Aesthetic Emotions, The Emotional Impact Of Beauty

Observing Van Gogh’s Starry Night , waking up to see a sunrise, delighting in Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being or closing your eyes to listen Debussy’s Moonlight are inexplicable experiences that awaken a hurricane of emotions. The beauty that art and some phenomena give off from our day to day is so immense that it is impossible not to surrender to it at some point. 

This feeling, this experience so deep that it takes hold of us when we observe a work of art, a landscape or an attractive face, is responsible for the emotions. In fact, if we think about it, one of the most important goals of art is to arouse, communicate, share or awaken emotions in the observer. Hence, such a deep connection. Now, they are not just any emotions, we are talking about aesthetic emotions.

Aesthetic emotions

Aesthetic emotions are the emotional response to beauty, to any type of beauty, according to Rafael Bisquerra, professor at the University of Barcelona. In this context, beauty can be understood as a work of art, a landscape or a specific person. Anything goes if it is capable of producing an emotional impact.

Although these types of emotions occur when we react to certain artistic manifestations, they are a phenomenon that transcends works of art, that is, they go further.  It is the emotional experience of beauty, that which is born of sensitivity, the result of the connection with what is being observed or in some cases, feeling and that produces a very pleasant sensation, almost indescribable.

Now, aesthetic emotions do not only cover the aspect of pleasure, the pleasant and the positive ; unpleasant and negative sensations also shape them. For example, when observing Goya’s painting of  The Executions of May 3, we can feel rage, anger or anxiety, depending on the meaning we give it and our personal history. Just as observing the sculpture El amor de Psique by Antonio Canova can awaken nostalgia, love and tenderness. It all depends on our gaze.

What is important is the magic resulting from the connection with beauty, the personal experience of the emotional impact. Hence, the concept of aesthetic emotions is so ambiguous, since each of us experiences them from different stimuli. In addition, they are a practically unknown phenomenon, which has both its defenders and detractors. Some of the authors who have referred to them are Dickie (1974), Lazarus (1991), Hjort and Laver (1997) and Levinson (1997).

The mystery of aesthetic emotions, and at the same time the difficulty, lies in understanding how and under what conditions they can originate  through artistic, sports, scientific, etc. manifestations. Hence, the educational field is considered one of the best contexts to initiate contact with them.

Aesthetic emotions in education

According to Rafael Bisquerra, a goal of education should be to savor aesthetic emotions. Make students aware of this type of emotions not only on a theoretical level, but also on a practical level through the introduction of situations that favor emotional experiences of an aesthetic nature. That is, learn to get excited and enjoy it, as Bisquerra points out.

This methodology not only facilitates contact with the emotional world for students, but  in some way also influences aspects such as awareness and emotional regulation. Contemplating a work of art can awaken different feelings and emotions, depending on the context and personal history of the student, who must learn to manage.

Thus, subjects such as plastic education, music, natural sciences or art history would become the main vehicle for this type of emotions from an experiential perspective, which in turn would act as a way to motivate learning. However, this implies that emotional education is considered as a cross-cutting theme that should be integrated into the curriculum. 

Works to experience aesthetic emotions

Before finishing, I would like to leave you a selection of works of art so that you can experience closely what is that of aesthetic emotions. They may or may not wake them up, it will depend on each one of you …

The Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh

Sonnet 126 by Lope de Vega

For Elisa de Beethoven

Cenotes of Yucatán (Mexico)

Ocean Atlas by Jason deCaires Taylor

Wish you were here by Pink Floyd

Alexander Milov love

Bibliographic references

Bisquerra Alzina, Rafael (2009). Psychopedagogy of emotions . Madrid: S

Cover image sculpture Expansión by Paige Bradley