''Die Huldigung der Künste'' (''The Homage of the Arts'') is a dramatic poem written by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. It was his last completed dramatic work and premiered on 12 November 1804 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. Its final sentence, expressing Schiller's artistic credo, is ''Denn aus der Kräfte schön vereintem Streben / Erhebt sich, wirkend, erst das wahre Leben''. At the time of its composition,

Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Charles Frederick (; 2 February 1783 – 8 July 1853) was the reigning Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Biography Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstad ...

had just married Maria Pavlovna, sister of tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

. Then working with

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

at the Weimar court, Schiller was commissioned to write a short piece in honour of the couple and the occasion. Under great pressure of time, he thus wrote ''Die Huldigung der Künste'' in four days for this purpose.

Plot

A farming family wants to hold a great festival in honour of their new queen in order to give her a fitting welcome. A tree is planted as a symbol of the country. Then the seven arts (architecture, sculpture, painting, poetry, music, dance and drama) greet the new sovereign

Sources

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Text of ''Die Huldigung der Künste''
on

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

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''Wissen im Netz - Die Huldigung der Künste''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huldigung Der Kunste, Die 1804 plays Plays by Friedrich Schiller