The Nietzschean rapture in art depicted in Virginia Woolf's literature and Cezanne's paintings

Abstract

The end of the nineteenth century witnessed an increased interest in understanding the human psyche. Artists adopted different styles which were based on communicating excess of sensation and feelings; this impelled them to break the chains of representational methods. Two artists who employed this freedom of thought in their work were the painter Paul Cezanne and the writer Virginia Woolf. By merging the spirit of the time with their styles, they formed a unique literary aesthetic based on altered perception, intensity and excess in feelings. I argue that Virginia Woolf’s literature and Paul Cezanne’s paintings break conventional limitations in art through Nietzschean rapture. I chose To the Lighthouse and The Waves to trace Nietzschean rapture through the use of the stream of consciousness technique and rhythm. I also chose two of Paul Cezanne’s depiction of the Sainte-Victoire Mountain to prove that he is the Nietzschean artist who displays rapture and excess on canvas through color and use of constructive brushstrokes.