Published in 1902, Thomas Mann’s novella Gladius Dei concentrates on the confrontation of a burgher and his extraordinary artwork, and by that, shows a tragic situation of an artist at the turn of the 20th century. In the novella, Mann criticizes the art scene in and around Munich, which was the “city of art” in Germany during the process of modernization. The city turned into a center for artists who independently produced art and sold these works in flourishing art galleries. Rapidly increasing industrialization had caused an increase in the income of the rising educated middle classes, who in turn had become increasingly interested in art. In the fin-de-siècle, or more precisely, in the transition to modernity, art occupied a special role in society. As such, its overall position became more autonomous. Art, which tried to separate itself from everyday life with clearly visible borders, provided the basis for the simple array of entertaining works that were characterized by the “L’art pour l’art” principle. The narrative of the novella depicts Munich’ art scene in its excessiveness, and simultaneously emphasizes the strong aestheticism and the extreme dominant role of beauty in these artworks. Mann’s storyline reflects the fact that artworks increasingly gained function as commodities. It was not only artists who profited from these artworks, but an increasing number of people started to dealth art, and as such, art became considered a trade. This, in turn, led to a situation in which art stared to lose its function and turned into something meaningless. In the novella, this lucrative “beauty business” is reflected in the Blüthenzweig art gallery. While showing exaggerated attitudes toward art, the narration critiques the fact that art was gaining such an autonomous position in society. Hieronymus, who is a pious character, feels offended by the obscene representation of Madonna, which he sees in the beauty shop of Blüthenzweig. In fact, he wants this inconvenient painting to be burned. Hieronymus’ stance represents the group of people within society who thought that this new type of art was misleading and caused separation from religion. The text refers to secularization as one of the main results of modernization process. The role of religion began to change and the educated middle classes began to question religious devotion. Instead, art was almost worshiped and thereby it was beginning to replace religion. However, the separation from religious institutions was not easily accepted, and there was staunch opposition against this development. Modern art was blamed for the intellectual development and emotional alienation of individuals from religion. While the Munich art scene and its excessiveness is reflected in the “beauty business” of Blüthenzweig, Hieronymus’ pointed depiction also symbolizes the exaggerated moral attitudes toward modern art, whereby the narrative draws attention to a balanced position. Mann refers to the theatrical exaggeration of beauty, which runs into a dead-end through the lack of reference to everyday life, whereby the artwork simultaneously loses its function and meaning. The novella ends with the process of estrangement of the artist, for whom the work of art only exists in terms of aesthetic and material values. Moreover, Mann criticizes the nonsensical beauty worship and emphasizes that this is a result of artistic disconnectedness. Hence, the aspiration of the artist to separate himself from the bourgeoisie seems absurd, for the artist himself is part of the bourgeois world. The ostensible antithesis of artistry and bourgeoisie was the consequence of this civil period in crisis. Thus, it can be seen as a reflection of the entire bourgeois situation at the turn of the century, implying the social reality of decadence. Gladius Dei contains an implicit criticism of the fin-desiècle art scene in Munich. The narrative interprets art as meaningless by showing how much it has become oriented toward purely aesthetic values.