Gesamtkunstwerk
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of Gesamtkunstwerk
First recorded in 1935–40; from German: literally, “total art work”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wagner envisioned a Gesamtkunstwerk, an all-inclusive art of music and drama and visuals that he never had the means to actually realize.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
It is a Gesamtkunstwerk comprising visual art, literature, philosophy, speculation, koans and sociopolitical commentary.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2021
A performance artist who has collaborated with the Royal Opera House choir, she imagined Bank Job as Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk, or a total work of art.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 15, 2020
Inevitably, one of his subsequent shows—he created about two hundred in his lifetime, mostly as a freelance curator—focussed on the Wagnerian ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the supposedly total art work.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 15, 2019
For me, it’s a combination of everything, the musical as an illustration of Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk, which I’m sure you never imagined you’d hear in conjunction with “Movin’ Out.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2018
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