The Romantic Manifesto (Paperback)

by Ayn Rand (Author) "THE position of art in the scale of human knowledge is, perhaps, the most eloquent symptom of the gulf between man's progress in the physical..." (more)
Key Phrases: normative abstractions, floating abstractions, folks next door, Victor Hugo, James Bond, Howard Roark (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Underlying this treatise is the objectivist philosophy which has placed Ayn Rand in the mainstream of American thought.

From AudioFile
This collection of essays is an aesthetic manifesto calling for a rebirth of romantic art and a systematic description of what the author believes is dysfunctional about modern aesthetics. 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. This is a great feat considering the author is attempting to debunk most of the art movements since Romanticism as self-serving, purposeless, and superficial. This is a thought-provoking listen if one is interested in discovering the rigid philosophies behind Rand's iconic novels. L.P. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Revised edition (October 1, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451149165
• ISBN-13: 978-0451149169
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,578 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 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 (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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.

26 of 29 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)

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.

28 of 32 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

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!