What is the theme in Death in Venice by Thomas Mann?

Art and society are themes. The idea of the artist as a hero with a noble calling to pursue beauty has a rich tradition in western literature, especially romantic and modern literature. Mann describes von Aschenbach as an artist who has sacrificed his emotional life and distanced himself from the sensuous world to create beauty with his stories. In the second chapter, the narrator says of von Aschenbach, "Even as a young man . . . he had considered perfectionism the basis and most intimate essence of his talent, and for its sake he had cooled his emotions."