Beauty is frequently defined as an aesthetic quality of things which makes these objects enjoyable to see. Such items include sunsets, landscapes, beautiful humans and creative works of art. Beauty, along with aesthetic sense, is perhaps the most important area of aesthetics, among the various branches of psychology. Aesthetic evaluation or assessment is a part of aesthetic education, and students in this program will need to examine how beauty relates to the five senses as well as other cognitive aspects.

In the early years of twentieth century aesthetics, there was a division between the science of beauty and the study of beauty. In this part of the century, art had already been increasing in popularity, especially with the French Revolution. The popularity of the painting process during this time was so great that artists were acclaimed for their work no matter what their personal ideology might be. This attitude of respecting the individual’s aesthetic sense led to the endorsement of the subjective idea of beauty by the late twentieth century. The twentieth century is known as the beauty era, and this age is associated with the idealism that started the movement for artistic freedom.

Modern aesthetic theory and research are based on the work of a number of artists who have expanded and deepened the ideas of beauty, in general. However, these ideas are not solely found within the art world. The definition of beauty has also been heavily influenced by social and cultural definitions.

The beauty ideologies of different cultures are influenced by notions of beauty that are held in common by all cultures. The beauty ideologies of different cultures are based on cultural norms of beauty, which include aspects such as beauty, proportion, symmetry, and form. It is not considered a given that beauty is purely subjective. Aesthetic theory suggests that beauty is influenced by the culture from which it derives, and that beauty standards among different cultures are not static but vary depending on the changing beauty ideals of each culture.

Each culture establishes its own beauty ideals, which vary from culture to culture, and even region to region, such that beauty is seen in different ways in different times. Beauty standards also differ based on class and status, and in some cases, even gender. Beauty then, is not defined in a vacuum as it is always influenced by the values, beliefs, and thoughts of each individual. Beauty is then seen as the subjective element of an aesthetic equation.

There are beauty realities, such as beauty in nature, beauty ideologies, and even a mixture of both, and beauty standards. Beauty is therefore not a one-size-fits-all concept. It is instead a highly individual concept that is shaped by each person based on his or her own understanding and definition of beauty. This definition is most definitely influenced by the individual’s own ideas about beauty, but beauty is certainly not defined.