Goethe: Life as a Work of Art
{{short description|2013 book by Rüdiger Safranski}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Goethe: Life as a Work of Art
| image =
| image_size =
| border =
| alt =
| caption =
| author = Rüdiger Safranski
| title_orig = Goethe. Kunstwerk des Lebens
| orig_lang_code = de
| translator = David Dollenmayer
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = Germany
| language = German
| subject = Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
| genre = biohrapgy
| publisher = Carl Hanser Verlag
| pub_date = 26 August 2013
| english_pub_date = 16 May 2017
| media_type =
| pages = 752
| isbn = 978-3-446-23581-6
}}
Goethe: Life as a Work of Art ({{langx|de|Goethe. Kunstwerk des Lebens}}) is a biography about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by the German writer Rüdiger Safranski. It was published by Carl Hanser Verlag in 2013.
Summary
The book is a biography that focuses on the thoughts of the German writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). It covers Goethe's status in Europe and high self-esteem established with his early successes Götz von Berlichingen and The Sorrows of Young Werther, his interactions with contemporaries such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Voltaire, Friedrich Schiller and Arthur Schopenhauer, the profound influence his journey to Italy had on his cultural ideals, his interest in natural science and his views regarding theology.{{cite news |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780871404909 |title=Goethe: Life as a Work of Art |newspaper=Publishers Weekly |date=6 February 2017 |access-date=3 May 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rudiger-safranski/goethe/ |title=Goethe: Life as a Work of Art |newspaper=Kirkus Reviews |date=1 March 2017 |access-date=3 May 2025 }}
Reception
Publishers Weekly called it "a learned and arguably definitive account of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe". Kirkus Reviews wrote that Safranski "brings sensitivity and authority to a sweeping chronicle of Goethe's life".
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/buch/goethe-kunstwerk-des-lebens/978-3-446-23581-6/ Hanser]
{{Rüdiger Safranski}}
{{Johann Wolfgang von Goethe}}
Category:2013 non-fiction books
Category:Books by Rüdiger Safranski
Category:Works about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe