Synopses & Reviews
Translated by Ellen von Nardroff and Ernest H. von Nardroff
The reflections on art and literature that Goethe produced throughout his life are the premise and corollary of his work as poet, novelist, and man of science. This volume contains such important essays as "On Gothic Architecture," "On the Laocoon Group," and "Shakespeare: A Tribute." Several works in this collection appear for the first time unabridged and in fresh translations.
Synopsis
Translated by Ellen von Nardroff and Ernest H. von Nardroff
The reflections on art and literature that Goethe produced throughout his life are the premise and corollary of his work as poet, novelist, and man of science. This volume contains such important essays as "On Gothic Architecture," "On the Laocoon Group," and "Shakespeare: A Tribute." Several works in this collection appear for the first time unabridged and in fresh translations.
Table of Contents
PREFACE ix
PART ONE: Essays on Art
I. ARCHITECTURE 3
On German Architecture 3
On Gothic Architecture 10
II. ANCIENT ART 15
On the Laocoon Group 15
Myron's Cow 23
A Grave Near Cumae 29
III. EUROPEAN ART 37
Giuseppe Bossi: On Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper at Milan 37
Giotto's Last Supper 59
Ruisdael as Poet 62
Rembrandt the Thinker 66
Two Landscapes by Philipp Hackert 68
IV. THEORY AND HISTORY OF ART 71
Simple Imitation, Manner, Style 71
On Realism in Art 74
Introduction to the Propylaea 78
Ancient versus Modern 90
A Challenge for a Modem Sculptor 93
Christ and Twelve Figures from the Old and New Testaments:
A Suggestion for Sculptors 95
Winckelmann and His Age 99
The Collector and His Circle 121
PART TWO: Essays on Literature
I. LITERARY CRITICISM 163
Shakespeare: A Tribute 163
Shakespeare Once Again 166
Laurence Sterne 174
On Byron's Manfred 175
On Byron's Cain 177
Dante 180
On Calderon's Daughter of the Air 182
A German Gil Blas 184
Faust (Tragedie de Monsieur de Goethe) 186
II. LITERARY THEORY 189
Response to a Literary Rabble-Rouser 189
On Epic and Dramatic Poetry 192
Didactic Poetry 194
On Greek Tetralogies 195
On Interpreting Aristotle's Poetics 197
Plato as Party to a Christian Revelation 200
Stages of Man's Mind 203
Justus Moser: Superstition and Poetry 205
On Carlyle's German Romance 206
Advice for Young Poets 208
Further Advice for Young Poets 209
PART THREE: Observations on Art and Literature
On Dilettantism 213
On Acting 216
On World Literature 224
POSTSCRIPT 229
NOTES 241
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 263
INDEX 265