aesthete

noun

Etymology: From Ancient Greek αἰσθητής (aisthētḗs, “one who perceives”).

1. Someone who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature, often in a manner perceived to prioritize beauty over other qualities such as virtue and utility.

   “I prefer to think of [literature] as providing a discipline of the sensibility—a special way of apprehending reality. But though I prefer such a conception, it gives rise to all sorts of misunderstandings […] To define literature in this fashion is to risk being called a mere aesthete and even an ecapist who refuses to face the harsh facts of life.”

   “Because what the aesthete does is to say, “oh, I can transform any unpleasant experience into a moment of beauty.””