Anxiety, Angst, Anguish in Fin de Siècle Art and Literature

This volume examines various manifestations of anguish in art, literature, and philosophy. It demonstrates that the experience of anguish manifested itself in a spectacular way in the arts in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. It makes obvious the extraordinary tension between anguish and art. The works discussed here reflect the magnitude of anguish generated by historical events, scientific advancements (especially in psychology), and metaphysical inquiries of the time. Through the invention of new artistic languages, those works also illustrate the fecundity of anguish for artists.