LECTURE 12

Aesthetic Formalism

MR. DAN RANDOLF PARCO FRANCIA

Instructor I
Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges
Nabua, Camarines Sur
LESSON 12

1. AESTHETIC FORMALISM. Theory which stresses that beauty of an

object is determined by the relationship of the parts that composed
the whole according to some objective principles.
 
2. ORDER. Fundamental principle of beauty which refers to the whole
divided into parts.
 
3. STRUCTURE. Fundamental principle of beauty which refers to the
parts composing the whole.
 
4. PROPORTION. Specific principle of beauty which refers to the
relationship of the parts with one another.
 
5. INTEGRITY. Specific principle of beauty which refers to the whole in
relation with itself.
6. SIMPLICITY. Individual principle of beauty which refers to the
number of parts which composed the whole. The lesser number
of parts, the more simple.
 
7.HYLOMORPHISM. Philosophical basis of aesthetic formalism. It
asserts that everything is ultimately composed of primary
matter and substantial form.
 
8. ARISTOTLE. Ancient Greek thinker & philosopher (384-322 BC)
who theorized about the basis of hylomorphism.
 
9. THOMAS AQUINAS. Medieval theologian and philosopher
(1225-1274) who developed the theory of hylomorphism by
Aristotle. He wrote the Summa Theologica.
 
 Thomas
Aquinas
1225-1274

AESTHETIC
FORMALISM

Aristotle
384-322 BC
THEORETICAL BASIS OF
AESTHETIC FORMALISM

Hylomorphism
Everything is composed of
FORM and MATTER
substance accidents
(chairness) (blue, wooden)
ESSENCE SENSE DATA
Hylomorphism

Substantial
Primary
THING
Form
Matter
THE FORM OF BEAUTY

Fundamental Principles
ORDER
STRUCTURE

Specific Principles
PROPORTION
INTEGRITY

Individual Principle
SIMPLICITY
 ORDER STRUCTURE
Whole divided into parts Parts composing the whole

Part Part Part

Whole 2 3
1

Part Part Part Whole

1 2 3
No order and no structure

UGLY
With order but no structure

UGLY
 Dali
Galatea of
the Spheres
1952
Without order but with structure

UGLY
 Picasso
Bust of a
Woman
with a Hat
1939
With order and with structure

BEAUTIFUL
 Matisse
Portrait of
Madame
Matisse
1905
 PROPER PROPORTION
Relation of parts with one another

Proportional Disproportional
BEAUTIFUL UGLY
DISPROPORTIONAL PROPORTIONAL

Leonardo, Scaramuccia Picture of Tom Cruise

 OVERALL INTERGRITY
Relation of whole with itself

Integral Disintegral
BEAUTIFUL UGLY
DISINTEGRAL
 SIMPLICITY
Less number of parts
Less number of connection

1 2
 SIMPLICITY
Less number of parts
Less number of connections

2 3
 SIMPLICITY
Less number of parts
Less number of connections

3 4 5 6
 GOD
Absolutely simple being
Pure spirit without any parts
Essence identical with existence

ABSOLUTELY AND
PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL
“Beauty is the harmony of proper proportion.”

1 2 3 4
Proportional Disproportional Proportional Disproportional
BEAUTIFUL UGLY BEAUTIFUL UGLY
Megan Young
Miss World
Philippines
2013

BEAUTIFUL
FEMALE BODY
Vital Statistics
36-24-36
 36-24-36 36-24-36 36-24-36
5 feet 8 inches 7 feet 4 inches 4 feet 6 inches
PROPORTIONAL DISPROPORTIONAL DISPROPORTIONAL
BEUTIFUL UGLY UGLY
 36-24-36 48-36-48 24-18-24
5 feet 8 inches 7 feet 4 inches 4 feet 6 inches
PROPORTIONAL PROPORTIONAL PROPORTIONAL
BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL
 Leonardo
Vitruvian Man
1490

A Study on the
Canons of Human
Proportion According
to Vitruvius
VITRUVIAN
MAN AND
HUMAN
NATURE
SPIRITUAL
 Zen Circle
Painting

The circle in
this painting
represents the
spiritual nature
of the world,
its infinite
and eternal
dimension
Kandinsky
Several Circles
1926

He believes that
his composition
expresses the
spiritual quality
of art
MATERIAL
El Greco
Christ
Carrying
the Cross
1578

SQUARE HALO

It means that
Jesus is on earth,
the material world.
 Malevich
Red Square
1915

STYLE
Suprematism
CIRCLE

SQUARE
ARCH
 El Greco
The Burial of
Count Orgaz
1586

HEAVEN
Spiritual
World

EARTH
Material
World
 Minor Basilica
of St. Michael the
Archangel, Tayabas
Quezon, 1894

STYLE
Baroque
Architecture
Manila
Cathedral
Intramuros
Manila
1581

PRESENT
STRUCTURE
1958

ARCHITECT
Fernando Ocampo

STYLE
Romanesque
Architecture
Conversion of
St. Paul Parish
Church, Pitogo
Quezon, 1817

STYLE
Baroque
Architecture
Miag-ao Church
Iloilo, 1797

STYLE
Baroque
Architecture
 San Sebastian
Church, Quiapo
Manila, 1891

ARCHITECT
Genaro Palacios

STYLE
Gothic Architecture
MYSTICAL
 TRESPICO
MEDALLION
The Infinito
Dios and the
Tres Personas
Great Pyramids of Giza, 2,500 BC, Egypt
 SUPER
NATURAL
Logo of Superman
The Pentagon, Arlington County,Virginia, USA
MAN
Spiritual
Material
Mystical
Supernatural
 Arche
“MAN is the
measure of
all things.”

PROTAGORAS, 453-360, Crete

DR. ALLAN C. ORATE, UE
Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man was based on
the book by MARCUS VITRUVIUS entitled
De Architectura, 15 BC.
PERFECT PROPORTION OF MAN
ACCORDING TO VITRUVIUS

•the length of the outspread arms is equal to the height of a man

•from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of the height of a man
•from below the chin to the top of the head is one-eighth of the height of a man
•from above the chest to the top of the head is one-sixth of the height of a man
•from above the chest to the hairline is one-seventh of the height of a man.
•the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of the height of a man.
•from the breasts to the top of the head is a quarter of the height of a man.
•the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of man’s height
•the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of the height of a man.
•the length of the hand is one-tenth of the height of a man.
•the root of the penis is at half the height of a man.
•the foot is one-seventh of the height of a man.
•from below the foot to below the knee is a quarter of the height of a man.
•from below the knee to the root of the penis is a quarter of man’s height
•the distances from below the chin to the nose and the eyebrows and the
hairline are equal to the ears and to one-third of the face.
NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
VITRUVIAN
MAN
 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
1 VITRUVIAN
2 MAN
3
4

Height of 4 Fingers = 1 Palm

 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
1 VITRUVIAN
2 MAN

3
4

Height of the Head = 4 Palms

1 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
2 OF THE
VITRUVIAN
3 MAN

4
Height of
5 the Man
=
6 8 head

8
 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
VITRUVIAN
MAN

Middle of
the Height
is at
Root of
the Penis
 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
VITRUVIAN
MAN

Width of
the Shoulder
=
Quarter of
the Height
 NUMERICAL
PROPORTION
OF THE
VITRUVIAN
MAN

Lenght of
the Foot
=
One Seventh
of the Height
Height of
the Man
=
Lenght of
Outspread
Arms
 NUMERICAL
1 PROPORTION
OF THE
2 VITRUVIAN
MAN
3
4

Height of the Head = Equally Divisible by Four

1

BEAUTIFUL
1

BEAUTIFUL
 1
Leonardo 2
Scaramuccia 3
1504

UGLY
 Leonardo
Grotesque 1
Face, 1504
2

UGLY
Leonardo
Profile of 1
a Man
1504 2

BEAUTIFUL
 Leonardo
Grotesque
1
Face, 1504

2
3

UGLY
Leonardo, Drawings of Grotesque Faces
Leonardo, Drawings
of Grotesque Faces
Leonardo, Drawings
of Beautiful Faces
 Ideal
Proportion
for Adult
Human
Male
 Brad Pitt
in the Film,
Troy, 2004

Achilles
Versus
Hector
 Leonardo
Vitruvian Man
1490
Cesari
Cesariano
Vitruvian
Man
1511
Agrippa, Vitruvian
Man, Illustrations
in the Philosophia
Occulta, 1533
VITRUVIAN
WOMAN

Susan White,
Sex Change for
the Vitruvian
Man, 2005
VITRUVIAN
CARTOON

Mark Growling
The Simpson
1994
EURO
COIN
 AESTHETIC
FORMALISM AS
MATHEMATICAL
THEORY OF
BEAUTY
 What is the
ultimate reality?
ULTIMATE REALITY: NUMBER
Eternal, Unchanging, Indestructible

PYTHAGORAS
570-490 BC, Samos
 THE GOLDEN MEASURE
 

1. GOLDEN SECTION. Division of a line so that the whole is

to the greater part as that part is to the smaller part.
 
2. GOLDEN RATIO. Geometric relationship between two
quantities in which the ratio of the sum of the quantities to
the larger quantity is equal. By numerical computation, the
ratio is equivalent to 1:1.618.
 
3. GOLDEN RECTANGLE. Rectangle whose side lengths are in
the golden ratio.
 GOLDEN SECTION
a b

b c

c d

d e

GOLDEN RATIO
a b c d 1.618
= = = =
b c d e 1
 GOLDEN RECTANGLE
a

b
d
e

c
Spiral of the Nautilus Shell
Mondrian, Composition with Gray and Light Brown, 1918
Parthenon, Athens Greece, 500 BC
 Design of the Parthenon based
on the measure of Golden Rectangle
Proportion of The Mona Lisa based
on the measure of Golden Rectangle
 Golden ratio
in the design
of the logo
of Apple
Golden ratio in the design
of the logo of Tweeter
 Ancient Greek Vitruvius Leonardo
Classical Sculptures Proportion of Man Vitruvian Man
400 BC 100 AD 1500
Kouros Ancient
Greek Sculpture
600 BC
 Praxiteles,
Doryporus
(Spear Bearer)
Praxiteles,
Hermis,
340 BC
 Myron,
Discobolus
(Disk Thrower)
 Venus
de Milo
150 BC
Michelangelo,
David, 1501
Tolentino,
Oblation
 Tolentino
Alma Mater
(Lualhati)
AESTHETIC FORMALISM

Pentagram and
The Golden Ratio
 SUMMARY OF THE THEORIES OF BEAUTY
THEORY BEAUTY UGLY
IDEALISM Reality, Truth, Good Illusion, Falsity, Evil

FUNCTIONALISM Fuction, Malfunction,

Usefulness, Utility Uselessness, Futility

HEDONISM Pleasure Pain

Agreed to be Agreed to be
CONVENTIONALISM beautiful by people ugly by people
in the society in the society
PSYCHOANALYTIC Positive suggestion Negative suggestion
THEORY in the subconscious (Trauma)
Order, Structure Disorder, Unstructure
FORMALISM Proportion, Integrity Dispropotion, Disintegrity
Simplicity Complexity