The promise of beauty: considerations about philosophical aesthetics in the late eighteenth century

Abstract

This paper analyzes the strategies that the aesthetic reflection in the late eighteenth century set out to address the problem of artistic representation legitimacy. Among them, we closely consider the redefinition of “beauty” proposed by Kant in the Kritik der Urteilskraft. By reviewing Kant’s position, we intend to show, on the one hand, the connection between the justification of artistic beauty crisis and the debacle of classical natural history. On the other hand, we seek to highlight the aesthetic sphere’s change of status and function introduced by the Kantian turn towards subjectivity.