Beauty is difficult to define and impossible to contain. Beauty is not a thing in and of itself, but an essence that transcends a variety of experiences, objects, and persons. It is as a spirit that blesses the soul of certain things. Since beauty cannot be captured in the literal sense, the pursuit of beauty is undertaken in the creation of great art to transmit love of beauty. The desire for that which can never be possessed, only admired, contemplated, and pursued, is akin to spiritual devotion. And justly so, the experience of beauty is unmatched by any other and found by many philosophers to be the highest form of love: unwanting desire in perfect admiration. From Plato to Augustine to Kant, it is enough to admire, absorb, and champion beauty for its own sake.
(Left) Ernesta (Child with Nurse), Cecelia Beaux, 1894 (Right) Strasbourg Cathedral, 1015-1439 Strasbourg, France
(Left) Dinan, France (Right) Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho
Today, beauty is often discarded as a superfluous or unnecessary luxury. The bond between beauty and the sacred, crucial to the foundations of ancient philosophy, is not as convincing to the modern public but remains no less relevant. After all, human beings require countless experiences, useless in the same way one may call beauty, in order to enjoy one’s life: love, friendship, hope, and so on. Both the desire for and benefit of beauty ennoble human existence, giving purpose to life, experience, culture, and imagination.
Pursuit of beauty declares something worth sharing. Beauty invites the viewer to be a part of the creation; to stop with the rest of the world and watch the colors of a sunset or wander down a crooked street into the open door of a medieval church. The thrill of beauty makes life worth living, and the desire to endorse it shapes culture. Through the pursuit of beauty, human beings build their home in the world. The building arts are a response to humanity’s need for home, a place to belong. Pursuit of beauty inspires the craftsmen through an appreciation of nature and an appeal to proportion. The balance, order, and harmony found in classical architecture play an important role in the design of a peaceful human settlement. In this way, traditional design is not nostalgia, but knowledge passed down by our ancestors.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Architect: Duncan Stroik, Decorative Arts: John Canning & Co. 2008
Further, such encounters with beauty satisfy human intelligence and the sense of adventure. Human beings are not simple animals to be satisfied with mere means of survival, but truly complex creatures who desire purpose in existence. The ornament in the architecture and the stories in the art serve to connect us to our ancestors and give us pride as stewards, but also instigate curiosity and leave one wanting more for understanding.
Triumph of Religion, John Singer Sargent, at Boston Public Library
The experience of beauty culminates in the universal appreciation of the sacred. The shared experience among all human beings, living and dead, who have encountered the extraordinary grace of beauty and were inspired to greatness. It is the task of art, through beauty, to redeem the most painful moments and feelings relating to the human condition. Only beautiful art can transform pain into love by portraying the concept of sacrifice in a manner beyond words. The goal of beauty is never to mask the reality of life’s trials but rather to dignify the human condition.
Pieta, William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1876
Without beauty, human beings are robbed of their dignity, intelligence, and creativity, and left to be lonely, disassociated creatures. To rob the human soul of beauty means to destroy the nature of man. Beauty is therefore necessary to human existence for reasons relating to individual happiness, shared experience with others, and the right and just manner in which humanity builds in the world. Beauty will save the world because it elevates all human life. It not only gives cause to live well in spite of adversity but to pursue an existence of a higher order.
