The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

1935 essay by Walter Benjamin; proposes that mechanical reproduction devalues the aura of an artwork, that—in the age of mechanical reproduction and traditional ritualistic value’s absence—art production would be inherently based on political praxis
VisualArtwork literary_work Q1169425
Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Summary

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction is a literary work[1]. It has Wikipedia articles in 16 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2]

Key Facts

  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction authored Walter Benjamin[3].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's instance of is recorded as literary work[4].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's instance of is recorded as chapter[5].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's genre is essay[6].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's language of work or name is recorded as German[7].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's country of origin is recorded as Germany[8].
  • 1936 marks the founding of The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction[9].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction was released on 1936[10].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's official website is recorded as https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm[11].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's main subject is art[12].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's main subject is photography[13].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's main subject is cinematography[14].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's main subject is Marxism[15].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's main subject is capitalism[16].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'de', 'text': 'Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit'}[17].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'zh', 'text': 'Jiqi fuzhi shidai de yishu zuopin'}[18].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'en', 'text': 'The work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility'}[19].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'fr', 'text': "L' œuvre d'art à l'époque de sa reproductibilité technique"}[20].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'ka', 'text': "Xelovnebis nimuši misi tek'nikuri reproduc'irebadobis epok'aši"}[21].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'el', 'text': 'Dokimia gia t¯in techn¯i'}[22].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'he', 'text': 'Hiṣtoryah ̣tẹtanah shel ha-tsilum'}[23].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'it', 'text': "L' opera d'arte nell'epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica"}[24].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'ja', 'text': 'Zusetsu-shashin-sh¯oshi'}[25].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'ca', 'text': "L' obra d'art a l'època de la seva reproductibilitat tècnica"}[26].
  • The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction's title is recorded as {'lang': 'nl', 'text': 'Het kunstwerk in het tijdperk van zijn technische reproduceerbaarheid'}[27].

Body

Authorship and Creation

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction authored Walter Benjamin[3].

Publication

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction was published on 1936[10]. Its language of work or name is recorded as German[7]. Its genre is essay[6].

Subject and Themes

Main subjects include art[12], photography[13], cinematography[14], Marxism[15], and capitalism[16].

Why It Matters

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction has Wikipedia articles in 16 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[2] It is known by 16 alternative names across languages and contexts.[28]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [4] . wikidata.org.
  2. [5] . wikidata.org.
  3. [3] . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] . wikidata.org.
  5. [7] . wikidata.org.
  6. [8] . wikidata.org.
  7. [9] . wikidata.org.
  8. [10] . wikidata.org.
  9. [11] . wikidata.org.
  10. [12] . wikidata.org.
  11. [13] . wikidata.org.
  12. [14] . wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] . wikidata.org.
  16. [18] . wikidata.org.
  17. [19] . wikidata.org.
  18. [20] . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  2. [28] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction
MLA “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction — https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction (retrieved 2026-05-03)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 9w ago · InventaireBot bot · 2026-06-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Publication date
    Genre
    Country of origin
    Genre essay
    + 13 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P268]]: 16990226n, add claims: P268"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.