Analysis of Beauty

William Hogarth is an English painter, draftsman, and engraver of academic direction in genre and portrait, founder and a major representative of the national art school, illustrator, author of satirical engravings, and discoverer of new genres in painting and graphic... arts. An original theorist of art. A surprising thing, but in their study of beauty, our ancestors could venture quite far, comparing the beauty of the naked body, the elegance of a gilded candlestick, and the charm of the locks of hair of a blonde girl. It seems strange to someone that comparing the beauty of a person and a candlestick is rather odd. But William Hogarth reflects precisely on this in his treatise "Analysis of Beauty." In the book published in 1753, the famous English artist revealed the main secret of the beautiful. The idea of "Analysis of Beauty" is to separate the art of depicting beauty from fashionable tastes. Hogarth developed a universal set of aesthetic principles that can be applied to any type of creative work: portrait, engraving, or sculpture. They are equally suitable for assessing the beauty of a girl, a male body, or the elegance of a candlestick. In his work, Hogarth introduced the concept of the "line of beauty" for the first time. This S-shaped line gives the depiction a special elegance. The repeated use of such a line creates an amazing effect, uniting the oval of the face, the position of the figure in space, and landscape motifs. "Analysis of Beauty" is a book on art theory, written by the hand of an innovative artist who proclaimed the nature, living beauty in its diversity and movement, as the foundation of creativity for every true artist. Hogarth addressed his work not only to professional artists but also to all admirers of beauty in life and art. He provided his fellow artists with practical advice.