The Grotesque in Art and Literature

by Wolfgang Kayser, Ulrich Weisstein (Translator)

The art of our own day shows a greater affinity to the grotesque than that of any other epoch. Modern novels, modern paintings and sculpture are replete with grotesque features. In this modern classic of criticism, Wolfgang Kayser traces the historical development of the grotesque from the Italian Reanissance (which originated the word "grottesco") through the "chimeric" world of the commedia dell'arte, Sturm und Drang, the age of Romanticism and nineteenth century "realism," to its modern forms in poetry, dream narration and surrealist painting.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, History, Literature, Theory

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are parts of this book that are brilliantly illuminating, but other parts are like trudging through ankle deep mud. It's not that the book is inconsistent, it's that the examples Kayser chooses are so obscure that he has to explicate them and his summaries are hazy. Sometimes I couldn't even tell why he chose the examples that he chose. But when he's talking theory or history, he can be very inspiring. I found lots of quotable passages in the introduction and conclusion. Not a book I would recommend for pleasure reading, but if you're interested in the subject matter it's not to be missed.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about the history and traditions of grotesque. If you don't know the literature examples, the ideas are sometimes a bit hard to follow, but the book was still very nice to read. I found Kayser's almost psychological view of the grotesque quite surprising: it seems that grotesque is grotesque only when it's new and unknown, and when you get used to it, its grotesqueness fades. Kayser's descriptions lack the comic side of grotesque almost completely, but otherwise his views felt logical and believable.

[Francisca Cubillos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asensi me lo explicaría más fácil

[Sarah Hashmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit difficult to follow if you are unfamiliar with the references. However, it is definitely a critical book for people interested in art history as well as the evolution of the grotesque in literature.

[Emannuel K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esse é um livro bem acadêmico, e em uma forma bem clássica do termo. Acho que, hoje em dia, mesmo os livros acadêmicos mais quadrados são mais abertos. Uma parcela considerável disso, no entanto, vem do fato de ser extremamente germânico. A análise de Kayser é louvável em como é transversal nas práticas artísticas (artes plásticas, drama e literatura têm o mesmo peso), mas nem por isso deixa de bastante insular. Olhares para o resto do mundo são muito pontuais, e evitam engajar as formas que figuras como Shakespeare e Hugo engajaram o conceito que ele busca estudar. Outro ponto positivo é a presença do cômico como um aspecto do grotesco. Pena, no entanto, que se dê sempre de forma dissociada daquilo que o autor chama de 'grotesco fantástico', já que uma aproximação dos dois poderia fornecer algo que mesmo a academia contemporânea voltada para o insólito costuma ignorar de forma categórica. O trabalho é limitado, ainda que com um viés enciclopédico, e fica aquém das expectativas, mas dá para entender o motivo de ter sido tão importante no século passado.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely fascinating subject, kaysers's study illuminates the entire etymologly, contexts and artistic implications of "the grotesque."