A Critical Edition of Goethe´s art journal ´Propyläen´

The aim of the proposed research project is to produce a first critical edition of the groundbreaking art journal Propyläen edited by Goethe in the years between 1798 and 1800. In the six issues of the Propyläen Goethe presented to the public his insights on art which he had gained during his years in Italy (1786-1788) and deepened in the years afterwards. In response to developments in contemporary art, Goethe systemised his ideas in discussion with the so-called `Weimarer Kunstfreunde` (`Weimarian Art-lovers`), who appeared as the `collective author` of the journal. Together with Schiller`s journal Die Horen, the Propyläen stands as the most important journal-project in the German language in the propagation and implementation of a classicising aesthetics at the end of the eighteenth century. In its ambitious programme and theoretical relevance it is comparable with his competitor, the Schlegel brothers` Romantic journal Athenäum. The didactic impetus of the Propyläen is particularly apparent in its better- known texts, the theoretical essays on art and the `Preisaufgaben`. The journal also included a considerable number of art-historical essays and descriptions of artworks which have only attracted little interest to date - not least due to a lack of availability. These texts are of great importance in that they represent a highly original development in the way modern thinkers engage with ancient art. With an awareness of the stylistic historicism of their normative aesthetics, the texts both generate and demonstrate a new form of classicism in action. This enterprise, which was of great significance for the history of aesthetics, will be placed in a new light by a critical edition of the Propyläen. This will include a full scholarly introduction considering the relevance and context of the Journal, and a line-by-line commentary on the text itself. The unavailability of a suitable edition has hindered potential research on the journal itself, and the key role it played in the culture of the period. The reprint of 1965 has been out of print for many years and is only in the possession of a small number of libraries. Goethe`s and Schiller`s texts are included in the complete editions of their works, but are isolated from the context of the journal and are often incomplete and without suitable commentaries. The articles of the `assiduous` contributor Johann Heinrich Meyer are unavailable. It has therefore been impossible to perceive the journal as a collective work, which would allow for new insights into the conflicting tensions which constituted the classicising aesthetic of Weimar. The planned diplomatic transcription edition aims to republish the journal in its entirety, with full scholarly apparatus, in both printed and digital editions. This would situate the texts within their contexts, and thus provide a key resource for future research, for literary as well as art studies. The proposed approach makes it possible to consider Goethe`s role in the redaction and revision of essays from other authors in a philologically accurate way, utilising contemporary manuscript sources. A commentated edition of the Propyläen promises valuable insights into Goethe`s theoretical and practical reflections and will open ways to a more differentiated understanding of the art-politician and publicist. While research on the Propyläen has been nearly exclusively focused on Goethe himself, the new edition will also make accessible the usually neglected contributions of its other authors. As a whole, it will allow a differentiated insight into the complex and interdependent web of tensions which characterised the classicising aesthetic of Weimar.

The research project produced a first critical edition of the groundbreaking art journal Propyläen edited by Goethe in the years between 1798 and 1800. In the journals issues Goethe presented to the public his insights on art which he had gained during his years in Italy (1786-1788) and deepened in the years afterwards. In response to developments in contemporary art, Goethe systemised his ideas in discussion with the so-called Weimarer Kunstfreunde (Weimarian Art-lovers), who appeared as the collective author of the journal. Together with Schillers journal Die Horen, the Propyläen stands as the most important journal-project in the German language in the propagation and implementation of a classicising aesthetics at the end of the eighteenth century. In its ambitious programme and theoretical relevance it is comparable with his competitor, the Schlegel brothers Romantic journal Athenaeum. The didactic impetus of the Propyläen is particularly apparent in the theoretical essays on art and the Preisaufgaben. The journal also included a considerable number of art-historical essays and descriptions of artworks which have only attracted little interest to date not least due to a lack of availability. These texts are of great importance in that they represent an original development in the way modern thinkers engage with ancient art. With an awareness of the stylistic historicism of their normative aesthetics, the texts both generate and demonstrate a new form of classicism in action.This enterprise, which was of great significance for the history of aesthetics, is placed in a new light by the critical edition of the Propyläen. This includes a full scholarly introduction considering the relevance and context of the journal, and a line-by-line commentary on the text itself. The unavailability of a suitable edition has hindered potential research on the journal itself, and the key role it played in the culture of the period. It has therefore been impossible to perceive it as a collective work, which allows new insights into the conflicting tensions which constituted the classicising aesthetics of Weimar. The diplomatic transcription edition republishes the journal in its entirety, with full scholarly apparatus, in both printed and digital editions. Thus, the texts are situated within their contexts, and provide a key resource for future research, for literary as well as art studies. Goethes role in the redaction and revision of essays from other authors are considered in a philologically accurate way, utilising contemporary manuscript sources. This commentated edition of the Propyläen enables valuable insights into Goethes theoretical and practical reflections and will open ways to a more differentiated understanding of the art-politician and publicist. While research on the Propyläen has been nearly exclusively focused on Goethe himself, the new edition also makes accessible the usually neglected contributions of its other authors. As a whole, it allows a differentiated insight into the complex and interdependent web of tensions which characterised the classicising aesthetics of Weimar.