Goethe: Life as a Work of Art

Goethe: Life as a Work of Art 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. 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.

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".