PLACES IN AESTHETICS: FROM EMBLEM TO EXPRESSION

  • Whateley

In 1770, Thomas Whateley wrote about the difference between 'emblematical characters' (those which depend on an allegorical code) and 'expressive characters' (those which naturally affect the imagination)

Thomas Whateley, Observations on Modern Gardening (1770)

Ch.XLVIII. Of emblematical characters.
The cypress, because it was used in funerals, has been thought peculiarly adapted to melancholy. Â…All these devices are rather emblematical than expressive.

Ch.L. Of original characters.
Certain properties, and certain dispositions, of the objects of nature, are adapted to excite particular ideas and sensationsÂ…. Barrenness itself may be an acceptable circumstance in a spot dedicated to solitude and melancholy.

 

  • Emblematic and expressive landscapes
The landscape garden of Stourhead (Wiltshire) can be interpreted as both both emblematic - on account of its symbolic buildings - and expressive - because of the general mood it suggests.
  • Present-days view of the transition 'from emblem to expression'

see JSTOR again: reviews of Ronald Paulson's book 'from emblem to expression' (JSTOR: a university subscription accessible as usual on the 'Bibliothèque électronique' pages of the university)