The Artwork of the Future

The Artwork of the Future is next to " Opera and Drama " one of the two "art - theoretical " writings of Richard Wagner, which he wrote in the period from 1849 to 1852 in Zurich.

As in his essay " Art and Revolution" Wagner laments the decay of the arts and developed his model of the new unity of the arts, the " total work of art ". His writing is Volume 3 published in his collected works and is divided into the following chapters:

• I. Man and the arts in general.

• II The artistic man and directly derived from his art.

• III. Humans as artistic creator of natural materials

• IV Principles of the work of art of the future.

• V. The artist of the future.

Wagner developed - as in his previous writings - his belief that Greek art was embedded in the Greek religion and mysticism, and by the destruction of religion solve the art from the cohesion and in " individual arts " ( drama, music and dance ) had degenerate. He complained that the art of music was stunted as pure accompaniment of the word.

Continuing his hard to read only those designs that are written in extravagant box sets with many repetitions, he goes in great detail on the development of different arts one, from the ideal state during the ancient times, to the decadence of his time. He criticized again vehemently the general social conditions, the progressive industrialization and the Christian religion, whereby it is designed to closely to Ludwig Feuerbach, whom he assisted with an accompanying letter also dedicated this font. He comes to the conclusion that the " Art of the Future " only by an association of musical art, dance and drama, in interaction with the visual arts (construction, painting and sculpture ) could develop to new heights, and that the pulses would have to come from the people. He ended his presentation with a provocative outcry against the art establishment:

In his next and most important piece - work " Opera and Drama " explains Richard Wagner then very accurately ( and highly theoretical ) as the optimal "unification" of musical art and poetry imagines. A little later he gets to the "practical" version and seals and composed spent years building his " Ring of the Nibelung " as the music drama par excellence.

Swell

• Richard Wagner: The Artwork of the Future. Wigand, Leipzig 1850. ( Digitized and full text in German Text Archive )
• Sven Friedrich ( eds): Richard Wagner; Works, writings and letters. Digital Library, Berlin, 2004.
• Richard Wagner: All writings and seals, Leipzig 1911.