Aesthetics, as a branch of philosophy, was established in 1735 by Alexander Baumgartner in Germany. The early development of aesthetics evolved from moral stances on art, espoused by Lord Shaftsbury and Winckelmann, became the basis for the modern definition of “art.” This new definition of art was articulated by Kant and extended by Schiller. Ideally suited to a modern world, ruled by the middle class, modern aesthetics ushered in the era of the independent Romantic artist and the concept of “art-for-art’s sake.”
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Tags: aesthetics, art critic, Enlightenment, Kant, middle class art audience, middle-class, Romanticism, Salon Exhibition, schiller, Shaftsbury, Winckelmann