Arthur Breisky's aesthetic principles of Dandyism

The author analyzes the aesthetic views of Arthur Breisky in the context of European Dandyism. He identifies the seeds of this aesthetic in Breisky's correspondence with Bozena Dapeciova (1902-04). The author then assembles a set of principles in Breisky's published work, which, he argues, form a co herent system: Breisky stands aloof from the rest of life, maintaining the position of the ironic observer; his fundamental attitude towards life is e clecticism, towards morals immorality, and towards criticism Impressionism; this enables him at any time to identify with what he has become privy to. The ordering principle of Breisky's oeuvre is style; the work is an autono mous, rational construction, submitting its subject matter to a new structu re. Beauty is a consequence of selection and combination. The author conclu des by pointing out the relevance of some of these aesthetic principles in the postmodern context.