Thus spoke Zarathustra
© Ivan Cangelosi, 2014
150X120 cm
Ink on canvas
Technique – Handwriting of the whole novel of Friedrich Nietzsche– German
Material – Pens and canvas
Category–Philosophy
About the book – Written between 1883 and 1885 by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, this work addresses in particular the issue of “the eternal return”. The eternal return is one of the cornerstones of the philosophy of Nietzsche. The reasoning behind this concept is the following: in a finite system, with an infinite time, every combination can be repeated many times. Nietzsche applies this concept to human life by stating that since the finite number of things in the world, while the infinite time, every event that we can live, we have already experienced countless times in the past, and we will experience many times in the future. He then goes to say that “our own lives has already happened”, a statement which empties of meaning every eschatological vision of life.
In “Thus spoke Zarathustra” Nietzsche also takes up the issue of the “Overman” (German – Übermesch) which is related to the concept of the eternal return since it identifies as a key feature of this new man the ability not to think anymore in terms of past and future, of principles to be observed and goals to be achieved, but to live the present “here and now”.
Description of the painting – The picture depicts the profile of the face of Nietzsche. The text in italics and in silver colour, which crosses the face of the philosopher, reproduces the first draft, written by hand by Nietzsche, of the book