The return of beauty? (Aesthetics)

The essay questions some aspects in the current propagation of a "return of beauty" and suggests that in fact there has merely been a boost in the discourse on beauty - whilst beauty itself has permanently and abundantly been around. Modern objections to beauty did not do away with beauty altogether but only attacked established types of beauty in favor of other ones. The paper critically discusses some effects of the present re-appraisal of beauty that are devastating to the perception and production of art. Finally, it is recommended that we devote more attention to the phenomenon of breathtaking beauty and the fact of its universal appreciation without limitation to cultural context.