The Beautiful, the Sublime, the Ugly. Reflection on the Function of the Functionless in Art - along with Examples from M & ouml;rike, Poe, Balzac and Perec. The idea of autonomy plays a major role in the history of aesthetics. It means that art is not controlled by external purposes, i.e. it is not subject to political, ideological or religious goals, but follows its own laws. The concept of beauty is central to this. It is not about the perfect imitation of reality, but in extreme cases about surpassing it. This can be seen in the aesthetics of Edgar Allan Poe as well as in the story #The Unknown Masterpiece >> by Balzac. The novel #Life: A User's Manual >> by George Perec takes the idea of autonomy to a unique climax.
