aesthetic, aesthetics (Vocabulary: Art Terms)

AESTHETIC, AESTHETICS (Vocabulary: Art Terms)

Two closely-related words:

• Aesthetics (sometimes esthetics) is a branch of philosophy concerned with beauty and related concepts in the fine arts. It asks how we can judge what is beautiful in the visual arts, literature, the performing arts and music, and even nature.
• Aesthetic (sometimes esthetic) is, first, simply the adjective form of aesthetics. We can talk about the aesthetic quality of something (is it beautiful or not), or we can say something is aesthetically (adverb) pleasing. Also, however, aesthetic can be a noun: "The house's design reflected a modern aesthetic," or "She brought a refined aesthetic to her fashions."

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)