Aesthetic Ideals Research Articles

Cultivating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna by Nancy November

Reviewed by: Cultivating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna by Nancy November Elizabeth Kramer Cultivating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna. By Nancy November. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell, 2017. [x, 258 p. ISBN 9781783272327 (hardcover), $99; ISBN 9781787440739 (e-book), $24.99.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index. Cultivating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna by Nancy November is worth serious consideration by individuals who love and think deeply about music as historical and cultural phenomena and by libraries serving such patrons. In a clear, sophisticated, and carefully crafted narrative, the book takes on three paradigms that November argues have distorted our understandings of the genre: the "near-exclusive focus" on Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven; the overlooking of other composers' music—except perhaps for their string quartets—and then judging them by narrow aesthetic ideals; and the presentation of instrumental chamber music as "'au tonomous,' cut off from social situations and meanings" (p. 2). The challenge of responding to such familiar tropes is in confronting audiences and writers who have been more or less accepting of the general narrative for the past century. Her account, which unfolds through eight chapters and an epilogue, involves critiquing wider concepts of "public" and "private" and of Beethoven's place in the history. She also mines period definitions of chamber music to engage readers in a story of "culturally determined" ideals being "radically renegotiated" (p. 5). These ambitions noted, November launches into chapter 1 and a definition of chamber music in the early nineteenth century with foci on genre, [End Page 271] the dominance of the string quartet, and masculine music making. Along the way, she contrasts history's subsequent generic focus on chamber music instrumentation with the performance parameters that originally defined the genre and, in the process, looks at early nineteenth-century visual metaphors for chamber music and addresses the category of class. The chapter concludes with a subsection in which she engages Wilhelm Windelband's "idiographic" approach, which Eduard Hanslick adopted as he worked toward what he called "eine lebendige Geschichte des neueren Wiener Konzertwesens" (a living history of Viennese concert life; p. 20). She freely reformulates—"following Hanslick's methodology in spirit, although not to the letter" (p. 22)—his path into a twenty-first-century approach of "snapshots and statistics" (p. 20), the latter of which she further nuances as "'sampling,' taking snapshots, or cutting cross-sections" (p. 21). This is perhaps the first major example of her creative approach of seeking life in historical constructs from looking at the past through a historicist's lens. Embarking on her first snapshots in chapter 2, "Celebrating Haydn, Cultivating Opera," November discusses the influence of Haydn, vocal music, and the theater in Beethoven's Vienna, and she surveys the careers of Paul Wranitzky, Emanuel Aloys Förster, and Adalbert Gyrowetz, drawing on her scholarly expertise in these areas. She seizes this opportunity to discuss musical markets, compositional careers, and the generally "outward-looking character" of Viennese chamber music and stresses that ideals such as homogeneity or "purity" were "not yet shaping aesthetics of chamber music" (p. 59). The third chapter, "Selling String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna," features short subsections containing her analysis of publishing catalogs from the earliest years of the nineteenth century, which provide a nice contrast to the expository detail of the previous chapter. Her chapter conclusion again engages larger themes: the role of publishers in selling "stability" and "sociability"— themes that will reappear later in the book—and an acknowledgment that string quartets in Vienna around 1800 have perhaps been overemphasized. Her energetic dedication to a close historical reading of chamber music through the book makes this latter point hard not to accept even by readers who might have been guilty of a more complacent approach to the genre. Chapter 4, "Locating String Quartets in Beethoven's Vienna," paints a cultural landscape of early nineteenth-century Viennese quartet "homes," from music making in actual homes and salons to public concerts and the emergence of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. In her sketch, she makes copious reference to primary sources (including those outside of music) and secondary source citations. (For example, she expands on her reference...

Patriotic upbringing of younger students in class work

The article analyzes the implementation of patriotic education in the content of elementary school lesson work. It has been established that the upbringing of patriotism is one of the priority aspects of the national upbringing system and involves the formation of patriotic feelings, love for its people, a deep understanding of civic duty, and a willingness to defend the national interests of the Motherland. Examples of tasks and exercises in elementary education disciplines designed to educate children by patriots are considered. As, in the Concept of national patriotic education of children and youth it is stated that important patriotic qualities in children of primary school age appear through the prism of educational subjects of elementary school, in particular mother tongue, literary reading (through texts), mathematics (through the condition of mathematical problem) natural sciences (familiarization with traditions, respectful attitude to nature), work training (familiarization with traditional folk crafts, production of vignettes of different regions of Ukraine, decoration with different embroidery techniques ), musical art (comprehending the intonational peculiarities of music of the Ukrainian people), visual arts (forming a culture of feelings). An important place is given to the educational subject "I in the world", aimed at socializing the personality of the younger student, his patriotic and civic education. A program of Ukrainian patriotic upbringing of children and student youth, which outlines the content and basic tendencies of patriotic upbringing of the person, demonstrates that “at an early school age, it is important to shape a child's ability to recognize himself or herself as a member of a family, family, and child group; as a student, city or village resident; nurture her love for her home, school, street, her country, her nature, her native word, life, traditions [1,33]. Modern scholars distinguish the following structural components of a sense of patriotism: spiritual and moral experience and love for their native land; humanistic universal and national values; moral and aesthetic ideals of personality; creative and transformative activity for the benefit of the Motherland.

A Study of the Spiritual Expression of Corridors in Literati Gardens

Chinese ancient literati drew inspiration from traditional paintings and pursue picturesque scene in terms of artistic expression in constructing gardens. Using the method of image analysis, literature review, field investigation, and logical analysis, an important element of literati garden construction -- corridor, as the research object, was studied. As the important element of traditional Chinese gardens, corridors in the garden are not only the connection of the buildings, but also act as the guide line of the scenery, which make garden buildings connected into a harmonious whole landscape. Clearly, the interaction between the traditional Chinese painting and garden space were probed from three aspects, spatial order, spatial level and spatial imagination and reality. In sum, spatial-temporal integration, fusion of feelings with the natural setting, interdependence of being and non-being are three levels of the spiritual expression of corridors. Meanwhile, by analyzing the spiritual expression of corridors in the picturesque scene creation of garden space, the paper tries to probe into literati’s aesthetic ideals of unity between man and nature and spiritual pursuit of seclusion and detachment. What’s more, further studies according to the connotation culture of literati gardens and corridors were probed, in order to provide a reference for contemporary garden practice.

Analysis of philosophy and humanization art relationship in the first decade of the XX century

When writing the article, the authors pursued one goal: to understand why extreme subjectivity in art, the abandonment for centuries of setting traditions, laws and techniques in art led to the loss of aesthetic criteria by the modernism art, and what philosophical trends influenced this process. The methodological basis of the article is the principles of integrity, objectivity and historicism. The following methods were applied: historical and philosophical analysis, focused on the objective completeness of the study; cultural and comparative approaches aimed at establishing spiritual ties between artists of different historical eras. The article analyzes the works of philosophers and artists, such as: Bergson, Schopenhauer Nietzsche, Chirico, Apollinaire, Lenin, Bru, Kandinsky. Various directions of bourgeois art are considered. The authors believe that abstract art, fully antisocial and dehumanized, fully meets the aesthetic ideals of the modernism art, which opposed itself to human from its very birth. The authors argue that if you take the artists’ position of that time, you can make an unambiguous conclusion, the dehumanization of art could not be avoided. According to the authors, abstract art, fully antisocial and extremely dehumanized, is fully consistent with the goals of bourgeois ideologists and fully meets the aesthetic ideals of the art of modernism, which has opposed itself to man since its inception.

19세기 파르테논 다채색 논쟁에 대한 미술사적 고찰 - 『수정궁 그리스관의 채색에 대한 해명』(1854)을 중심으로

This paper outlines the polychrome controversy on ancient Greek architecture and sculpture in the 19SUPth/SUP century, focusing on the reconstruction model of the Parthenon frieze in the Crystal Palace, which opened at Sydenham in 1854. This model produced by Owen Jones, the director of the Fine Art department containing the Greek Court, provoked a wide criticism with its whole coloring. There rose active debates on the coloring of ancient Greek art n the early 19SUPth/SUP century archaeology, which were leaded by German and French scholars. Attic sculpture and architecture of the Periclean period became a crucial factor on these debates, as they were considered the highest achievement of Greek art. Until then, British archaeological circles were holding conservative opinion on this matter, based on the deep rooted classicism. However, they were compelled to respond on the movements of the continent, and the Royal Institute of British Architects investigated the Elgin Marbles of the British Museum. Their conclusion after the observation and chemical analysis of the specimens from the Parthenon and other recent discoveries from the Acropolis excavations was that, even though it is true that Greek architectures of the archaic and classical period were decorated in color, there is no evidence of coloring in the frieze, metope, and pediment sculptures of the Parthenon.BR Jones objected to this conclusion, and presented a wholly colored – including the skins of the human figures - reconstruction model of the Parthenon frieze at the Greek Court of the Crystal Palace. Exhibited on the upper part of the narrow gallery, much higher than the viewpoints of the visitors, Jones’s colored models were intended for the visitors to feel what was the original state and architectural environment of the Parthenon frieze. He also published An Apology for the Colouring of the Greek Court in the Crystal Palace (1854), where he explained his theoretical grounds for the experiments of colors. What should be considered for the reconstruction model of Jones is that his trial was an extension of the contemporary polychrome debates, where the art of the classical period represented by the Parthenon was the center of the acute conflict. Several scholars like Francis C. Penrose, who were considered as the highest authority on Classical Greek architecture in England, and other scholars on Greek literature and history, as well as artists like George Scharf, who participated in the Crystal Palace exhibition. Also leading theories of the scholars in the Continent like Franz Kugler, Gottfried Semper, Karl Otfried Müller were rapidly introduced and inspected by the British archaeological world.BR Their ultimate interest was the condition of the ‘best period of ancient Greek art,’ that is, the architecture and sculpture of the Periclean Athens, and how their ideal image became conformed to the polychrome method of decoration. There arose detailed questions if the main body of the architecture and skin of the human figures in statues were wholly colored, or they were tinted, in order not the spoil the texture of the white marble, or the ancients applied coating on the surfaces of the marble and colored on top of them. There were various attempts to find answers for them, and drew several experimental movements on this subject by the contemporary artists as well. These debates and experiments show us how the British archaeology developed from the artifacts-collecting antiquarian dilettantism to a scientific field of investigation, and how the idealistic aesthetics of classicism conflicted to the positive data of archaeology during this development, and how much significance the ideal image of the architectural sculptures of the Parthenon has for the study of Greek art in the 19th century.

Schulz nasz bliźni

When in 1947 Pierre Klossowski called the Marquis de Sade his „neighbor,” in fact he did it on behalf of an entire generation of French intellectuals, writers, and artists, for whom the „divine Marquis” became emblematic both as a source of philosophical inspiration, and as an existential figure. Soon the author of 120 Days of Sodom would be taken into consideration by Bataille, Blanchot, Camus, and de Beauvoir, and then by Barthes, Ricoeur, Lacan, Deleuze, and Kristeva, to mention only the French. Now, after several decades, it is clear that the twentieth-century humanities made his writings one of their permanent points of reference, either negative, or positive. Therefore, Sade became a neighbor of every one of them. Still, Klossowski did not only mean rational and “structural” kinship when he called the author of Juliette his “neighbor.” His statement seems to have reached much deeper, at something most intimate and dark that remains beyond the pale of reason – Schulz called it the “basic capital of imagination,” the “roots of individual spirit,” the “mythic core.” Just like de Sade, Schulz has many devotees – commentators who also are his “neighbors.” Schulz Studies stem from a statement by Jerzy Ficowski, “I have found the Authentic.” He was then followed by many scholars who were similarly dazzled and seduced, ready to „engage in discoveries.” There are more and more of them nowadays, but Schulz, like the „divine Marquis” in the 20th century, has become for us, overwhelmed by the less and less intelligible and more and more grotesque reality of the 21st century, also a point of reference and an emblem of a certain intellectual and aesthetic identity. With his new materialism, non-anthropocentrism, and the ethic of care, Schulz seems now a harbinger of a new paradigm of Polish culture, which is emerging under our eyes. Perhaps soon enough someone will claim on behalf of a whole generation of post-humanists: Schulz, our neighbor. Will it be true? For now, we are in abeyance, relying only on ourselves. In a trembling voice, with a premonition of something intimate and dark in ourselves, each of us repeats in his or her own name: Schulz, my neighbor.

Bidirectional Relations Between Disordered Eating, Internalization of Beauty Ideals, and Self-Esteem: A Longitudinal Study With Adolescents

Associations between disordered eating, internalization of beauty ideals, and self-esteem have been mainly studied in a unidirectional way. Therefore, this study explored the potential bidirectional associations between these three aspects, in a sample of 303 adolescents aged 12 to 15 (140 females and 163 males), in a 16-month longitudinal prospective study. Participants self-reported disordered eating, internalization of beauty ideals, and self-esteem. Autoregressive cross-lagged analyses showed bidirectional associations between self-esteem and disordered eating and unidirectional links between internalization of beauty ideals and disordered eating and lower self-esteem. All cross-lagged effects were equivalent across genders, except that the effect of internalization of beauty ideals at baseline on disordered eating 4 months later was higher for females. Temporal stability was moderate for all measures. These results contribute toward completing explanatory models of these problems and suggest that interventions based on the critique of esthetic ideals and on strengthening self-esteem should be implemented in early adolescence.

Virtudes sociales y atavío en Yucatán a finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX

El atavío es un elemento de la cultura material mediante el cual los cuerpos se vuelven sociales, pues trasmite y comunica pautas de comportamiento vinculadas a ideales morales, éticos, estéticos, así como de distinción social determinados por una sociedad. Este artículo analiza los significados construidos en torno a la indumentaria a partir de los códigos de conducta presentes en manuales de moral, urbanidad y tratados de economía doméstica publicados en Mérida o que circularon en Yucatán durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX. Este tipo de textos trasmitía las virtudes sociales afines a la civilidad, la moral y el progreso económico que modelaría al sujeto social de las utópicas naciones en formación, razón por la cual en las escuelas primarias y preparatorias del Estado los más jóvenes debían conocer, aprender y asimilar ciertas prácticas y conductas del lenguaje del vestido que, se consideraba, garantizarían su adecuado desenvolvimiento en el ámbito público y privado. Esta propuesta busca contribuir al estudio de las costumbres, comportamiento y mentalidades detrás de la indumentaria yucateca decimonónica y su transición hacia la modernidad.

Silence / Signification Degree Zero: Walter Benjamin’s Anti-Aesthetic of the Body

Abstract This essay examines Walter Benjamin’s opposition against traditional aesthetics and his development of an alternative, a decidedly anti-aesthetic approach. More specifically, it focuses on how Benjamin launches a frontal attack on Idealist aesthetics in the theory of ancient tragedy expounded in the Trauerspiel book and how he develops his own alternative conception in critical delineation from it. Closely examining his engagement with Nietzsche, Hölderlin, Hegel, and Solger, the essay shows how Benjamin’s entire theory is construed as a pointed response to a long and complex discourse on tragedy. Through a reconstruction of these debates, it becomes evident that the core of Benjamin’s critique concerns the relation between universal and singular in Idealist aesthetics, spelled out in a theory of reconciliation that is directly tied to the themes of fate and sacrifice. Against this background, the essay then analyzes – drawing both on Benjamin’s reception of Franz Rosenzweig as well as the work of Giorgio Agamben – Benjamin’s notion of silence as a retreat from language and meaning, as an immersion into the body. Instead of offering an image of reconciliation, tragedy, for Benjamin, then appears as the site where bodily singularity and impotentiality fragments the totality of signification, where meaning is disrupted and reduced to degree zero.

FEMALE HAIRSTYLE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY OF BEAUTY

The purpose of the article is to determine the features of the development of women's hairstyles in the context of the specificity of the beauty philosophy of the era of Antiquity. The methodology consists of the principles of objectivity, historicism, multifactorial character, systemic nature, complexity and pluralism; and to achieve the goal, the following methods were used: problem-chronological, concrete historical, statistical, descriptive, logical-analytical. Scientific novelty. An art history analysis of works of art was carried out in order to determine the specifics of the stylistics of female hairstyles in Greece and Rome (5th century BC – I 5th century AD); the influence of visual images of ancient Greek goddesses created by ancient masters on the formation of the ideal of female beauty and the popularization of new styles of female hairstyles, according to the ancient philosophy of beauty. Conclusions. Based on the study of female hairstyles of the era of Antiquity, it is proved that their style features are one of the aspects of the modification of human beauty, according to philosophical views and aesthetic ideals. Combining utilitarian, aesthetic and symbolic functions, the female hairstyles of the goddesses of the Olympic pantheon reflect the material, spiritual and social position of society, meet the artistic and aesthetic views characteristic of the Antiquity, the beauty ideals of which, despite transformations and modifications in the process of evolution, retained specific characteristics, corresponding to the established mentality of ancient Greek culture.

Fernand Khnopff and the Aesthetics of Intimacy

ABSTRACTThe work of artist Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921) is deeply embedded in the interior. On the one hand, unlike contemporaries such as Ensor, Rodenbach or Verhaeren, Khnopff was fascinated with the aesthetics of architecture, as evidenced in the careful design of his studio/home. On the other hand, his own work betrays an obsession with interiors expressed in still-lifes and portraits, many of which depict his sister, Marguerite, in a series of elaborate poses. This article explores the role of intimacy in Khnopff’s interior scenes and artist’s house in light of the aesthetic ideals of Symbolism, together with the artistic and social context of nineteenth-century Belgium. It argues that the interior for Khnopff not only provided a platform upon which familial relationships and the place of the artist in society could be interrogated but more radically, the intimacy of home life also emerges as a place to negotiate and question interactions between the observer and observed, painter and subject, artist and viewer. This article proposes that Khnopff is not simply a Symbolist, but must also be seen as an Intimate Modernist, firmly rooted in nineteenth-century life and where, in a rapidly changing society, the home and its representation, serve to challenge aesthetic boundaries and pave a way forward for modern art.

Writing for CBC Wartime Radio Drama: John Weinzweig, Socialism, and the Twelve-Tone Dilemma

Radio drama was a quintessential source of entertainment for Canadian audiences during the Second World War, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) used the art form to distribute propaganda and garner support for the Canadian war effort. Similarly, CBC radio drama became an essential artistic outlet for artists and composers to articulate their political beliefs to a national audience. This article frames Canadian composer John Weinzweig’s works for the CBC radio drama series New Homes for Old (1941) within the socio-political climate of the 1930s and 1940s and suggests that radio drama provided Weinzweig with a national soapbox for his radical socialist ideals during a time of political upheaval. My research draws on archival materials from Library and Archives Canada, the CBC Music Library Archives, and Concordia’s Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism Studies to build upon the biographical work of Elaine Keillor and Brian Cherney. I establish Weinzweig’s socialist ties and argue that his political leanings prompted him to simplify his serial language in favour of a simplified modernist aesthetic, which appealed to Canada’s conservative wartime audiences. This study of Weinzweig’s radio works reveals how the composer desired to make serial compositions accessible and palatable, and shows how he incorporated vernacular idioms such as folk songs and national anthems as foils to the elitist European serial aesthetic. In doing so, I show how Weinzweig uses a powerful and pervasive medium to promote his unique compositional style and also to reflect the cultural, political, and aesthetic ideals of leftist socialism.

Gender-Related Facial Surgical Goals.

In the last several years, there has been an increasing demand for surgical facial feminization or masculinization to treat the gender dysphoric patient. However, while aesthetic ideals for facial rejuvenation are well described and taught, there is a relative paucity of literature on how to achieve a feminine or masculine morphology. It is thus becoming increasingly important for facial plastic surgeons to understand patient goals regarding facial feminization or masculinization, and to have a systematic approach for analyzing the female and male face.

EXPANDING THE ARENA OF SPORT NUTRITION

Apply It! A sports RDN can help active individuals of all levels and abilities achieve their performance and/or health goals. At the end of this article, you should be able to apply your knowledge to: Consider referring patients or clients who work in physically demanding professions or environments to a sports RDN even if they aren’t “traditional” athletes. Look for an RDN who has the Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) credential. Summary Statement Outside of collegiate and professional athletics, the expertise of the sports RDN is highly underused. Find out how sports RDNs working with less traditional athlete populations have found their niche and are expanding the arena of sport nutrition practice. Pulled Text Among different styles of dance, ballet dancers tend to be the leanest and have the lowest body fat percentages (6,7). They generally have low energy intake (70%–80% of recommended) and high rates of eating disorders (EDs) or disordered eating behaviors. It is estimated that their risk for developing an ED is three times that of nondancers (8). The most common manifestations of low energy availability that Moretti encounters in her practice are menstrual irregularities, iron deficiency, gastrointestinal issues, and bone stress injuries. She explains that, “dancers are aesthetic athletes, which means there is a delicate balance between maintaining a strong body and supporting the aesthetic ideals of the profession. My role is to help these dancers achieve both.” “High schools are an untapped opportunity to provide and support both the development of good eating habits for performance but also for lifelong health and wellness. The reality is that only 6% to 8% of high school athletes will continue with their sport in college, and providing education to this group will hopefully set them on a path to become healthier and understand the role food has on their body, not just for performance but when sports end.”

Object Lessons: Derek Mahon's Material Ekphrasis

Abstract Derek Mahon, like many writers of ekphrastic poetry, uses the interartistic encounter as an opportunity to meditate on his own aesthetic practice. While the self-reflexive dimensions of Mahon's ekphrases have received considerable critical attention, the implications of his choice of source material remain underexamined. Many of Mahon's ekphrases respond not simply to paintings, but to works depicting three-dimensional objects and architectural spaces: indeed, he sometimes treats rooms and things as though they were the art objects in question. This is the case in a variety of poems, from “Courtyards in Delft” and “The Studio,” to later ekphrases like “Studio in Antibes,” and “New Space.” As these titles suggest, many of the objects and spaces he chooses are used in the production of further artworks—some of his best-known material ekphrases are responses to artists' rooms. This predilection repays critical attention, as the materiality of Mahon's ekphrastic writing shapes its metapoetic work in significant ways. Many of Mahon's aesthetic reflections concern abstraction, materiality, craft, and making, and these concerns take on additional complexity when the ekphrastic sources themselves involve physical things. Most importantly, Mahon's material ekphrases shed light on some of the ambivalence and ambiguity attending his aesthetic ideals.

АНТИЧНА ЗАЧІСКА В ІСТОРИКО-ХУДОЖНЬОМУ КОНТЕКСТІ ЕВОЛЮЦІЇ МОДИ

The purpose of the article is to determine the peculiarities of the development of ancient hairstyle in the historical and artistic context of the evolution of world fashion as an important element of clothing and part of the person’s image. The article highlights the peculiarities of changes of traditional features of ancient hairstyles through different historical periods in accordance with the requirements of the time. The research methodology. To fulfill the research purpose, scientific-theoretical, art critical and methodical literature was analyzed. The following methods of scientific cognition were also used: problem-chronological, concrete-historical, statistical, descriptive, and logical-analytical.The scientific novelty of the work lies in the research into the invention of new techniques in hairdressing and the functioning of different styles, trends and tastes in modern hairstyling. Conclusions. In the process of historical development, the traditional features of ancient hairstyle as an important element of clothing constituting the person’s image have undergone transformation in accordance with the change of aesthetic ideals of specific historical periods - from antiquity to contemporaneity. Due to this fact, classic canons of beauty of hair and ways of its dressing have been changing in accordance with the requirements of the time, being constantly enriched and modified.

Metrics of the Aesthetically Perfect Breast.

Breast surgery has long been viewed as an art more than a science. However, defining and objectively measuring the ideal breast morphology and aesthetic proportions are fundamental for surgical planning and to setting the goals of surgery as well as to evaluate surgical outcomes. Despite the fact that much has been written about aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery, there is still no real consensus about what the attributes are of an ideal breast. Moreover, there are in fact no objective standard measurement systems and guidelines to describe ideal or even normal breast shape. Though there is great variability in the perception of beauty among patients and surgeons alike due to many factors among which are age, sex, and sociocultural background, there is common agreement that beauty is a universal phenomenon that has a universal standard present across all civilizations and centuries, and that perceived beauty is enhanced and optimal aesthetics are achieved when proper measurements are made and anthropometric proportions as well as attractive harmonious ratios are respected. The current review is an attempt to summarize the most relevant information available trying to introduce some harmony in our perception of aesthetic ideals of breast surgery. Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

La promesa de felicidad en Proust y Miró

A menudo se han comparado las obras de Marcel Proust y de Gabriel Miró. Las afinidades estéticas de los dos autores contemporáneos se pueden entender a partir de sus modelos comunes decimonónicos. Entre ellos, Stendhal ocupa un lugar especial. Su sentencia sobre la belleza como una «promesa de felicidad» que cambia según el tipo de felicidad esperado en diferentes épocas y lugares, aparece en varios pasajes de À la recherche du temps perdu y de El obispo leproso. El uso narrativo del aforismo estético le añade nuevos contextos: mientras que Proust lo interpreta a la luz del impresionismo y a la sombra de la antropología moralista, Miró contrasta la «promesa de felicidad» con la promesa de salvación cristiana.

Modern Business Philosophy: the Brand as a Phenomenon of Culture

The concept of brand as a set of information about a company, product or service, legally protected by recognizable symbols, is well known. Significantly less studied brand as a phenomenon of the art market. In this context, the goal of the research was formulated – to identify the signs of the brand, which is not just a part of the business culture, but a cultural phenomenon in general. We had to discuss a number of other aspects. First, the influence of the historical roots of culture on the formation of the brand. Secondly, the receptivity of the brand's creators to the aesthetic ideals of culture of different eras. Third, the ability to maintain ethical and high standards of culture in the development of the brand. The practical value of the research can be attributed to the possibility of applying its results in real business practice in the luxury retail management.

Formation of the Talysh Ethnos Worldview under Geoethnic Conservation Area Conditions

Formation and development of the Talysh ethnic consciousness under the conditions of the Talysh ‘geoethnic reserve’ have been analyzed. Certain ethnoforming elements of the Talysh culture, i.e. factors promoting preservation of the basic constants of the Talysh ethnic consciousness, have been revealed. On the one hand, it is a cult of rocks, stones, groves and trees, and on the other hand it is worship of air, water, land and fire, which with the appearance of Zoroastrianism at first, and later of Shia Muslim, were not absorbed and peripheralized, but filled with new religious and ethical contents presenting moral and esthetic ideals of the Talysh people. The role of a myth and religion as an obligatory early stage of formation of the Talysh ethnic culture has been determined; regularities of formation of the Talysh ethnic consciousness have been shown; steps of ethnogenesis and a world view of the Talysh ethnos have been enlightened. Introduction of strange cultural tradition components could not eliminate the existing valuable attitude of ‘the geoethnic reserve’, but right opposite, they created syncretic environment stimulating evolution of the Talysh ethnic consciousness towards world judgment in the system of moral and ethical images considerably enriching the Talysh ethnos outlook. Having been formed this syncretic environment effected significantly the Talysh ethnos social attitude, as well as, predetermined a prevalent character of religious values in Talyshes spiritual and socio-political life.