Italienische Reise

Goethe's 'Italian Journey', writes Herbert von Einem in the afterword to this edition, "is not a travel book, not a guide to which ... the traveller to Italy should entrust himself. It is a self-portrayal, a piece of his autobiography". - And yet, to this day, generations of travellers to Italy from Germany and other countries have entrusted themselves to this work because they hoped to gain a picture, their picture, of the geography, the population, the customs and, above all, the art of Italy by engaging with it. Almost 200 years lie between Goethe's journey and us. Many of the works of art that Goethe saw are in a different place today or have different names, some are attributed to other artists, quite a few are interpreted differently. Here the reader needs the help of an expert. The art historian Herbert von Einem, one of the best connoisseurs of the art of Goethe's time, offers this in a detailed epilogue and in a comprehensive commentary on all passages of the text that require explanation. The volume is accompanied by illustrations, some of which are little known. A carefully compiled list of further reading and an index round off the materials offered to the user of the book.