The total work of art or the total way of lifeGesamtkunstwerk is a term that literally means the total work of art. However, it contains too many designs in itself. The term first appears in Richard Wagner's Die Kunst und die Revolution ["Art and Revolution"], dated 1849. Roughly speaking, Gesamtkunstwerk is a notion that "brings together the different arts – architecture, landscape painting, dance, theater and music”. » (Daverio, 1986). However, this Wagnerian conception led to a discussion around the entirety of a work of art. In other words, the definition of this concept was extended to a broader, even geographical, aspect, or on the contrary restricted to a much narrower scope, which Wagner perhaps could not have imagined. To understand the Gesamtkunstwerk, we must refer to these different definitions and conceptions. Roberts (2005) argues in his essay that "the term may be German, but the concept refers to a recurring dream of European modernism, aesthetic in nature but religious and/or political in intent." At this point, partly broader than John J. Daverio's definition, Roger Formoff gives 4 different definitions of Gesamtkunstwerk in his book The Total Work of Art: "1. an inter or multimedia union of different arts in relation to a vision global view of the world and society;2. an implicit or explicit theory of the ideal union of the arts;3. a closed worldview, combining a socio-utopian or historical, philosophical or metaphysical-religious image of the whole with a radical criticism of the existing society and culture;4. a projection of an aesthetic-social or aesthetic-religious utopia, which looks to the power of art for its expression and as an aesthetic means of a transformation of society. As important as middle of paper is, ...... the work has become a model or a social tool in addition to being a music-based dream. On the other hand, it should be noted that the musical aspects of this concept still exist in opera houses, concert halls, but also in modern cinemas. In this sense, Wagner made an invaluable contribution to a deeper understanding of the total work of art by constructing the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk on top of earlier conceptualizations of the total work of art. Works Cited Daverio, J. J. (1986). “Total work of art” or “Anonymous Deeds of Music” Some reflections on German romantic opera. Opera Quarterly, 4 (4), 61-74. Accessed August 19, 2008 from Oxford Journals Online (http://oq.oxfordjournals.org).Roberts, D. (2005). Book Review: The Total Work of Art. Thesis eleven, 83, 104-121. Retrieved August 19, 2008 from SAGE Publications Online (http://the.sagepub.com).