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Historia (Santiago)

On-line version ISSN 0717-7194

Abstract

DIENER, Pablo. The picturesque as an aesthetic category in the art of travelers: notes on J. M. Rugendas's work.Translated byMaría Paz Fernández Smits. Historia (Santiago) [online]. 2007, vol.3Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0717-7194.

The aesthetic category of "picturesque" was incorporated in the conceptual repertoire of artists and art theorists during the last decades of the eighteenth century. Its content has always had an unstable character. Initially, its meaning alluded to a particular way of seeing and seizing nature, followings classic artists' composition canons. Later, it was used in a more comprehensive sense as a form of perception and recording of reality in different fields. This article studies the different connotations that "picturesque" had for travelers that followed the tradition of Alexander von Humboldt. By examining the work of J. M. Rugendas, it is possible to observe that aesthetic categories played an essential role in linking art work and scientific exploration projects in the American continent during the nineteenth century.

Keywords : picturesque; art and science; scientific travelers; J. M. Rugendas.

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