What is a Künstlertypus?

A Künstlertypus, in German, is an "artist type", from "Kunst", art. Otto Rank, an early 20th Century Viennese scholar of mythology, and a psychoanalyst, used the term in his landmark book, "Art and Artist." Rank believed that the Künstlertypus uses art to overcome his or her neurotic emotional conflicts including fear of death and fear of life as a separate individual.

In 1930's Paris, surrealist writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin knew Rank and were greatly influenced by him. Misunderstood then and now, their dramatic lives exemplify the struggles of the Künstlertypus.

This website can also be accessed through a sister website, www.kuenstlertypus.com.

<<< | Back to Front Page