La modernidad que estaba en
suapogeo a f ines delsiglo
X IX
Vprincipiosdelxxse bas6en
buenamedida enlainnovaci6n
constante;el
ar t nouveau
fuede las tendenciasmas
representativasdeesteimpulso.
Laideade modernidad durante elsi-
glo
XIX
yano se anclo en e] pasado; es
decir,no semolestabanen decir:"so-
mosmodernos porquesomos distintos a
los antiguos", sinoqueplanteo una opo-
siciondirectaentrepresente y tradicion.
Desde entonces, yhastael
diadehoy,10moder-
nomarcasus pro-
pias pautasy avan-
zasobreunacuerda
flo ja,sin conservar
unaref erencia historica
con 10"c1asico".
Modernit~,at itspeak inthelate
19th and earl~20thcenturies,
waslargel~basedon constant
innovation.Artnouveauwas one
of itsmostrepresentative trends.
La
belleza
del presente
Ademasdela modernidad relacio-
nada conelprogresocientificoy tec-
nologico,puedehablarse de laque se
daen elarte.£sta se ocupo de esta-
blecer la autonomia dela belleza an-
tela ciencia, lamoraLyla poLitica.
Desdemediados del siglo
XIX,
los jo-venes pintores f ranceses hablaban
del"arteporelarte",y elescritor
Theophile Gautier incluso llego a ex-
presarque10unico verdaderamente
belloes10queno sirvepara nada.
Fue Charles Baudelaire,el gran poeta
f rancesdelsiglo
XIX,
quienobLigoa sus
contemporaneos a reconocerse a si
mismoscomo"modernos".£1recreolas
imagenesdela vida sordida deuna ciu-
dad-incluyendobasura, prostitucion,
ebriedadycrimen- mostrandolas tal
como sony ala vez revelandoenellas
refle jos dela Belleza Eterna (si,leyo
listed bien:segun Baudelaire puede
haberbelleza eterna en las cosas
mas sordidas,incluyendo lamiseria
Beauty in the Present
Inaddition to modernityin relation tosci-
entif icprogress andtechnology,let
lli
address what occursinart.Art wasinter-
ested in establishingtheautonomy
0-
beauty abovescience,morality and pol:-
tics. Since the mid-19thcentury,you~
French painters spok eof "art for arf:
sak e",and thewriter TheophileGautie;-
even said that the onlytruebeautyisthu
which hasno practical use.
Itwas Baudelaire,thegreat ]9th-centur_
French poet,who forced hiscontempo-
raries to think of themselves as "mode.
men".Baudelaire re-created imagesof th~
sordidlife of a city-including garbag-
prostitution, drunkenness andcrime-
showing themjust as they are,whileat.::
same time revealing ref lections of Eterru
Beautyin them (yes,you read correet:t
according to Baudelairethere can beete--
nalbeautyinthe mostsordidthings,eve-
human misery). For him,modernity is-~
"transitory,fleeting andcontingent"
of art. Theother half isinthat which ..
eternal and unchanging.Theartist
COf lf"
allowhimself theluxury of ignoring:.
f leetingelement of thepresentif hed
not wantto repeat outmoded traditio;_
Better-said Baudelaire,in his wonder-_
mockingmanner-thatthe truea
"mak esusfeelhowgreatand poetic
are with our neckties and ourpa-
leather boots."
Theseideas havesomeinteresting ilT'
cations:f irst of all, that modernityis
inevitable; inother words, to be moder-
a choice. Butitis a bravechoice, bec
artists who choose it facea roadf ul
risk and uncertainty.Insetting out to
turethe"heroism of modern
r
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