在英國文化史上，這一時期有時被稱為“鍍金時代”，與“美女時代”或“美麗時代”相對應。在法國,和類似的運動在美國和其他地方,我們與新藝術的優雅和風格,精美的拉斐爾前派藝術家的繪畫,戲劇的浪漫美麗的畫家和提高工藝、設計、文學藝術在那個時代,有丑陋的根源。 藝術、設計和文學領域的第一波轉變始于1860年，被稱為審美運動。這是對煙霧繚繞、鏗鏘作響、油浸和蒸汽籠罩著丑陋的工業革命的回應。 這一運動中著名的藝術家包括弗雷德里克·萊頓、威廉·莫里斯、詹姆斯·麥克尼爾·惠斯勒、GF Watts、愛德華·伯恩-瓊斯和但丁·加布里埃爾·羅塞蒂。后兩人是前拉斐爾派兄弟會的核心成員。 他們的座右銘是“為藝術而藝術”，其最初的用法是指追求美的藝術本身，而不背負傳達社會或宗教道德的要求。這與20世紀中期的現代主義形成了鮮明對比。后來有人濫用這個詞，堅持認為藝術必須不含任何文學或故事成分。 位于倫敦的維多利亞和艾伯特博物館正在舉辦一場名為“美的狂熱:1860-1900年的美學運動”的展覽來慶祝這一運動，展覽將持續到2011年7月17日。 博物館的網站上有這次展覽的一些作品。《衛報》上有一篇文章和一些圖片的幻燈片，《獨立報》上有另一篇文章和一些圖片。 此外，《每日電訊報》刊登了一篇文章和一段對策展人的視頻采訪，其中包括對展覽空間的一些介紹。 V&A博物館也有一篇文章是關于設計和舉辦展覽，創造對美的崇拜。 

That period in British cultural history that is sometimes called the “Gilded Age”, corresponding to the “Belle Époque”, or the “beautiful era” in France, and similar movements in America and elsewhere that we associate with the grace and style of Art Nouveau, the exquisite paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, the drama of the romantic painters and the exaltation of beauty in craft, design, literature and art during that era, actually had its roots in ugliness. The first wave of this shift in art, design and literature began in the 1860’s and was dubbed the “Aesthetic Movement”. It was a response to the sooty, clanking, oil soaked and steam shrouded ugliness of the industrial revolution. Notable artists in this movement included Frederic Leighton, William Morris, James McNeill Whistler, GF Watts, Edward Byrne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The latter two were core members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Their motto was “Art for Art’s sake”, in its original usage meaning art that was in pursuit of beauty itself and not burdened with requirements to convey social or religious morals. This is in contrast to the mid 20th Century Modernists’ later abuse of the term to insist art must be devoid of any literary or storytelling component. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is celebrating the movement with an exhibition titled The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900, that is on display until 17 July, 2011. The museum’s website has a display of a few of the pieces from the show. There is an article and slideshow of additional images on The Guardian, and another review with a smaller selection of images on The Independent. In addition, the Telegraph has an article and a video interview with the curator that includes a bit of a walk-through of the exhibition space. The V&A Museum also has an article on designing and staging the exhibition, Creating the Cult Of Beauty. For more, see my related posts below, which contain links to additional images and resources. (Images above: George Frederic Watts, Albert Moore, Frederick Sandys, James McNeill Whistler, Frederic Leighton, Edward Burne-Jones)  <