Why Beauty Matters

Renowned British writer and philosopher Roger Scruton asserts that beauty is an essential aspect of art and that 20th-century contemporary art is losing its sense of beauty. He believes that beauty is an objective truth rather than something that exists in the eye of the beholder, a classical concept that has largely disappeared from today’s art marketplace.

Scruton explains that instead of focussing on beauty, modern art aims to break moral taboos in order to gain notoriety. Works by artists such as Rothko, Franz Kline, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, which sell for millions, have, he argues, lost their true aesthetic value. He suggests that spiritual values have been replaced by material ones, with the art establishment promoting art as an investment rather than something to be appreciated visually.

In discussing undervalued pre-20th-century art, Scruton states that it has much to offer, including ‘beauty, humanity and care of the soul’. Among the artists he regards as the greatest are Rembrandt, Titian, Tintoretto and Corot. He also speaks about what he sees as the ultimate goal of art: to ‘raise the audience from the animal to the spiritual level’.