Rome (1883) and the birth of the Übermensch according to Mazzino Montinari

Abstract

Based on an article by Mazzino Montinari, from 1988, “Die spröde Art, Nietzsche zu lesen. Die Niederschrift von ‚Also sprach Zarathustra‘ am Beispiel des Kapitels ‚Auf den glückseligen Inseln'”, we analyze the relevance of Michelangelo’s sculpture in the development of the Nietzschean concept of Übermensch, during his stay in Rome, in 1883. For the purpose, we first consider, as a reference Paul Janz’s biography on Nietzsche to concisely situate his steps prior to the development of the vaunted concept, with emphasis on Rome. Subsequently, we analyzed the aforementioned text by Montinari to evaluate the content of his hypothesis, according to which the thought of the great Michelangelo, who was admired by Nietzsche, was based on the section 'In the Blessed Isles', from the second part of Zarathustra. We then followed the traces of Montinari's interpretation in Vivetta Vivarelli's analysis in “Der Bildner des Übermenschen und der dithyrambische Künstler: Michelangelo und Wagner in Also sprach Zarathustra”. And, finally, we come to the conclusion that there is a secret presence of Michelangelo in the elaboration of the concept of Übermensch, in Zarathustra, more specifically, in the section 'In the Blessed Isles', however, we realize that the influence of the Italian artist is not limited to the preparation of the propagated idea, extending to the more general theme of superior men (great men) and their peers, which, consequently, broadens Nietzsche's reception of other nuances to think about this issue; and, we still come to the following conclusion that the Italian capital was not the fertile soil from which these ideas of Nietzsche sprouted, but rather Italy, in a broader scope, which refers to the Renaissance.