Int. J. Psychoanal.

(2002) 83, 661

THE SENSE OF BEAUTY

GEORGE HAGMAN
1912 Shippan Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902, USA — gahagman@optonline.net
(Final version accepted 7 Nov 2001)

This paper proposes an integrative psychoanalytic model of the sense of beauty. The
following deŽ nition is used: beauty is an aspect of the experience of idealisation in
which an object(s), sound(s) or concept(s) is believed to possess qualities of formal
perfection. The psychoanalytic literature regarding beauty is explored in depth and
fundamental similarities are stressed. The author goes on to discuss the following
topics: (1) beauty as sublimation: beauty reconciles the polarisation of self and world;
(2) idealisation and beauty: the love of beauty is an indication of the importance of
idealisation during development; (3) beauty as an interactive process: the sense of
beauty is interactive and intersubjective; (4) the aesthetic and non-aesthetic emotions:
speciŽ c aesthetic emotions are experienced in response to the formal design of the
beautiful object; (5) surrendering to beauty: beauty provides us with an occasion for
transcendence and self-renewal; (6) beauty’s restorative function: the preservation or
restoration of the relationship to the good object is of utmost importance; (7) the self-
integrative function of beauty: the sense of beauty can also reconcile and integrate self-
states of fragmentation and depletion; (8) beauty as a defence: in psychopathology,
beauty can function defensively for the expression of unconscious impulses and
fantasies, or as protection against self-crisis; (9) beauty and mortality: the sense of
beauty can alleviate anxiety regarding death and feelings of vulnerability. In closing
the paper, the author offers a new understanding of Freud’s emphasis on love of beauty
as a deŽ ning trait of civilisation. For a people not to value beauty would mean that they
cannot hope and cannot assert life over the inevitable and ubiquitous forces of entropy
and death.

Keywords: beauty, idealisation, ideals, form, aesthetics, art, sublimation, creativity,

culture.

We observe that this useless thing which we expect festation of the ‘eternal beauty’ of God. Later
civilization to value is beauty. We require civilized philosophers understood beauty as the per-
man to reverence beauty wherever he sees it in nature
ception of truth or the perfect expression of
and to create it in objects of his handiwork as far as
he is able (Freud, 1930, p. 59).
human feeling. All of these theorists recog-
nised that the sense of beauty is an important
human capacity and that the subjective ex-
Beauty has been a major concern of Western perience of beauty is characterised by a sub-
thinkers for the past three thousand years. lime and exalted state that is unique,
Plato equated beauty with the recognition of psychologically signiŽ cant and desirable.
the eternal forms of goodness, harmony and Starting with Freud, psychoanalysts have
symmetry. Augustine saw beauty as the mani- acknowledged the importance of the sense of

Copyright # Institute of Psychoanalysis, London, 2002

662 GEORGE HAGMAN
beauty and have tried to integrate the concept the sense of beauty; but from what he did
into analytic thinking. This paper is a Ž rst write (Freud, 1905, 1930) it appears that he
attempt to offer a comprehensive approach to believed that the enjoyment of beauty was a
the problem. In the following sections I sublimation of sexual attraction: ‘All that
review the psychoanalytic literature regarding seems certain is its derivation from the Ž eld
beauty. Then, despite the variety of theor- of sexual feeling’ (1905, p. 30). He pointed
etical approaches, I offer an integrative model out how, despite their arousing nature, the
that I think will be useful to a broad array of genitals are never considered beautiful.
analysts and others interested in art and Rather it is always the secondary sexual
beauty in general. I conclude with a brief characteristics—face, hair and Ž gure—that
comment on Freud’s reverence for beauty. are granted the status of beauty. From the
I propose the following deŽ nition: beauty perspective of drive theory the sense of
is an aspect of the experience of idealisation beauty is the result of displacement and
in which an object(s), sound(s) or concept(s) sublimation in which libido is transferred to
is believed to possess qualities of formal non-sexual objects and sexual excitement
perfection. Normally the sense of beauty is becomes desexualised as aesthetic pleasure.
‘pleasing’ and may encompass a range of However, despite his claim of the sexual
affect states from a gentle sense of disinter- foundation of the sense of beauty, Freud
ested pleasure to awe and excited fascination. admitted that ‘Psychoanalysis, unfortunately,
We tend to view beauty as a quality of objects has scarcely anything to say about beauty’
(something they possess). The person be- (1905, p. 83).
lieves that the object in and of itself is An important aspect of Freud’s approach is
beautiful. Beauty may seem indubitable, as that he saw beauty not as a thing in itself, as a
intrinsic to the object as colour or shape, but quality of objects, but as a subjective process
it is the subjectivity of beauty that interests in which our experience of the world is
us, hence the use of the term ‘experience’ and idealised. In other words, beauty is concre-
‘believed’ in the deŽ nition. The beautiful tised through externalisation. This is a point
thing is felt to be perfect, exquisite, the Ž nest made by Santayana (1898) and the foundation
and the most harmonious; there is always a of later psychoanalytic approaches. The ob-
quality of the ideal with beauty. It is the ject is felt to be beautiful not because it is
object’s form that is felt to determine the beautiful, but rather because it has been made
object’s beauty, meaning not just its shape or the secondary object of erotic longings. By its
structure, but also its essence; the mode in nature, the sense of beauty lends itself to
which a thing exists, acts or manifests itself. sublimation through its symbolic content.
However, perfection of form is a necessary However, the quality of perfection embodied
but not sufŽ cient condition for beauty; the in the formal structure of the beautiful object
content of beauty is also important and may is harder to explain as the result of sublima-
relate to anything from overt sexuality to raw tion. Perhaps from a classical perspective, we
aggression. Beauty is human subjectivity ex- might extend the defensive function of beauty
pressed in ideal form. to the reparation or denial of castration
fantasies. (See Pacteau’s monograph The
Symptom of Beauty (1994) for a provocative
Literature review application of the classical model of beauty
to the defensive idealisation of the female
In Civilization and Its Discontents (1930) image in our society.) In On Transience
Freud argued that the valuing of beauty is one (1916) Freud argued that the ideal quality of
of the primary characteristics of civilised beauty can function to transcend feelings of
society. Nonetheless he wrote very little about loss and vulnerability. This notion of the
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 663
transcendental and/or reparative function of immortality. But both of them, in the simultaneous
beauty played a central role in later analytic dissolution of their individuality in a greater whole,
approaches. Unfortunately, it is impossible to enjoy, as high pleasure, the personal enrichment of
that individuality through this feeling of oneness.
know what Freud ultimately believed about
They have yielded up their mortal ego for a moment,
beauty given the brevity of his discussion of fearlessly and even joyfully, to receive it back in the
the subject. Regarding Freud’s claim that next, the richer for this universal feeling (p. 110).
psychoanalysis had nothing useful to say
about beauty, perhaps the reason Freud found
the subject so impenetrable was because of Despite the feeling of oneness, Rank
beauty’s developmental link to early stressed that the ‘enjoyer’ does not lose his/
maternal–child interaction, an area to which her awareness of his/her individuality in the
he paid scant attention (Spitz, 1985, p. 138). appreciation of beauty. Nonetheless, the sense
Later psychoanalysts expanded the under- of beauty involves an experience in which the
standing of beauty beyond a speciŽ c defence person feels intimately related to an ideal
mechanism such as sublimation to its func- other and as a result feels whole, vital and
tion in the state of the entire human psyche. enriched by the experience.
They argued that the sense of beauty was a Sachs in The Creative Unconscious (1942)
means of objectiŽ cation of fantasy in which argued that the sense of beauty involved a
the anxieties and divisions of the internal process of resolution of psychic con ict. The
world are transcended and a state of harmony, ubiquitous tensions between the ego, id and
cohesion and well being accomplished. superego are calmed when the con icting
In Art and Artist (1932) Rank wrote that drives of libido and aggression are amalga-
beauty involved the idealised objectiŽ cation mated in the formal perfection of beauty.
of the deepest, most important spiritual/ Anxiety is gone, the normally fragmented self
psychological essence of personality—the is brought together, and a sense of transcen-
soul. In the creation of artworks the artist dence predominates.
gives an ideal, objective form to his/her own
soul (or self) and makes it available to A thing of beauty—or anything as far as it has
‘enjoyers’ for their own experience of trans- beauty—represents and brings home a precise
nuance of an emotional situation. In a quite unusual
cendence. In the sense of beauty there is a
way, by the stimulating perception of the senses, the
feeling of wholeness, pleasure, lessening of possession of an Id-content is conferred on the Ego.
anxiety and the experience of merging with The effect of this activity is what we called earlier
the object that is felt to be perfect and ideal. ‘the healing of the cleft.’ A split in the personality
The effect of beauty psychologically is to has, at least for the moment, maybe permanently,
produce an optimum emotional condition in ceased to exist, or the personality has been made
which the person enjoys an ideal subjective more coherent and continuous. The Superego, shar-
ing the triumphant feeling, participates also in the
state.
activity that leads towards it (p. 151).

Once more we Ž nd art expressing the same thing as This understanding of beauty has implica-
the abstract-soul concept, only in an objectiŽ ed form, tions beyond structural con ict. Sachs saw
which we call beautiful precisely in so far as it is
beauty as one of the highest forms of human
unreal, ‘more than earthly.’ For this very essence of a
man, his soul, which the artist puts into his work and
experience embodying fundamental aspects
which is represented by it, is found again in the work of human life. Beauty is the expression of the
by the enjoyer. Thus the will-to-form of the artist internal forces of death and life.
gives objective expression, in his work, to the soul’s
tendency to self-externalization, while the aesthetic We see that life and death both have to be present for
pleasure of the enjoyer is enabled, by high oneness the creation of beauty. When we turn to the great, the
with it, to participate in this objectiŽ cation of pure beauty, we Ž nd them united by the strictest
664 GEORGE HAGMAN
interdependence. Pure beauty holds life and death, convey the feeling that struggle is over, that peace
not as toys serving for a moment’s relaxation, but has come at last. Though we may go into the depth of
 aring up to their highest intensity. The creative pain and depression again and again we carry with us
activity of the mind, in reacting to beauty, in the assurance that through all violence and evil there
producing beauty, represents the highest form of has remained this marvellous witness to the endur-
psychic life, in which all its parts—the Id, the Ego, ance of life over death. Once deathless is deathless
and the Superego are coordinated (p. 168). evermore! (p. 117).

For Sachs beauty has a metaphysical func- Rickman’s view of beauty as reparation for
tion. The life and death instincts are not just the destructiveness of our aggressive fanta-
drives, but internal manifestations of funda- sies is consistent with the object-relations
mental forces of nature. The most central theory of Klein and Segal. According to
problem of human existence, the con ict Klein, healthy development depends on a
between life and death, is resolved in the progression from the anxiety and fragmenta-
sense of beauty. Echoing Rank, Sachs be- tion of the paranoid-schizoid position to the
lieved in the transcendent integrative function progressive integration and affective stability
of beauty. Both authors emphasised the of the depressive position. Rickman’s notion
impact of the sense of beauty on self- of beauty as a means to bring about feelings
experience. The ‘enjoyer’ of beauty is deeply of wholeness and vitality in the face of
affected psychologically and experiences a destructiveness was an elaboration of Segal’s
state of merger with the beautiful object as model of creativity and beauty (Segal, 1957).
self-experience becomes more cohesive, vital Segal believed that the beautiful work of
and continuous. art conveys a sense of wholeness, complete-
John Rickman in his paper ‘On the nature ness and rhythmicy that contains within it the
of ugliness and the creative impulse’ argued expression of the artist’s (and the audience’s)
that at the heart of the creation and apprecia- authentic experience, meaning the recogni-
tion of beauty is the urge for reparation. tion and perhaps even celebration of mortal-
ity, aggression and ugliness. Thus, for her,
Our need for beauty springs from the gloom and pain beauty becomes a characteristic of reparative
which we experience from our destructive impulses processes of the depressive position, and the
toward our good and loved objects; our wish is to Ž nd sense of beauty (especially the aesthetic)
in art evidence of the triumph of life over death; we
recognize the power of death when we say a thing is
possesses the affective impact of self-
ugly (1957, p. 121). experience which resolves primitive fragmen-
tation, reduces anxiety and stimulates hope
Rickman saw the human experience as and perhaps even joy.
fraught with fear, pain, loss and death. Stokes (a colleague of Segal) added that
Destruction is not just an impulse or a drive, the mature experience of beauty must
but part of the very nature of living and of include:
loving. Rickman argued that the sense of
Two imagoes or prototypical experiences: Ž rst the
beauty involved the search for a new world
feeling of one-ness with the breast and so, with the
built on the ruins of the old. In beauty we Ž nd world: secondly, the keen recognition of a separate
the expression of the good object that, once object, originally the mother’s whole person whose
thought destroyed, is now whole and alive loss was mourned in the infantile depressive position
again. We call something ‘beautiful’ because (1957, p. 414).
that is what we feel about life when we expect
death, ‘that is what we think when we see the For Stokes the sense of beauty was a
signs of triumph over death’ (p. 117). developmental achievement that came with
the resolution of the depressive position.
One of the characteristics of beauty is its power to The American psychoanalyst H. B. Lee
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 665
wrote a series of papers on aesthetic experi- restore mental unity and harmony. The sense
ence (1947, 1948, 1950) that are the most of beauty not only functions to alleviate guilt,
sustained analysis of the sense of beauty in but also to relieve the accompanying sense of
the analytic literature. Lee argued that the ‘disorderliness’ and ‘messiness’ (1950, p.
sense of beauty arises from the inner need of 264). This experience is not simply passive
the individual—beauty is subjective. SpeciŽ - and receptive; rather the appreciation of
cally he claimed that people seek to create or beauty is a ‘passionate interaction with an
Ž nd experiences of beauty in an effort to cope object in whose esthetic content we can
with psychological crises associated with express recreative and loving intentions’
dangerous aggressive fantasies and fragmen- (p. 267).
tation. He wrote, ‘The rage that initiates the Finally, Lee claimed that there were two
esthetic activity is directed towards some kinds of emotions embodied in the beautiful
person who has thwarted either excessive object (1950, pp. 279 – 84). One is the aes-
self-regard demands or his excessive de- thetic emotion of the artist that lies latent in
mands for a maternal kind of love and the elements of the design and that contains
approval’. The aggression is unconsciously moments of spiritual harmony and perfection.
experienced as directed at the internalised The other emotions are the non-aesthetic
representation of the mother. Through artistic emotions (such as aggression, fear, desire
activity and aesthetic appreciation, the da- etc.) that are expressed through the object’s
maged object is restored and is perfected to imagery. In other words, Lee believed that the
satisfy the ideals of the mother. The experi- sense of beauty lay not in what the object
ence of beauty stems from the artist’s identi- appeared to represent but what was latent,
Ž cation with the perfection of the restored embodied within the formal structure, or
object and being found ‘love-worthy’ (i.e. design, of the object. In this way, something
loved by conscience and muse (mother)). Lee could be experienced as beautiful and thus
wrote, ‘The inner sense of beauty results from restorative and transcendent even though its
this magical regeneration of the object and content was frightful, violent or lustful. In
the union with it’ (1948, p. 520). The fact, this is the most important trait of beauty
appreciator of the art product will ‘intuit’ in in Lee’s model; self-experience can be re-
the characteristics of the work ‘the same stored if the anxiety-producing fantasies are
allegiance to ideal intentions as he is seeking given concrete expression through integrated
to renew in himself ’. The pleasure of beauty and perfected form.
derives from having satisŽ ed these inner Although Kohut never addressed the pro-
needs. The restoration of the object is not blem of beauty directly, the concept is
enough. Lee added that the object must be implicit in the experience of idealisation that
restored to a ‘unique organic unity; and the characterises selfobject experience. What is
ego intends the object not only to live again, idealised is felt to be perfect, and what is
but to be animated with an unusual sense of perfect is beautiful. Kligerman (1980), in his
aliveness’ (1948, p. 520). The sense of beauty discussion of the self-psychology of the artist,
involves the experience of ‘wholeness, per- linked idealisation and beauty as he described
fection, aliveness, and lovability’ not only of how the artist’s experience of loss of perfec-
the object but most importantly of oneself tion leads to the development of his/her life-
(p. 521). long efforts to recapture beauty. One of the
Lee added that unconscious guilt is experi- important qualities of idealisation is the sense
enced as psychical disorder due to dishar- of ‘formal’ perfection and value known as
mony within the mind. Another function of beauty. The idealised object or the grandiose
the sense of beauty is to identify with the self is experienced as possessing in its
perfect organisation of the object and thus essence a perfection of form and mode of
666 GEORGE HAGMAN
being which is beautiful. In his formulation, struggle against diminishment of the self and
Kligerman speculated that the prototypical its fantasied omnipotence.
artist is someone who experienced consistent
mirroring of his/her grandiosity in childhood.
Inevitably, this archaic selfobject experience The sense of beauty: an integration
fails and the artist-to-be is cast out from this
state of perfection. He wrote, The sense of beauty is the harmony between our
nature and our experience. When our senses and
The ensuing fall from grace is followed by a imagination Ž nd what they crave, when the world so
passionate need to recover the original beauty and shapes itself or so moulds the mind that the
perfection and later on to present the world with a correspondence between them is perfect, then per-
work of beauty (really the artist himself) that will ception is pleasure, and existence needs no apology
evoke universal awe and admiration. There are thus (Santayana, 1896, p. 269).
at least three main currents to the creative drive.
In the remainder of this paper I would like
1) An intrinsic joy in creating, related to what has to present a psychoanalytic understanding of
been termed ‘functional’ pleasure. This is perhaps beauty. This is not as difŽ cult as it might
the most important factor, but the one we know
seem given that the writings that I have
least about.
discussed above, despite their use of different
2) The exhibitionistic grandiose ecstasy of being theoretical models, describe beauty in re-
regarded as the acme of beauty and perfection and markably similar ways. The most important
the nearly insatiable need to repeat and conŽ rm contribution that psychoanalysis has made
this feeling. has been to expand our understanding of the
nature, sources and functions of the subjec-
3) The need to regain a lost paradise—the original tive experience of beauty. The following are
bliss of perfection—to overcome the empty feel-
some of the most important Ž ndings.
ing of self-depletion and to recover self-esteem.
In the metapsychology of the self this would
amount to healing the threatened fragmentation
and restoring Ž rm self-cohesion through a merger Beauty as sublimation
with the selfobject—the work of art—and a bid
for mirroring approval of the world. We can also Freud conceived of beauty as a sublimation
add a fourth current to the creative drive—the of sexual desire in which libido is redirected
need to regain perfection by merging with the
and expressed in a socially appropriate man-
ideals of the powerful selfobjects, Ž rst the parents,
then later revered models who represent the ner. A number of analysts have questioned
highest standards of some great artistic tradition the metapsychology of sublimation (Boesky,
(1980, pp. 387–8). 1986). However, given the association of
beauty with such qualities as sensuousness
From the perspective of self-psychology and strong affect, as well as the frequent
the sense of beauty recaptures ‘the original occurrence of drive-related content in beauti-
beauty and perfection’ of our original archaic ful things, I believe sublimation remains a
selfobject ties which inevitably and appropri- useful way of thinking about beauty. The
ately succumbed to disillusionment and, per- problem is the drive-based nature of the
haps, failure. Thus, the mature sense of original metapsychological model of subli-
beauty is an effort to ‘recover’ some aspects mation and the signiŽ cant limitations on its
of an archaic state in which self-experience is applicability when used in that narrow sense.
linked to a beautiful, ideal selfobject. See in To this end, I would like to discuss Loewald’s
addition Bach’s paper ‘On the narcissistic (1988) reconsideration of sublimation from
state of consciousness’ (1977) where he the vantage point of Freud’s second theory of
discussed, from a related point of view, the narcissism. Loewald examined the role of
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 667
sublimation in the internal homeostasis of Santayana refers to this as objectiŽ cation.
narcissistic and object libido and, by exten- More recently, psychoanalysts have called
sion, the reconciliation of self and world. I this process concretisation but both these
think this approach is very helpful in explain- concepts imply that a sharp distinction be-
ing the transitional quality of the sense of tween subjectivity and objectivity is possible.
beauty, especially the way in which beauty Loewald might have said that in the sense of
seems to intertwine the enjoyer’s sense of beauty the original relationship between inner
internal and external reality. Loewald wrote, and outer reality is restored. Subjectivity is
granted the quality of an object as if it were
The polarization that arises in the differentiation of an independent, external phenomenon, a
primary narcissism into narcissistic and object libido thing; and the object is granted the quality of
is counterbalanced,modulated, tempered by sublima-
fantasy and affect. Clinically, the intense
tion. Relations with external objects change into
internal ‘narcissistic’ relations, and these desexua-
emotional response and sense of identiŽ ca-
lized libidinal bonds are instrumental in molding tion with the beautiful object belies its power-
aims and relations with external objects, so that these ful link with the subjective realm. Beauty is
themselves are likely to become desexualized. Freud never experienced as fully external or inter-
said that the shadow of the object falls on the ego. nal; we feel aroused, drawn in, fascinated by
Equally, the shadow of the altered ego falls on the beautiful—inner and outer experience is
objects, and object relations. Sublimation is a kind of uniŽ ed.
reconciliation of the subject-object dichotomy—an
atonement for the polarization (the word atone
For Loewald, the experience of sublimation
derives from at one) and a narrowing of the gulf continued to function throughout life as an
between object libido and narcissistic libido, between area of unity. He wrote,
object world and self (1988, p. 20).
Sublimation then brings together what had become
From this perspective, beauty as a form of separate. It plays a decisive part in the ‘mastery of
sublimation functions to reconcile the separa- reality’ (Hartmann, 1955)—a mastery conceived not
tion and polarisation between self and world as domination but as coming to terms—as it brings
external and material reality within the compass of
that accompanies normal development. This psychic reality, and psychic reality within the sweep
is similar to Winnicott’s notion of the area of of external reality. In its most developed form in
cultural experience, the potential space that creative work it culminates in celebration. This
exists between subjective experience and ‘manic’ element is not a denial, or not only that, but
objective reality (Winnicott, 1971). As with an afŽ rmation of unity as well (1988, p. 22).
Winnicott, Loewald believed that subjectivity
and objectivity are undifferentiated in the The ‘celebration’ that characterises the
young infant, and that the transitional experi- sublimation of creative work is at the heart of
ence was of the gradually emerging differen- beauty. The ‘mania’ that frequently charac-
tiation between the two realities. Santayana terises the affective component of the sense
described this in regards to beauty in the of beauty arises from this sense of afŽ rmation
following quote: of unity as inner life and outer realities are
linked. I think that many of the analytic
There is the expression of a curious but well-known
thinkers that we have discussed would Ž nd a
psychological phenomenon, viz., the transformation
of an element of sensation into the quality of a thing. lot to agree with in the following quote from
If we say that other men should see the beauties that Loewald:
we see, it is because we think those beauties are in
the object, like its colour, proportion, or size. Our In genuine sublimation this alienating differentiation
judgement appears to us merely the perception and is being reversed in such a way that a fresh unit is
discovery of an external existence, of the real created by an act of uniting. In this reversal—a
excellence that is without (1898, p. 29). restoration of unity—there comes into being a
668 GEORGE HAGMAN
differentiated unity (a manifold) that captures sepa- unconscious, archaic sources, fantasies
rateness in the act of uniting, and unity in the act of (memories?) of paradise. However, the
separating (p. 24). powerful idealisation which beauty is is also
fragile, often transitory and can never be
Loewald also argued that even though possessed. ‘Beauty involves a holding fast to
sublimation usually results in desexualisation what exists only in the slipping away’ (Kir-
and/or ‘de-aggressivation’, the force of the wan, 1999, p. 49). The yearning that we
instinctual energy can remain strong even as experience before beauty is for an experience
it is channelled and organised by the ego that is ultimately unattainable, which is
organisation. Here Loewald distinguished be- already lost, perhaps forever. This is what
tween ‘true sublimation’ in which the ‘vital makes beauty at times unbearable: the simul-
power of passion shines through’ and ‘false taneous sense of the ideal both recovered and
sublimation’ in which there is a repression or lost. FulŽ lment and failure, presence and
gross sexualisation of behaviour. These points absence intertwined. Wheelis, in his memoir
are very relevant to our discussion, given the The Listener, describes how an encounter
variation in degree of passion involved in the with beauty can result in an excruciating
sense of beauty. experience of vulnerability:

Idealisation and beauty Great beauty in icts a wound. Private and somehow
shameful. It can neither be acknowledged nor
complained about. A deep burning pain. It will not
Idealisation is a mental process in which
go away. The pain is the longing; the wound is
an object’s qualities and value are elevated to knowing that the longing can never be fulŽ lled, that,
the point of perfection. One of the character- like hell, it will go on forever, always there inside.
istics of idealisation is beauty. Classical Beauty calls it forth as from a dark cavern, from
psychoanalysis emphasised idealisation’s some forlorn hidden place in me, and I know then
role in the formation and elaboration of that this longing is my essence. Once or twice in a
the individual’s ego ideal; and, later, self- lifetime, if I am lucky, I might venture to show it to
someone I love (1999, p. 16).
psychologists argued that the internalisation
of the functions of the idealised parent imago
was one of the poles of self-structure. On the Beauty as an interactive process
other hand, object-relations theorists viewed
idealisation as an aspect of the paranoid- Wheelis describes his almost compulsive
schizoid defence. I would argue that the life- search for beautiful women to whom he
long love of beauty is an indication of the ascribed ‘a quality of heaven, a gift of
persisting importance of idealisation during redemption, a love that would enable me to
all phases of development. In this regard, it is become what I am not, will never be’ (p. 15).
not primarily defensive. The sense of beauty For Wheelis, beauty is not just something to
satisŽ es a fundamental, healthy human need be admired; rather, it is through active
to be in relation to something or someone that engagement with beauty that we are granted
is felt to be ideal. I have coined the term release from the prison of self through a
aesthetic resonance for the way in which this transcendent fusion with another. Given its
self-experience and experience of the object archaic relational sources, I think it is also
interact in a manner similar to a dialectic important to note how the sense of beauty is
(Hagman, 2000). In this sense, beauty results not passive. The person does not simply
from this dialectic between an inner readiness submit to an experience that happens to them.
for idealisation and the encounter with an The sense of beauty is interactive and inter-
object that is ‘worthy’ of the projection. By subjective. There is a vital feeling of engage-
‘worthy’ I mean that the object resonates with ment with the object. In fact, some
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 669
experiences of beauty involve active cogni- sexual excitement and fear are expressed
tive and affective processes before the beauti- within the formal structure of beauty and the
ful experience crystallises. There is often a anxiety associated with these affects and
give and take, an engagement with the com- fantasies is reduced or eliminated by the
plex meanings of the experience. This is true holding and containing provided by the sense
of both the created artwork and the found of formal perfection. Ultimately, the sense of
object (for example a  ower). Beauty is beauty is an amalgamation of the aesthetic
always an act of creation for the viewer and and non-aesthetic emotions. Some of the
the creator. We engage with the object in a most brutal or violent fantasies, when given
dialectic out of which the sense of beauty is perfect form, are felt to be beautiful and
an outcome. However, this dialectic implies evoke both joy and terror in a single sensa-
loss and frustration as much as fulŽ lment. tion. Segal and Lee differentiate the content,
Our yearning for the ideal encounters an which may in fact be ugly, from the form of
object that Ž ts the ‘specs’, but that object, no the object, which is the expression of aes-
matter how we cajole and manipulate the thetic emotion. In the following quote, Rodin
experience, can never fulŽ l our fantasies of a describes how beauty can transform ugliness.
lost paradise. After all, the sense of beauty is
not in the object but in the space between, the We call ugly that which is formless, unhealthy, which
potential space about which Winnicott spoke, suggests illness, suffering and destruction, which are
contrary to regularity—the sign of health. We also
‘the area of yearning’ in which we attempt to
call ugly the immoral, the vicious, the criminal and
conjure up the sense of an ideal world and an all abnormality that brings evil—the soul of the
ideal self. Over time, this creative engage- parricide, the traitor, and the self-seeker. But let a
ment between self and world may deepen the great artist get hold of this ugliness, immediately he
experience of beauty as we learn more about transŽ gures it—with a touch of his magic wand he
the object or as we change in response. makes it into beauty (Rodin, quoted in Segal, 1957,
p. 401).
The aesthetic and non-aesthetic emotions
Surrendering to beauty
One of the rarely explored aspects of
idealisation is the intense affective response The encounter with beauty lifts us out of
that accompanies the process. Commonly, in everyday life and provides us with an occasion
this context, analysts have described awe, for transcendence. We do not have to be in any
wonder, excitement and vitalisation. The type of distress to Ž nd beauty invigorating and
sense of beauty is accompanied by a similar transformative. Our self-experience is intensi-
intensiŽ cation of certain affects and self- Ž ed as we share in the state of perfection. We
states; the aesthetic emotions that are experi- seek out and even cultivate such experiences
enced in response to the formal design of the and some of us become experts at producing
beautiful object, the qualities that are felt to beauty and at explaining its effects. The
give it symmetry, harmony and completeness. intensity of beauty can vary greatly. Loewald’s
The aesthetic emotion involves both an notion of passionate sublimation means that
affective response to the experience of the beauty can exhibit, at one extreme, a drive-
object and a related self-experience that like instinctual charge and, on the other, quiet,
mirrors the emotion felt towards the object. satisŽ ed contentment. At the heart of beauty
The sense of beauty may include feelings of is what Ghent (1990) refers to as the experi-
awe, joy, excitement, optimism and content- ence of surrender, the yielding-up of oneself
ment. The non-aesthetic emotions are asso- to an object, allowing one to be seen, found
ciated with and experienced regarding the and ultimately used by the other. Our yearning
content of the object. Emotions such as anger, for beauty is at least in part a desire to give
670 GEORGE HAGMAN
ourselves over to the control of something characterises tame beauty; wild beauty is
external as we succumb to aesthetic rapture. rapturous, and one experiences oneself as
Ghent believes that it is through this experi- transported, overcome by ecstasy. This is the
ence of surrender that we break out of the form of beauty that Rilke describes when he
conŽ nes of our false selves and allow our- says, ‘For Beauty’s nothing but the beginning
selves to be known, found, penetrated and of Terror we’re still not able to bear’ (Rilke,
recognised—it is a vital, natural force towards quoted in Segal, 1957, p. 403, my italics).
psychological and spiritual growth. However, Beauty, like many other psychological
there can be different degrees of surrender phenomena, can also function to deal with
and, as I noted above, varying intensities to psychological disorder. I will conclude my
the sense of beauty. On the one hand, beauty discussion by brie y reviewing some of the
can be a pleasant and stimulating sense of ways in which the sense of beauty functions
admiration; on the other a whole-hearted to alleviate psychic distress.
surrender to passionate enthralment. I refer to
these differing forms of beauty as ‘tame Beauty’s restorative function
beauty’ and ‘wild beauty’ and see them as
opposite ends of the normal range of the sense In the depressive position, good objects are
of beauty. Those people who either fear the believed to be damaged, threatened or de-
experience of surrender or, for whatever stroyed by aggressive wishes. This notion of
reason, prefer just a taste of it, may allow anxiety related to fantasies of aggression
themselves only a sense of admiration for directed towards internal objects has become
‘tame beauty’, meaning that which is agreed widely accepted in psychoanalysis. Hence,
upon and certiŽ ed as beautiful. This form of the preservation or restoration of the relation-
beauty does not involve risk or disruption to ship to the good object is of utmost impor-
self and world. ‘Tame beauty’ is easily tance. This is one of the major functions of
integrated, sensible and consistent with the the sense of beauty according to Lee and
meanings that structure the viewer’s reality— Segal. Primarily, the restorative function of
it conŽ rms one’s life-world. Much of what we beauty is tied to the relationship between
conventionally think of as beautiful is tame in expressive content (which may re ect aggres-
this sense. On the other hand, there is ‘wild sive or sexual wishes) and the perfection of
beauty’ which demands radical surrender and form (by which the content is given organisa-
total commitment from the viewer, who tion, balance and, most importantly, whole-
becomes more like a lover and supplicant, ness). In addition, recently the concept of
Ž erce, slightly panicked by the excitement internal beauty has included the idea of the
even as she is ready to do anything for the harmony of internal meaning and the coher-
beautiful one. This form of beauty disrupts ence of the idea of the object. Thus, beauty
and provokes. One is changed by wild beauty. does not have to be conventionally beautiful
It is uncontrollable and may even be wicked. if the meaning of the work is what lends it
Surrender to wild beauty may be experienced harmony, balance and wholeness. In any case,
as an act of sedition and betrayal (and may whatever the source of beauty’s effect one of
quite literally be so, as we saw in several its principal functions is to repair the feared
twentieth-century revolutionary arts move- fragmentation or damage done to internal
ments such as Dada and Futurism). One is not objects by aggressive wishes.
safe before the wildly beautiful but safety is
irrelevant. When one surrenders to wild The self-integrative function of beauty
beauty one is freed from the conŽ nes of safety
and mortality. The essence of wild beauty is The sense of beauty can also function
very different from the admiration that to reconcile and integrate self-states of
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 671
fragmentation and depletion. In many in- limated—is not always available to the pervert since
stances, where a person experiences a dis- it is directly released in the perverse act. Moreover,
order in self-experience such as depression, because he has not projected his Ego ideal onto his
father and genitality, he has not introjected his
fragmentation or depletion, beauty may func-
father’s genital attributes. The resulting identiŽ cation
tion to mitigate the disorder or restore self- gaps constitute a major obstacle to a real sublimation
cohesion or vitality. True to the transitional process. Idealization tends more toward aestheticism
nature of beauty, self-experience is power- than creation, and when creation nevertheless devel-
fully linked to the experience of the object. ops, it often bears the stamp of aestheticism. Thus art
The organisation and wholeness that is felt to is reduced to its decorative function (1984, p. 92).
be of the object is shared by the self and the
person feels a change in self-experience. ‘The In this way, for these individuals, anal
self you lose to beauty is not gone. It returns fantasies, anal products and aggressive
refreshed’ (Schjedahl, 1999, p. 58). wishes are ‘covered over’, if you will, with a
veneer of beautiful illusion by which ‘shit is
Beauty as a defence spun into gold’. The sense of beauty that
results is brittle and easily disrupted. The
In psychopathology, beauty can function constant risk is that the anal inadequacy will
defensively for the expression of unconscious be revealed with devastating results to self-
impulses and fantasies, or as protection experience. In this regard, Rittenberg dis-
against self-crisis. We have emphasised the cussed the psychological dangers associated
developmentally appropriate nature of the with a person’s enthralment with ‘charm’ a
sense of beauty, however like many other frequent quality of the sense of beauty:
subjective phenomena the sense of beauty
The pleasures of charm, to which we happily
can function as a defence or a compensation succumb, can pose dangers. Good, blank, untroubled
for deŽ cits. This is particularly appropriate sleep may give way to bad sleep, destruction and
given the way in which beauty involves death. Regression can occur in the service of the ego
powerful feelings of reparation and self- but it can open the way to ego dissolution. The
healing. Recognising the complexity of this charmer, inheritor of mother’s omnipotence, can
area, I would like to touch brie y on the restore and destroy (1987, p. 391).
writings of several authors concerned with
the pathology of beauty. Beauty is thus a way to organise pre-genital
Chasseguet-Smirgel provided an example fantasies, express them in gilded form and
of the defensive function of beauty in her cling to the illusion of power and self-
discussion of the psychodynamics of perver- sufŽ ciency. In this defensive organisation the
sion. She described how the pervert, in order sense of beauty usually does not allow for the
to maintain the illusion that his infantile depth of experience and the recognition of the
genitals are equal to those of the father and reality of the other. In her work The Symptom
satisfactory to the mother, idealises his pre- of Beauty, Pacteau describes a similar process
genital erotogenic zones and part objects. In that occurs with men in our culture as they
this way he maintains the fantasy that pre- seek to defend against the recognition of
genital sexuality is equal if not superior to infantile helplessness and loss. The image of
genitality. This leads to a compulsion to the beautiful woman demolishes the experi-
idealise and to become preoccupied with ence of separateness and allows the man to
beauty. Chasseguet-Smirgel wrote, retain an illusion of presence and possession
(see also Wheelis, 1999). Thus, for
This accounts for the pervert’s obvious afŽ nity for art Chasseguet-Smirgel’s pervert and Pacteau’s
and beauty; the pervert is often an aesthete. The male, beauty bestows the illusion of whole-
pregenital libido—which, if diverted may be sub- ness and power, while it requires that the stark
672 GEORGE HAGMAN
reality of the object world and the separate may be one of the most exquisite forms of
subjectivity of the other be denied. human meaning that exists. A civilisation that
does not value beauty would be one that
Beauty and mortality cannot hope and that cannot assert life over
the inevitable and ubiquitous forces of en-
The sense of beauty can in some instances tropy and death.
alleviate anxiety regarding death and feelings
of vulnerability associated with mortality.
Rank argued that beauty is such an affectively Translations of summary
powerful and ideal experience that, for a
moment, death and loss are overcome. In the Cet article offre un mode’le psychanalytique inté-
pure and exquisite expression of the subjec- gratif du sens de beauté, en utilisant la déŽ nition
suivante du concept de beauté: un aspect de l’expéri-
tive, the intangible and fragile are given ence d’idéalisation dans laquelle un objet(s), un
substance, formal perfection and perhaps son(s) ou concept(s) semble posséder des qualités de
even immortality. In beauty, we the creators perfection formelle. L’auteur explore en profondeur
and viewers may feel that we have become la littérature psychanalytique qui se rapporte a’ la
beauté et souligne les similitudes fondamentales. Il
part of an eternal, transcendent truth. Once poursuit en étudiant les sujets qui suivent au sein de
again this feeling of transcendence is due to ce contexte: (1) la beauté en tant que sublimation:
the transitional and idealised nature of the elle réconcilie la polarisation du self et du monde; (2)
experience of beauty. l’idéalisation et la beauté: l’amour de la beauté est
une indication de l’importance de l’idéalisation
pendant le développement; (3) la beauté comme
processus interactif: le sens de la beauté est interactif
Conclusion et intersubjectif; (4) l’émotion esthétique et non-
esthétique: les émotions esthétiques spéciŽ ques sont
vécues en réponse au dessin formel de l’objet beau;
In closing, I would like to return to the (5) s’abandonner a’ la beauté: la beauté nous offre
quotation from Civilization and Its Discon- l’occasion de nous transcender et de nous auto-
tents that began this paper. Perhaps one of the renouveler; (6) la fonction restauratrice de la beauté:
reasons that Freud claimed reverence for la préservation ou la restauration de notre relation au
bon objet est de la plus haute importance; (7) la
beauty as a required trait of civilisation was fonction auto-intégrante de la beauté: le sens de la
because beauty elevates human subjectivity beauté peut aussi réconcilier les états du self de
and human values to a transcendent level. fragmentation et d’épuisement; (8) la beauté en tant
The sense of beauty in its reparative and que défense: en psychopathologie, la beauté peut
fonctionner comme une défense dans l’expression
preservative function asserts love over ag- des fantasmes et des impulsions inconscientes, ou
gression, life over death and harmony over bien comme une protection contre une crise du self;
disintegration. It may even be one of the ways (9) la beauté et la mortalité: le sens de la beauté peut
that we reconcile our relationship with the soulager l’angoisse au sujet de la mort et des
sentiments de vulnérabilité. L’auteur termine l’article
world. Our sense of beauty may not always be en essayant d’apporter une nouvelle compréhension
certain, or consistent with high aesthetic au fait que Freud insiste sur l’amour de la beauté en
standards. We may challenge cultural as- tant que trait particulier de la civilisation. Qu’une
sumptions about the beautiful or we may even peuple n’aime pas la beauté signiŽ e qu’il ne peut pas
espérer et ne peut pas revendiquer la vie par rapport
rebel against beauty. But beauty, like sex and aux forces inévitables et omniprésentes de l’entropie
aggression, has been a reality of human life et de la mort.
in all cultures, throughout history. As we view
the sense of beauty through the psychoanaly- Dieser Artikel bietet ein integratives psychoanaly-
tic lens, we see in it humanity’s troubled tisches Modell des Schönheitssinns an und benutzt
dazu folgende DeŽ nitionen des Begriffs von Schön-
search for perfection, transcendence and heit: ein Aspekt eines Erlebnis von Idealisierung, in
hope. Beauty is not illusory, nor does it stand dem man glaubt, ein Objekt (Objekte), Klang
in or cover up for something else. Beauty (Klänge) oder Konzept(e) besitzen Qualitäten forma-
 THE SENSE OF BEAUTY 673
ler Perfektion. Es wird die psychoanalytische Litera- siguiente deŽ nición del concepto de belleza: un
tur bezüglich Schönheit ausgiebig erörtert und funda- aspecto de la experiencia de la idealización en la que
mentale Ähnlichkeiten betont. Weiterhin diskutiert se cree que un objeto, sonido o concepto posee la
der Autor dann die folgenden Themen innerhalb calidad de la perfección formal (puede tratarse de
dieses Zusammenhangs: (1) Schönheit als Sublimier- varios objetos, sonidos o conceptos). Se explora en
ung: Schönheit als Form der Sublimierung versöhnt profundidad la literatura psicoanalí´tica sobre la
die Polarisierung von Selbst und Welt; (2) Idealisier- belleza, y se hace énfasis en similitudes fundamen-
ung und Schönheit: die Liebe zur Schönheit ist eine tales. A continuación, el autor discute los siguientes
Indikation, wie wichtig Idealisierung während der temas, dentro del anterior contexto: (1) la belleza
Entwicklung ist; (3) Schönheit als ein interaktiver como sublimación: la belleza como forma de la
Prozess: der Schönheitssinn ist interaktiv und sublimación reconcilia la polarización entre el ser y
intersubjektiv; (4) die ästhethischen und nicht- el mundo; (2) la idealización y la belleza: el amor por
ästhetischen Emotionen: speziŽ sche ästhetische la belleza es un indicio de la importancia de la
Emotionen werden als Reaktion auf das formale idealización durante el desarrollo; (3) la belleza
Design des schönen Objekts erlebt; (5) Hingabe an como proceso interactivo: el sentido de la belleza es
die Schönheit: Schönheit bietet uns eine Gelegenheit interactivo e inter-subjetivo; (4) las emociones estéti-
zur Transzendenz und Selbsterneuerung; (6) die cas y las no-estéticas: como respuesta al diseño
wiederherstellende Funktion der Schönheit: die Er- formal del objeto bello, se experimentan emociones
haltung oder Wiederherstellung der Beziehung zum estéticas especí́Ž cas; (5) entregarse a la belleza: la
guten Objekt ist von äusserster Bedeutung; (7) die belleza nos brinda una ocasión de trascender y
das Selbst integrierende Funktion von Schönheit: der renovarnos; (6) la función restauradora de la belleza:
Schönheitssinn kann auch Zustände der Fragmentier- la preservación o restauración de la relación con el
ung und Entleerung des Selbst versöhnen und objeto bueno es de máxima importancia; (7) la
integrieren; (8) Schönheit als Abwehr: psychopatho- función auto-integradora de la belleza: el sentido de
logisch kann Schönheit zum Ausdruck von unbewus- la belleza puede también reconciliar e integrar
sten Impulsen und Phantasien als Abwehr benutzt estados propios de fragmentación y agotamiento; (8)
werden, oder als Schutz gegen eine Krise des Selbst; la belleza como defensa: en la sicopatologí´a, la
(9) Schönheit und Sterblichkeit: der Schönheitssin belleza puede funcionar defensivamente para expre-
kann die Todesangst und Gefühle von Verletzlichkeit sar impulsos y fantasí́as inconscientes, o como
vermindern. Zum Abschluss dieses Artikels versucht protección en una crisis propia; (9) la belleza y la
der Autor ein neues Verständnis von Freuds Beto- mortalidad: el sentido de belleza puede aliviar la
nung der Liebe zur Schönheit als ein bestimmendes angustia frente a la muerte y los sentimientos de
Merkmal der Zivilisation anzubieten. Wenn ein Volk vulnerabilidad. Al cerrar el artí́culo, el autor intenta
Schönheit nicht schätzt, würde das heissen, dass sie ofrecer una nueva comprensión del énfasis que Freud
nicht hoffen noch das Leben über die unvermeidli- puso en el amor por la belleza, en tanto que rasgo
chen und allgegenwärtigen Kräfte von Entropie und deŽ nitorio de la civilización. Para un pueblo, no
Tod bestätigen. valorar la belleza signiŽ carí́a no poder sentir esper-
anza ni aŽ rmar la vida como algo superior a las
Este artí́culo ofrece un modelo psicoanalí´tico fuerzas inevitables y ubicuas de la entropí́a y la
integrador del sentido de la belleza, usando la muerte.

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