L’AUTENTICITÀ NELL’ARTE. Una panoramica incompleta, con un suggerimento teorico

Although art is the realm of appearance and fiction, authenticity is often considered a crucial requirement for the artistic quality of a work or performance. However, very different, not only in the ordinary discourse, but also in the philosophical debate, are the senses in which the term is used in the artistic field. In this contribution I therefore propose to offer an (of course incomplete and introductory) overview of these senses, or ways, in which a work of art or a performance, but also the artist him/herself, can be said to be “authentic”. In conclusion, leaving the task of arguing my proposal more robustly to any further study, I will suggest that the most plausible notion of artistic authenticity is that of “authenticity as success”. It involves the convinced and responsible commitment of the artist, the self-generating nature of artistic normativity and the transformative impact of the artwork.