The Fountainhead By Ayn Rand

“It was the slender naked body of a man who looked as if he could break through the steel plate of a battleship and through any barrier whatever. It stood like a challenge. It left a strange stamp on one’s eyes. It made the people around it seem smaller and sadder than usual. For the first time in his life, looking at the statue, Keating thought he understood what was meant by the word “heroic”.’ – Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead.
In Ayn Rand’s philosophical fiction novel, The Fountainhead, she dwells a great deal on the subject of art. Primarily; architecture, but she also touches on sculptures, this is what we will be analyzing and applying to some of the great works of art. In the preceding quote, Rand describes her philosophical ideal presented
The statue is of a perfect attractive young man of strength, who has just defeated his unsightly and aged enemy. The young victor stands dominantly over his vanquished foe with his knee holding him captive while he stares out with an inhumane look. Michelangelo did not finish this statue, yet this plays in with the theme of this statue more than he could have known. It is evident that Michelangelo spent vast amounts of time perfecting the youth in this sculpture; every inch of him is polished to perfection. The enemy, however, is seemingly unfinished; he is unpolished and far less chiseled. Overall he seems to still hold a resemblance to the rock that he is carved from, whereas all thought of earth vanishes when one lays eyes on the victor. It seems as though Michelangelo merely was unable to finish this sculpture, but perhaps this is what he intended. Perhaps he aimed for the victor to stand in stark contrast with the grotesque enemy, to highlight the beauty of the victory. It certainly invokes fascination. When I look at the Genius of the Victory I am enthralled. I had a very hard time leaving it at the museum. It is one of the most intriguing works of art I have ever seen. The gaze from the victor is what I love the most. The aggressive but open assertion, the blank honesty, the intuition, the swift and evident competence; I read all of this when I view the statue. To me, the victor is an accurate representation of the character Howard Roark from the Fountainhead. Roark, like the victor, represents true rationality, strength, and egoism. The victor stares at you with a challenge. He exists wholly and unapologetically. He exemplifies heroism; he exists as man should exist. He comes the closest to Rand’s description of the statue in the Fountainhead. I find it very hard to put into words the sensation that comes over me when I view this statue, I