Nietzsche - Goethe - Faust

The cabinet exhibition at the Nietzsche-Archiv presents Friedrich Nietzsche’s occupation with Johann von Goethe and highlights their similarities and differences with respect to their personal background and literary reception.

It was no coincidence that the mentally deranged Friedrich Nietzsche spent his final years in Goethe’s hometown. His sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, who cared for her brother and marketed his writings using occasionally questionable methods, chose Weimar in order to tie her brother’s legacy to Goethe’s cultural sites. But how did Nietzsche himself view the famous poet?

Although Nietzsche was born 95 years after Goethe, the celebrated poet played a prominent role throughout Nietzsche’s life. Nietzsche had been familiar with Goethe’s works since his adolescence and referred to them positively – even admiringly – in his treatises. As the years went by, however, the tone of Nietzsche’s writings changed and became more critical. For Nietzsche, the poet served as both a point of orientation and demarcation. Especially with regard to Faust, Nietzsche hedged philosophical objections, which he reflected on in various writings, including his poem An Goethe.

Goethe and Nietzsche also had something else in common with regard to literary reception: Armed services editions of Goethe’s and Nietzsche’s works were sent to German soldiers fighting on the front lines of World War I.

The presentation curated by Corinna Schubert and Evelyn Höfer spotlights Nietzsche’s relationship to Goethe and his myriad encounters with the poet of German Classicism, whereby special focus lies on Goethe’s Faust.

Publication: Nietzsche - Goethe - Faust

The cabinet exhibition officially opens on 2 May at 5 pm as part of the  2025 Theme Year “Faust” festivities.