In this article, we want to show the relevance and importance of
melancholy as an aesthetic emotion. Melancholy often plays a role in our
encounters with art works, and it is also present in some of our
aesthetic responses to the natural environment. Melancholy invites
aesthetic considerations to come into play not only in well-defined
aesthetic contexts but also in everyday situations that give reason for
melancholy to arise. But the complexity of melancholy, the fact that it
is fascinating in itself, suggests the further thought that it may be
considered as an aesthetic emotion per see. To this end, we argue that it
is the distinctive character of melancholy, its dual character and its
differences from sadness and depression, which distinguishes it as an
aesthetic emotion.
