society, balance was
preserved. The social environment was particularly conducive to the growth of
culture and art. Fine craftsmen made up a sizable share of the wage earners. No
one was exempt from the advancement of art and culture, including the
well-educated and wealthy.
Georgian Art, Life and Style
Architecture in the plain
English style was known as “Georgian”. The locations of the new country homes
were for the first time chosen for aesthetic factors rather than functional
ones.
A sense of beauty was used
when building mansions. There was an awareness of proportion and symmetry when
making windows and doors. Art became an integral component of daily life. Town
halls in the Georgian style, country estates, cottages, and garden toolhouses
were all extremely expressive.
Aristocracy and Art
England experienced an era of elegance and art
in the 18th century. It was a time of fine handicraftsmen because there were no
factories. They created things with exquisite design and production. There were
seats, cabinets, silverware. Even the most popular kind of grandfather clocks
had an efficient and straightforward design.
The Adam brothers' furniture
and decorations, as well as the paintings by Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds,
Romney, and Zoffany, were well received. Every one of them was in high demand.
William Blake belongs to this era, and people from this era also enjoyed the
writings of Gray, Goldsmith, Cowper, Johnson, Boswell, and Burke.
Artistic and architectural development
Social circumstances were
favourable for the growth of culture and the arts. There were riches and
leisure, civil harmony, and individual liberty. Furthermore, the age of the
machine has not yet arrived, and art and life are still primarily human
endeavours. The aristocracy which consisted of nobles, squires, wealthy clergy,
educated middle class, were in harmony and sought out excellence in art and
architecture.
The Landscape Painters
The 18th century was
largely in favour of high quality in arts and crafts. England was brimming with
exquisite objects of all kinds, both old and new, domestic and foreign. It had
a lot of gorgeous scenery, including young oak and beech
"plantations," huge elms, and meadows surrounded by bramble and
hawthorn fences. Landscape artists like Girtin were drawn to the attractiveness
of the heaths and thickets. England's beauty was finest captured by Turner,
Comte, Cotman, and Constable.
The Fullness of Life
During this time, almost
all socio-economic classes used life to its brim. It was a civilization that
was free and simple in many ways. The English upper class of this era enjoying
so many different aspects of life with such vigour. The most failed of all
famous politicians, Charles Fox, claimed to have enjoyed a "happy"
life. Passion existed for poetry and history in Greek, Latin, Italian, and
English. These were all at their peak, as well as the gambling mania.
Conclusion
Samuel Johnson, who is
regarded as the greatest author in English literature during the second half of
the eighteenth century, is always referred to as Dr. Johnson in order to
distinguish himself from Ben Jonson. In 1747, he published the "Plan or
Prospectus" for his Dictionary of the English Language. Johnson is best
known to many people for his Dictionary.
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