The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (6 page)

aerial perspective
.

Term describing the means of producing a sense of depth in a painting by imitating the effect of atmosphere whereby objects look paler and bluer the further away they are from the viewer. Dust and large moisture particles in the atmosphere cause some scattering of light as it passes through it, the amount of scattering depending on the wavelength (hence colour) of the light. Short wave-length (blue) light is scattered most and long wave-length (red) is scattered least. This is the reason why the sky is blue and why distant dark objects appear to lie behind a veil of blue. The term ‘aerial perspective’ was invented by
Leonardo
, but the device was used by Roman painters, for example at Pompeii. In the work of Italian painters of Leonardo's time, backgrounds sometimes look artificially blue, and in general aerial perspective has been more subtly exploited in Northern Europe, where the atmosphere tends to be hazier. No one used it more beautifully than
Turner
, in some of whose late works it is virtually the subject of the painting.

 
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(1508/9–75).
Netherlandish painter. He was born and died in Amsterdam but spent most of his career in Antwerp. A pioneer of still life and
genre
painting, he is best known for scenes that at first glance look like pure examples of these types, but which in fact have a religious scene incorporated in them (
Butcher's Stall with the Flight into Egypt
, Univ. of Uppsala, 1551). Aertsen was the head of a long dynasty of painters, of whom the most talented was his nephew and pupil Joachim
Bueckelaer
.

 
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Aestheticism
.

A term applied to various exaggerations of the doctrine that art is selfsufficient and need serve no ulterior purpose, whether moral, political, or religious. Both the doctrine and its exaggerations have found expression in the phrase ‘art for art's sake’, which in England became the catchword of the ‘Aesthetic Movement’ in the late 19th cent. Central figures of the movement include
Whistler
and Oscar Wilde , both of them notorious dandies, and the movement was frequently ridiculed for its tendency towards preciousness and affectation, most notably in Gilbert and Sullivan's
Patience
(see
GROSVENOR GALLERY
). Nevertheless, the movement helped to focus attention on the formal qualities of works of art, and so contributed to the critical outlook of writers such as
Berenson
and
Fry
.

 
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aesthetics
.

The branch of philosophy that deals with questions of beauty and taste. The term, which derives from a Greek word meaning ‘to perceive’, was coined by the German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–62), the author of a two-volume Latin treatise called
Aesthetica
(1750–8). It is usually used in connection with the arts, but it can also embrace beauty in nature.

 
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(1928– )
. Israeli sculptor and experimental artist, based in Paris from 1951. In 1955 Agam participated, with
Bury
,
Tinguely
,
Calder
, and other artists, in the exhibition ‘Le Mouvement’ at the Denise René Gallery, the exhibition that put
Kinetic art
on the map, and from this time he was recognized as a pioneer in those branches of abstract art that lay stress on movement and spectator participation. Agam often uses light and sound effects in conjunction with his sculptures, and sometimes the components of his works can be rearranged by the spectator. He has made works for major public buildings in France and elsewhere.

 
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(1767–1849).
Swiss-born animal painter who settled permanently in England in 1800 and became one of the principal successors to
Stubbs
. He studied veterinary science in Paris as well as painting (with J.-L.
David
) and his work is distinguished by anatomical accuracy as well as grace of line. Although Agasse was initially successful in England (George IV was among his patrons), he died poor and virtually forgotten. The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in his native Geneva has the best collection of his work.