The Romantic Manifesto [Paperback]

Ayn Rand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1971

In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned book, Ayn Rand throws a new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again Miss Rand eloquently demonstrates her refusal to let popular catchwords and conventional ideas stand between her and the truth as she has discovered it. The Romantic Manifesto takes its place beside The Fountainhead as one of the most important achievements of our time.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Bernadette Dunne is a good match for Rand's voice, delivering the novelist's passionate convictions with a metered cadence. Dunne's clear conveyance of Rand's essays is important because her ideas are quite controversial. Dunne's voice has an empirical and authoritative tone that demands a full and concise hearing. . . a thought-provoking listen. . .'' --AudioFile --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

About the Author

AYN RAND (1905-1982) was born in Russia, graduated from the University of Leningrad, and in 1926 came to the United States where she was naturalized. Her first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved a spectacular and enduring success and her unique philosophy, objectivism, gained a worldwide following. --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet (January 1, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451112369
• ISBN-13: 978-0451112361
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ayn Rand's first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved spectacular and enduring success. Through her novels and nonfiction writings, which express her unique philosophy, Objectivism, Rand maintains a lasting influence on popular thought.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and illuminating, November 13, 2005

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Romantic Manifesto (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a compelling work on the nature and meaning of art. Besides containing Rand's manifesto, it is also a highly entertaining piece of criticism and analysis of art, culture and psychology.

In the introductory chapter: The Psycho-Epistemology Of Art, Rand defines art as a selective recreation of reality according to the artist's metaphysical value judgements. Art brings one's concepts to the perceptual level of conscience and enables one to grasp them directly as if they were precepts.

Chapter 2, Philosophy And Sense Of Life, deals with the "merciless recorder" that is the integrating mechanism of the subconscious mind. The next chapter, Art And Sense Of Life, opens with a fascinating observation on a hypothetical painting. Here Rand further explains the concept of a sense of life as it manifests in art. She argues that the emotion involved in art is automatically immediate and that it holds a deeply personal value-significance to the person experiencing it.

Art And Cognition is devoted to the question: What are the valid forms of art, and why? Here the author explores literature, painting, sculpture, music and architecture in turn. I find her speculations on music particularly thought-provoking.

Rand refers to Aristotle in discussing the attributes of the novel in Basic Principles Of Literature: theme, plot, characterization and style. Chapter 6 provides a definition of Romanticism, which recognizes volition, as opposed to Naturalism which denies it. She identifies determinism as the basic premise of naturalism in The Aesthetic Vacuum Of Our Age and hails the appearance of the novel in the 19th century as the vehicle of Romanticism.

Other essays include discussions on bootleg romanticism and moral treason in art, whilst the actual manifesto appears in chapter 11: The Goal Of My Writing and chapter 10: Introduction To Ninety-Three. This essay is an abbreviated version of the introduction she wrote for a 1962 edition of the book by Victor Hugo. The Romantic Manifesto concludes with The Simplest Thing In The World, a short story that illustrates the nature of the creative process.

Throughout this fascinating book, Rand provides examples of different manifestations of art plus informed criticism of personalities and a wide variety of works like Anna Karenina, Thomas Aquinas, The Avengers, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Lord Byron, Camille, Günter Grass, Salvador Dali, Don Carlos, Dumas, Flaubert, Ian Fleming, Gone With The Wind, Goya, O Henry, Alfred Hitchcock, Victor Hugo, Boris Karloff, Fritz Lang, Ira Levin, Michelangelo, Edgar Allan Poe, Friedrich Schiller, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Jan Vermeer, HG Wells, Thomas Wolfe and Emile Zola. Both high and popular culture is covered.

One does not need to agree with Rand's analyses and manifesto to find this a most stimulating and highly entertaining read. Many of her insights are valid and quite relevant to the state of culture and civilization today.

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Opinion, January 21, 2006

By 

Philip John Cornell "pjcomposer" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Romantic Manifesto (Mass Market Paperback)

Don't listen to Greg Nyquist. Ayn Rand is actually quite fair in her valuations of art. She does have strong opinions, but she makes it clear that although she doesn't enjoy certain authors (for various reasons), she is still able to appreciate their literary abilities. I think some people hate Ayn Rand simply because she's straight-forward and honest, both with herself and with others. Ayn Rand is not afraid to speak her mind. If this bothers you, then don't read this book. But if you want one woman's calm, rational, and well thought out opinion on art in its various manifestations, then I guarantee that you will enjoy this book.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is Rand's analysis of what art is., September 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Romantic Manifesto (Mass Market Paperback)

Are you an artist? A painter, a sculptor or a writer perhaps... In this, the icing on the cake of all of Rand's works, you will discover EXACTLY what makes something qualify as a work of art or not and why.

Throughout her work, Rand analyzes the different types of art, mainly Romantic art and Naturalistic art. In short, Rand defines Romantic art as a painting, sculpture or writing which portrays LIFE not as life is but as life COULD and SHOULD be. For example: An artist's work displaying a painting of a building as it could and should be is a romantic art work. Rand tells of how Romanticism lived for only a brief period of time in the 19th century and possibly early twentieth century and how today it is nearly non existent. She reccommends reading, as a beautiful example of the romantic form of art, the works of Victor Hugo. Rand tells of how today the predominant form of art is what is called Naturalistic art.

Naturalistic art, says Rand, is work which portrays life as it is, exactly as it is and nothing more. Rand tells of how, in art schools of today students are encouraged to do only naturalistic works. She also mentions several authors of today's era who have come close to creating some ROMANTIC art but have fallen short.

Rand discussed how it is the PHILOSOPHY of today which promotes and encourages naturalism and deters Romanticism. This discussion will perhaps be most appreciated by those readers of Rand who appreciate and admire her works, but wonder as to what, upon careful analysis, would be the cause of the bitter political and sociological debates which rage over her ideas and works. This book is BEST for those who have read and liked her works but it is fine, standing on its own, as an analysis or what makes great art great!