On the picturesque and the beauty of simplicity.

In his writing "The Pleasures of the Imagination", Joseph Addison (17th century English author and politician) adds to the already existing categories or degrees of beauty (the sublime and the beautiful) that of the PICTURESQUE, which is that visual stimulus that provides a certain sensation of beauty that makes us crave its immortalization in a drawing, painting or photograph (which is the case of the photograph of that plant that I will put into context). Important for this concept of picturesque is novelty, strangeness, finding a visual surprise in a certain environment, singularity. Take the above as a basic notion for the following.

I've been thinking and finding out about this picturesque thing, starting with that little plant. A few days ago, I was on my way to the fresh market where I buy my vegetables on Sundays and I came across this little shrub. Since I love botany, I can't continue talking about it without mentioning its name: chicory, or Chicorium intybus (yes, it seems to be the same one we eat, but left to its own devices and unpruned, which deprives us of food but gives us flowers). But this reflection won't focus on its species, but on the simple beauty of this humble little plant with its delicate blue flowers and, most surprisingly, its stone border. These plants grow in our urban landscape like weeds; they aren't given much attention or care, and no one would sell them to me at a greenhouse. However, in this place where the market is held, let's just say that beauty isn't abundant; you don't find green, manicured gardens or tidy sidewalks. Beauty is scarce, and human beings seem to need it. This plant grew next to that power pole. Someone wanted to protect it from the footsteps of passersby. Someone saw and appreciated its light blue flowers and its charm. Someone felt a special attraction or a touch of happiness upon seeing it (I felt it too!) I think that by surrounding it with pebbles, they decided to take care of it to preserve that simple beauty that adorns that arid path.

I was moved by seeing her, I could feel that care for her and think about how much human beings need to contemplate something "beautiful" (in quotes because artists cannot say "beautiful", trauma from art school) and that this "beautiful" has to do with the attraction towards the good as a deep tendency of the soul. In terms of aesthetics, beauty can be categorized as sublime and beautiful (Longinus the Greek) and we add "picturesque" as a 3rd level added by Addison, as mentioned above. Taken this word from Giorgio Vassari (XVI), "pittoresco" as something that adds value or appeal to the painting in terms of being striking. Addison explores it with another depth, referring to the picturesque as a sensation of perfection that deserves to be immortalized, for its uniqueness, a sensation of pleasant surprise.

That little plant emerges there in the middle of that barren piece of land, surrounded by cement, pet mess, etc. And it captivates, it surprises. I will discover another aspect of the picturesque with this question: would it have attracted so much attention if it hadn't had that stone border? Perhaps not. Perhaps the main subject of the picturesque ARE the stones; perhaps that is the key to the picturesque scene. And in my investigation, I come across an essay by William Gilpin (1792), "On the Picturesque," in which he adds a factor that seems fundamental to me, especially applicable to my photography: RUIN. Gilpin adds ruin to picturesque scenes, and he hits the nail on the head: it is that imperfect thing, that being in the midst of chaos; the ruin is evidence of the transience of everything in nature. So, the picturesque in this photo, or in anything else, is that which shows us a glimpse of beauty, and the ruin is a crack, a fissure through which it can be perceived. We are also guided by contrast to beauty; in the midst of this ruin, the eye seeks that which saves and shows some harmony, which transmits and soothes something within us.