Aestheticism And Kant's Aesthetic

Aestheticism is one of the most influential trend of thought in modern literary and art history. Its influence go beyond the time limit and still has its power in west and east literary and art world. Aestheticism obviously got its main idea from Kant's aesthetic, so to discuss the relationship between Kant's aesthetic and aestheticism give us some new understanding to both of them.Kant's aesthetic idea that aesthetic concerns no utility gave a great inspiration to that update literary and art world. They then changed their traditional way of criticism to literary and art's own value. Aesthetic concerns no utility, then literary and art concerns not anything else but their own value. From which aestheticism got its slogan ~ art's for art's sake.The paper makes a substantial analysis on the differenceof Kant's pure beauty and formalism. Though Kant prefer pure beauty, but he think art is integrated with pure beauty and attached beauty when he talk about art. Aestheticism exaggerated Kant's theory of pure beauty which led them to formalism, and which also made their creation dned up for pure formalism.After above analysis the paper then draws a full understanding to Kant's aesthetic and aestheticism's historical meaning.