Tolstoy: What is Art? - Softcover

Tolstoy, L.N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853993816 ISBN 13: 9781853993817

Publisher: Bristol Classical Press, 2011

Synopsis

Both critics and admirers of Tolstoy's great novel were shocked by the savage iconoclasm of his What is Art? when it appeared in 1898. How was it that this great artist could condemn the works of Shakespeare, Raphael, Beethoven and even his own Anna Karenina as 'false art'? Today's reader still has to grapple with that paradox. The essay still has power to challenge and provoke, for it was written by a giant who took art seriously while western civilisation toyed with it as a mere pastime. For Tolstoy, art was as natural and as necessary for humankind as speech.

In his introduction to this translation, W. Gareth Jones shows how vitally Tolstoy's personality and experience of life were engaged in creating What is Art?, how integral the essay was to his art and teaching, and why it continues to demand a response from us.

About this title

Book Description:

With a contextual introduction, this is the text of Tolstoy's savage and shocking novel, which still has the power to provoke and challenge the modern reader

About the Author:

W. Gareth Jones is Professor of Russian at the University of Wales, Bangor.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1853993816
• ISBN 13: 9781853993817
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Jones W.Gareth