# Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — What Is Art? character guide

> Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in What Is Art? by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Who they are

German writer and poet referenced in art discussions.

## In the story

### [Chapter III: Aesthetic Theories of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as influenced by Hemsterhuis's aesthetic ideas.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/iv)

Cited as part of the art canon, specifically Wilhelm Meister.

### [The Substitution of Counterfeits for Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xi)

Cited as an example of a work (Faust) that, though well-executed, lacks the chief characteristic of art due to borrowing.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/chapters/xvi)

His works are similarly judged as not meeting the standard of true Christian art.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/characters/goethe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_art_se/characters