Aestheticism can be understood both systematically and historically. Systematically, the term refers to an artistic and stylistic intention that engages in an artistic promotion of the aesthetic for its own sake; it is extremely focused on form (to the point of formalism and mannerism) and critical of culture. Aestheticist art is not characterized by its reference to reality, as legitimized by the category of mimesis or the periods of realism and naturalism; it must stand firmly for…