The Romantic Manifesto
Encyclopedia
The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature is a non-fiction
work by Ayn Rand
, a collection of essays regarding the nature of art
. It was first published in 1969, with a second, revised edition published in 1975.
", which was an introduction for an edition of the Victor Hugo
novel. The first edition of the book, published by The World Publishing Company in 1969, was Rand's first book to be published after her break with her former protege Nathaniel Branden
, and unlike her two previous essay collections it did not contain material by Branden or any other authors besides Rand. The revised edition in 1975 added the essay "Art and Cognition".
Rand goes on to divide artistic endeavors into "valid" and "invalid" forms. (Photography
, for example, is invalid to her (qua art form) because a camera merely records the world exactly as it is and has very limited, if any, capacity to carry a moral message beyond the photographer's choice of subject matter.) Art, to her, should always strive to elevate and idealize the human spirit. She specifically attacks Naturalism
and Modernism
in art, while upholding Romanticism
(in the artistic sense, which Rand distinguishes from the philosophy also called Romanticism, which she strongly opposed).
The book ends with a short story
entitled "The Simplest Thing in the World".
to refer to it as "a nearly forgotten book in the Randian canon". One of the few exceptions was a 1986 journal article by literature professor Stephen D. Cox
, in which he contrasted Rand's formal aesthetic theory from the book with her own practices as an author of fiction, arguing that her practice contradicted some of her theoretical points. Another exception was a chapter on Rand's aesthetics in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
, a detailed presentation of her ideas by her friend and heir Leonard Peikoff
. Overall this period was described by one later critic as a time of "benign neglect", when even Rand's admirers wrote little about her ideas on art.
Literature professor Mimi Reisel Gladstein
described the book as "perhaps the most unified and coherent of Rand's nonfiction works." However, historian James Baker contrasted the book with Rand's approach in her book Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
, most of which was a written as a single work. Baker described The Romantic Manifesto as lacking the "systematic" approach of the other book. Barry Vacker said that while the book "offers unique and valuable insights", it fails to "present a complete philosophy of fine art."
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
work by Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, a collection of essays regarding the nature of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. It was first published in 1969, with a second, revised edition published in 1975.
Publishing history
Most of the essays in the book originally appeared in The Objectivist, except for the "Introduction to Ninety-ThreeNinety-Three
Ninety-Three is the last novel by the French writer Victor Hugo. Published in 1874, shortly after the bloody upheaval of the Paris Commune, the novel concerns the Revolt in the Vendée and Chouannerie – the counter-revolutionary revolts in 1793 during the French Revolution...
", which was an introduction for an edition of the Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
novel. The first edition of the book, published by The World Publishing Company in 1969, was Rand's first book to be published after her break with her former protege Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden, né Nathan Blumenthal , is a psychotherapist and writer best known today for his work in the psychology of self-esteem from a humanistic perspective...
, and unlike her two previous essay collections it did not contain material by Branden or any other authors besides Rand. The revised edition in 1975 added the essay "Art and Cognition".
Contents
At the base of her argument, Rand asserts that one cannot create art without infusing a given work with one's own value judgments and personal philosophy. Even if the artist attempts to withhold moral overtones, the work becomes tinged with a deterministic or naturalistic message. The next logical step of Rand's argument is that the audience of any particular work cannot help but come away with some sense of a philosophical message, colored by his or her own personal values, ingrained into their psyche by whatever degree of emotional impact the work holds for them.Rand goes on to divide artistic endeavors into "valid" and "invalid" forms. (Photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, for example, is invalid to her (qua art form) because a camera merely records the world exactly as it is and has very limited, if any, capacity to carry a moral message beyond the photographer's choice of subject matter.) Art, to her, should always strive to elevate and idealize the human spirit. She specifically attacks Naturalism
Naturalism (art)
Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries...
and Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in art, while upholding Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
(in the artistic sense, which Rand distinguishes from the philosophy also called Romanticism, which she strongly opposed).
The book ends with a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
entitled "The Simplest Thing in the World".
Reception
Upon its initial release, The Romantic Manifesto received only a few reviews. Most of these were brief and negative, and even the longer reviews paid little attention to the details of Rand's aesthetic theory. From then until the late 1990s, The Romantic Manifesto and Rand's aesthetic theory in general received little attention, leading Rand scholar Chris Matthew SciabarraChris Matthew Sciabarra
Chris Matthew Sciabarra is a Brooklyn, New York-based political theorist. He is the author of three scholarly books—Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical; Marx, Hayek, and Utopia; and Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism—as well several shorter works...
to refer to it as "a nearly forgotten book in the Randian canon". One of the few exceptions was a 1986 journal article by literature professor Stephen D. Cox
Stephen D. Cox
Stephen D. Cox is the editor of Liberty magazine, an American monthly libertarian and classical liberal review. He is also a professor of literature at the University of California, San Diego and author of several non-fiction books....
, in which he contrasted Rand's formal aesthetic theory from the book with her own practices as an author of fiction, arguing that her practice contradicted some of her theoretical points. Another exception was a chapter on Rand's aesthetics in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand is a 1991 book by philosopher Leonard Peikoff about the ideas of his mentor, Ayn Rand. Peikoff describes it as "the first comprehensive statement" of Rand's Objectivist philosophy. The book is based on a series of lecture courses that Peikoff first gave in...
, a detailed presentation of her ideas by her friend and heir Leonard Peikoff
Leonard Peikoff
Leonard S. Peikoff is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an author, a leading advocate of Objectivism and the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute. A former professor of philosophy, he was designated by the novelist Ayn Rand as heir to her estate...
. Overall this period was described by one later critic as a time of "benign neglect", when even Rand's admirers wrote little about her ideas on art.
Literature professor Mimi Reisel Gladstein
Mimi Reisel Gladstein
Mimi Reisel Gladstein is a professor of English and Theatre Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her specialties include authors such as Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck, as well as women's studies, theatre arts and 18th-century British literature.-Life and scholarship:Gladstein was born in...
described the book as "perhaps the most unified and coherent of Rand's nonfiction works." However, historian James Baker contrasted the book with Rand's approach in her book Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, published in 1979, is Ayn Rand's essentialised summation of the Objectivist theory of concepts and solution to the problem of universals...
, most of which was a written as a single work. Baker described The Romantic Manifesto as lacking the "systematic" approach of the other book. Barry Vacker said that while the book "offers unique and valuable insights", it fails to "present a complete philosophy of fine art."