Weimar Culture-Literature: 3D Gallery

Der Zauberberg (1924; The Magic Mountain)

It is regarded as one of the most important pieces of German literature from the 20th century, and it is set on the background of the ten years leading up to the First World War. Thomas Mann's visit to his wife, who was afflicted with tuberculosis, at the Davos sanatorium in May and June of 1912 served as the inspiration for the work. Mann discusses how the opening chapter of his book was influenced by this trip to Davos in the afterword that goes with the English edition.

Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen (1918; Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man)

In contrast to his brother Heinrich, Thomas Mann backed Germany's military endeavors in the First World War. The book, which is about six hundred pages long, pits the West's "civilization" against Germany's authoritarianism and "culture". It was used to support and set him apart from his more liberal brother's conservative political position.

Baal (1918-1919)

It's about a young wastrel who gets into multiple extramarital affairs and at least one murder. In 1918, Brecht, then twenty years old, wrote this as a reaction to the expressionist play The Loner (Der Einsame) by the soon-to-be Nazi dramatist Hanns Johst.

Unordnung und frühes Leid (1925; Disorder and Early Sorrow)

It tells the story of the Cornelius family's fortunes from the viewpoint of Abel Cornelius, a 47-year-old history professor at the local university, whose standing in society has significantly declined from that of a formerly highly respected person. In several ways, Mann's own family is reflected in the Cornelius family.

Im Westen nichts Neues (1928-1929; All Quiet on the Western Front)

The severe physical and psychological damage that German soldiers experienced during the war is described in the book, along with the disengagement from civilian life that many of them experienced after returning home.

Flatford Mill

Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) is an oil painting by English artist John Constable, painted in 1816. It is Constable's largest exhibition canvas to be painted mainly outdoors, the first of his large "six-foot" paintings [more]

The Fighting Temeraire

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner. HMS Temeraire was one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. [more]

The Hireling Shepherd

This is a painting by William Holman Hunt, a leading British Pre-Raphaelite.

Ophelia

Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851 and 1852. It depicts Ophelia, a character from Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark. [more]

The Music Lesson

The Music Lesson or Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman by Jan Vermeer, is a painting of young female pupil receiving the titular music lesson. [more]

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Weimar Culture-Literature