Abstract

In his speech delivered in 1957 at Uppsala University in Sweden, where he was due to his Nobel Prize in Literature award that same year, Albert Camus, even if in a sporadic and punctual use of his main theme (the role of the artist in contemporary society), establishes in his speech a curious distinction between “artists” and “art manufacturer”. This distinction is not merely semantic, but carries ethical, aesthetic and philosophical implications within the intellectual scope of the writer himself. Although little addressed in the speech, this contrast deserves attention, as it helps us reflect on the tension between authenticity and the instrumentalization of art.