B.
I have dwelt perhaps too long on the psychological problems presented when the psychologist attempts to describe to the æsthetician the nature of the experience of one who appreciates beauty, and have left perhaps too little time for the consideration of the problems presented when the psychologist is asked to consider the nature of the experience of the artist who creates.
The man who finds strongly developed within him the creative tendency, is wont, when he turns to theory, to lay emphasis upon expression as of the essence of beauty.
It is, of course, to be granted that the process of Einfühhing—of introjection—above referred to, leads us to find a source of beauty in the vague imagination of ourselves as doing what others have done; and we may take great æsthetic delight in reading, through his work, the mind of the man who has created the object of beauty for us. But evidently, when we lay stress upon this introjection, we are dealing with the appreciation of beauty, and not with the force which leads to its production.
Just as clearly is it impossible to hold that expression is of the essence of the making of beauty. For expressiveness is involved in all of man's creative activity, much of which has no relation whatever to the æsthetic. The expression of the character of the genius of the inventor of a cotton loom, or of the successful leader of an army in a bloody battle, excites our interest and wonder; but the expression of his character as read in the result accomplished does not constitute it a work of beauty.
I speak of this point at this length, because in my opinion views of the nature of that here objected to could not have been upheld by such men as Bosanquet and Véron had they kept clear the distinction referred to above between the experience of one who appreciates beauty, and the experience of the creative artist; and especially because the teaching of the doctrine thus combatted is wont to lead the artist whose cry is 'art for art's sake' to excessive self-satisfaction, and to lack of restraint, which leads to failure.[1]
- ↑ In order to avoid misunderstanding, I may say here that, notwithstanding these remarks, I am in full sympathy with the artist who thus expresses himself, as will presently appear.
