Abstract:
The following paper discusses the book Italian Journey, in which J. W. Goethe described his travels in Italian territory in the years 1786 and 1787. I try to contextualize this journey within the writer’s life and career, referring especially to a text by Walter Benjamin. I comment on Goethe’s remarks on nature, which are linked to his scientific researches, but my main interest is in his remarks on art and classical antiquity. In these remarks, I recognize the important influence of the art historian J. J. Winckelmann and also a tendency toward classicism, something which defined Goethe’s artistic production from the time of his Italian travels onward.
Keywords:
Goethe; Winckelmann; Art; Nature; Classicism