Ex nihilo: Das ‘Genie’ als europäisches Kulturphänomen im Vergleich

Abstract

Discourses on the artistic genius represent a defining feature of European culture since the mid-18th century. This phenomenon has contributed to both the process of secularization and the divinification of the artist. In the French tradition the cult of genius was less pronounced and troubled but nonetheless a formative influence. Research on this aspect is comparatively sparse. This contribution attempts to assess significant moments in the French discourse on genius, from Delacroix to Valéry and Sartre, relating it to Nietzsche’s fundamental criticism of it.