A survey of the artist in fiction that explores the development of literary archetypes for art and artists in novels, poetry, theatre and film. The anthology traces a chronology and context of art in fiction to examine the perception of the artist as magician – bohemian – outsider – visionary – courtier – businessman – or good-for-nothing. The texts present a literary perspective on the role and character of art and artists within the genres of Realism, Naturalism, Fantasy, Science-Fiction and Magic Realism. They observe the life and activity of the artist and the milieu of the studio, atelier, salon, exhibitions, galleries, dealers, art fairs and collectors. The anthology presents the concepts of of Ut pictura poesis, ekphrasis, the Künstlerroman, and l’art pour l’art that define the role of art in literature. The depiction of the character of the artist by novelists provides an insight and understanding into the social position and activity of the artist through an alternative history of art.
Presentation: The Literary Construction of the Artist in the Novel from the Künstlerroman to the Contemporary
C18th
Wilhelm Heinse, 1746-1803 Ardinghello und die glückseligen Inseln, 1787 Ardinghello and the Blessed Isles, 1787
J W von Goethe, 1749-1832 Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, 1795/96, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship
C19th
Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850 Le Chef-d’oeuvre inconnu, 1831, The Unknown Masterpiece
Henri Murger, 1822-1861 Scènes de la vie de bohème, 1847–49
Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1880 L’Éducation Sentimentale, 1869
George Moore, 1852-1933 A Modern Lover, 1883
J-K Huysmans, 1848-1907 A Rebours, 1884, Against Nature
Émile Zola, 1840-1902 L’Oeuvre, 1886, The Masterpiece
Oscar Wilde, 1856-1900 The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890
George du Maurier, 1834-1896 Trilby, 1894
C20th
Alfred Jarry, 1873-1907 Les Problèmes du FaustrolI, 1911
Raymond Roussel, 1877-1933 Impressions d’Afrique, 1910 + Locus Solus, 1914
Marcel Proust, 1871-1922 A la Recherche du temps perdu, 1913-1927
W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965 The Moon and Sixpence, 1919
Vladimir Nabakov, 1899-1977 Venetsianka, 1924, La Veneziana
Virginia Woolf, 1882-1941 To the Lighthouse, 1927
Henry Miller, 1891-1980 Tropic of Cancer, 1934
Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989 Watt, 1942-45, published 1953
Joyce Cary, 1888- 1957 The Horse’s Mouth, 1944
Alberto Moravia, 1907-1990 La noia, 1960, The Empty Canvas
John Bratby, 1928-1992 Breakdown, 1960
J.G. Ballard, 1930-2009 The Cloud Sculptors of Coral D, 1967 + Vermilion Sands, 1971
José Saramago, 1922-2010 Manual de pintura e caligrifia, 1976, Manual of Painting & Calligraphy
Georges Perec, 1936-1982 La Vie mode d’emploi 1979, Life : A User’s Manual
Serge Gainsbourg, 1928-1991 Evguénie Sokolov: a parabolic tale, 1980
W G Sebald. 1944-2001 The Emigrants (Die Ausgewanderten), 1992 The Emigrants (Max Ferber)
Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1922-2008 / René Magritte, 1898-1967 La Belle Captive, 1995
Will Self, 1961 Great Apes, 1997 + Dorian, an Imitation, 2002
Sophie Calle, 1953 Double Game, 1999 with the participation of Paul Auster
Michel Houllebecq, 1956 La carte et le territoire, 2010, The Map and the Territory