Vienna School of Art History
Encyclopedia
The Vienna School of Art History (Wiener Schule der Kunstgeschichte) is a collective term used to describe the development of fundamental art-historical
methods at the University of Vienna
. It does not describe a dogmatically unified group, but rather an intellectual evolution extending over a number of generations, in which a series of outstanding scholars each built upon the achievements of their forerunners, while contributing their own unique perspectives. Essential elements of this evolution became fundamental for modern art history, even if the individual methods can today no longer claim absolute validity.
A characteristic trait of the Vienna School was the attempt to put art history on a "scientific" ("wissenschaftlich") basis by distancing art historical judgements from questions of aesthetic preference and taste, and by establishing rigorous concepts of analysis through which all works of art could be understood. Nearly all of the important representatives of the Vienna School combined academic careers as university teachers with curatorial activity in museums or with the preservation of monuments.
The concept of a Viennese "school" of art history was first employed by the Czech art critic and collector Vincenc Kramář in 1910; it attained general currency following articles published by Otto Benesch
in 1920 and by Julius von Schlosser in 1934. In the following entry it has only been possible to make cursory mention of the most important representatives of the school.
is considered to have been the "forefather" of the Vienna School. He acquired a profound knowledge of art through private study during the Vormärz
, and in 1852 was appointed as the first professor of art history at the University of Vienna. His greatest concern was to render the aesthetic appreciation of art more objective through giving weight to historical sources and demonstrable facts. He perceived art-historical research as an absolute prerequisite for the elevation of taste and for the improvement of contemporary art. On account of this goal-oriented attitude he became one of the most important protagonists in the historicist movement in Austrian art and architecture.
The first graduate of the Eitelberger's new program in art history was Moritz Thausing
, who in 1879 became the second Ordinarius (full professor) of art history at Vienna. He advanced beyond his teacher's program in his advocacy of an autonomous art history and promoted the separation of art history from aesthetics
.
(Professor 1891) and Alois Riegl
(Professor 1897) furthered his approach, insofar as they developed the methods of comparative stylistic analysis and attempted to avoid all judgements of personal taste. Thus both contributed to the revaluation of the art of late antiquity
, which before then had been despised as a period of decline. Riegl in particular, as an avowed disciple of positivism
, focused on the purely formal qualities of the work of art, and rejected all arguments about content as metaphysical speculation.
, who at first continued the tradition of his predecessors. However, Dvořák's interest gradually turned towards issues of content; that is, to precisely those issues that, for Riegl, were not the object of art history. Dvořák, in part influenced by the contemporary expressionist
movement in German painting, developed a deep appreciation for the unclassical formal qualities of Mannerism
. Dvořák's idealistic method, which would later be termed "Kunstgeschichte als Geistesgeschichte" ("art history as intellectual history"), found its most committed champions in Hans Tietze and Otto Benesch
.
and of Karl Vossler
, a Munich-based professor of the Romance languages
, under whose influence he developed an art-historical method based on philological models. He drew a distinction between the "Stilgeschichte" ("style-history") of brilliant artists and their unique creations, and the "Sprachgeschichte" ("language-history") of the fine arts, which latter embraced the entire spectrum of artistic creation. Among those to emerge from Schlosser's school, besides Ernst Gombrich
, were Hans Sedlmayr
and Otto Pächt
, who in the 1930s founded art-historical "structuralism." Their methodology was described by Meyer Schapiro
as the "New Vienna School"; it has also been described as the "Second Vienna School."
, who was appointed in 1909, at the same time as Dvořák, holds a unique position in the history of the Vienna School. He was a vehement opponent of the traditional view of history, in place of which he advocated an anticlassical, antihumanist, and anticlerical outlook. In opposition to the standard view of history, which was centered on ancient Greece and Rome, Strzygowski turned his attention towards the Orient, where he thought he had discovered the traces of an original "Nordic" character, which was superior to the "Mediterranean." As he held such a single-minded point of view, he found himself in irreconcilable opposition to the "orthodox" branch of the Vienna School, in particular to the "arch-humanist" Schlosser, who on his side condemned Strzygowski as the "Attila of art history." The dispute resulted in a complete separation, not only ideological but also physical, so that two art-historical institutes existed within the University without any relationship to each other. As Strzygowski could naturally not allow himself to adopt the methods of his opponents, he devised a tabular method of "Planforschung," which was supposed to guarantee absolute objectivity, but in hindsight was completely impracticable and clearly intended to justify his abstruse theories. Strzygowski's worldview developed a markedly bizarre, racist tendency that approached Nazi ideology. However, his institute was closed upon his retirement in 1933. Nevertheless, he is to be credited with the expansion of the boundaries of western art history, which he opened to the consideration of non-European cultures. Moreover, his esteem for abstract art, which he understood as uniquely "Nordic," was a step towards an art-historical confrontation with modernity. With all due care, then, Strzygowski may also find his proper place today in the history of the Vienna School.
signified a turning point for the Vienna School. Numerous scholars were forced to emigrate and came into contact with the methdological approaches of other nations, in particular in the Anglo-American world. Hans Sedlmayr, a declared Nazi, led the institute throughout the war, and at war's end his career in Vienna likewise came to an end. In 1946, Karl Maria Swoboda assumed leadership of the Insitut, where he constructed a synthesis of the previously irreconcilable schools of Schlosser and Strzygowski, now drained of their ideological intransigence. In 1963 two Ordinarius positions were once more created, and were filled by Otto Pächt
(a student of Schlosser) and Otto Demus
(a student of Strzygowski). Under the "two Ottos" Vienna became a "Mekka der Mittelalterkunstgeschichte" ("a mecca for medieval art history"), while also offering excellent coverage of post-medieval art through the appointment of Fritz Novotny
. Today Werner Hoffmann
, who developed the traditions of the school and adapted them for an intellectual engagement with contemporary art, may count as the youngest heir of the Vienna School.
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
methods at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. It does not describe a dogmatically unified group, but rather an intellectual evolution extending over a number of generations, in which a series of outstanding scholars each built upon the achievements of their forerunners, while contributing their own unique perspectives. Essential elements of this evolution became fundamental for modern art history, even if the individual methods can today no longer claim absolute validity.
A characteristic trait of the Vienna School was the attempt to put art history on a "scientific" ("wissenschaftlich") basis by distancing art historical judgements from questions of aesthetic preference and taste, and by establishing rigorous concepts of analysis through which all works of art could be understood. Nearly all of the important representatives of the Vienna School combined academic careers as university teachers with curatorial activity in museums or with the preservation of monuments.
The concept of a Viennese "school" of art history was first employed by the Czech art critic and collector Vincenc Kramář in 1910; it attained general currency following articles published by Otto Benesch
Otto Benesch
Otto Benesch was an Austrian art historian. He is considered as a member of the Vienna School of Art History.He was taught by Max Dvořák...
in 1920 and by Julius von Schlosser in 1934. In the following entry it has only been possible to make cursory mention of the most important representatives of the school.
Pragmatic art history
Rudolf EitelbergerRudolf Eitelberger
Rudolf Eitelberger, full name Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg was an art historian and the first Ordinarius for art history at the University of Vienna...
is considered to have been the "forefather" of the Vienna School. He acquired a profound knowledge of art through private study during the Vormärz
Vormärz
' is the time period leading up to the failed March 1848 revolution in the German Confederation. Also known as the Age of Metternich, it was a period of Austrian and Prussian police states and vast censorship in response to calls for liberalism...
, and in 1852 was appointed as the first professor of art history at the University of Vienna. His greatest concern was to render the aesthetic appreciation of art more objective through giving weight to historical sources and demonstrable facts. He perceived art-historical research as an absolute prerequisite for the elevation of taste and for the improvement of contemporary art. On account of this goal-oriented attitude he became one of the most important protagonists in the historicist movement in Austrian art and architecture.
The first graduate of the Eitelberger's new program in art history was Moritz Thausing
Moritz Thausing
Moritz Thausing was an Austrian art historian, and counts among the founders of the Vienna School of Art History.- Life :...
, who in 1879 became the second Ordinarius (full professor) of art history at Vienna. He advanced beyond his teacher's program in his advocacy of an autonomous art history and promoted the separation of art history from aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
.
Formalist art history
Thausing's students Franz WickhoffFranz Wickhoff
Franz Wickhoff was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. Wickhoff studied at the University of Vienna under Alexander Conze and Moritz Thausing. In 1879 he received a position at the k.k...
(Professor 1891) and Alois Riegl
Alois Riegl
Alois Riegl was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History...
(Professor 1897) furthered his approach, insofar as they developed the methods of comparative stylistic analysis and attempted to avoid all judgements of personal taste. Thus both contributed to the revaluation of the art of late antiquity
Late Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
, which before then had been despised as a period of decline. Riegl in particular, as an avowed disciple of positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, focused on the purely formal qualities of the work of art, and rejected all arguments about content as metaphysical speculation.
Idealist art history
After the early deaths of Riegl and Wickhoff, one of the art-historical positions at the University was filled by Max DvořákMax Dvorák
Max Dvořák was a Czech-born Austrian art historian...
, who at first continued the tradition of his predecessors. However, Dvořák's interest gradually turned towards issues of content; that is, to precisely those issues that, for Riegl, were not the object of art history. Dvořák, in part influenced by the contemporary expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
movement in German painting, developed a deep appreciation for the unclassical formal qualities of Mannerism
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
. Dvořák's idealistic method, which would later be termed "Kunstgeschichte als Geistesgeschichte" ("art history as intellectual history"), found its most committed champions in Hans Tietze and Otto Benesch
Otto Benesch
Otto Benesch was an Austrian art historian. He is considered as a member of the Vienna School of Art History.He was taught by Max Dvořák...
.
Structuralist art history
Dvořák also died young, and in 1922 Julius von Schlosser was appointed as his successor. Schlosser embodied the type of the classical, humanistic scholar, and nourished a deep attachment to the art and culture of Italy throughout his life. He was a close friend of the Italian philosopher Benedetto CroceBenedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce was an Italian idealist philosopher, and occasionally also politician. He wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, methodology of history writing and aesthetics, and was a prominent liberal, although he opposed laissez-faire free trade...
and of Karl Vossler
Karl Vossler
Karl Vossler was a German linguist and scholar, and a leading Romanist. Vossler was known for his interest in Italian thought, and as a follower of Benedetto Croce. He declared his support of the German military by signing the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three in 1914.-Notes:...
, a Munich-based professor of the Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, under whose influence he developed an art-historical method based on philological models. He drew a distinction between the "Stilgeschichte" ("style-history") of brilliant artists and their unique creations, and the "Sprachgeschichte" ("language-history") of the fine arts, which latter embraced the entire spectrum of artistic creation. Among those to emerge from Schlosser's school, besides Ernst Gombrich
Ernst Gombrich
Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich, OM, CBE was an Austrian-born art historian who became naturalized British citizen in 1947. He spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom...
, were Hans Sedlmayr
Hans Sedlmayr
Hans Sedlmayr was an Austrian art historian. Sedlmayr was University Professor of Art History in Vienna from 1936 until 1945, then in Munich from 1951 until 1964, and finally at the University of Salzburg from 1965-69, where he established the art history curriculum...
and Otto Pächt
Otto Pächt
Otto Pächt was an Austrian art historian.- Life and work :His father David Pächt was from Bukovina, and mother Josefine Freundlich was a member of the IKG Wien....
, who in the 1930s founded art-historical "structuralism." Their methodology was described by Meyer Schapiro
Meyer Schapiro
Meyer Schapiro was a Lithuanian-born American art historian known for forging new art historical methodologies that incorporated an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works of art...
as the "New Vienna School"; it has also been described as the "Second Vienna School."
Ideological art history
Josef StrzygowskiJosef Strzygowski
Josef Strzygowski was a German art historian known for his theory on the influence of Early Christian Armenian architecture on the early Medieval architecture of Europe, outlined in his book, Die Baukunst der Armenier und Europa...
, who was appointed in 1909, at the same time as Dvořák, holds a unique position in the history of the Vienna School. He was a vehement opponent of the traditional view of history, in place of which he advocated an anticlassical, antihumanist, and anticlerical outlook. In opposition to the standard view of history, which was centered on ancient Greece and Rome, Strzygowski turned his attention towards the Orient, where he thought he had discovered the traces of an original "Nordic" character, which was superior to the "Mediterranean." As he held such a single-minded point of view, he found himself in irreconcilable opposition to the "orthodox" branch of the Vienna School, in particular to the "arch-humanist" Schlosser, who on his side condemned Strzygowski as the "Attila of art history." The dispute resulted in a complete separation, not only ideological but also physical, so that two art-historical institutes existed within the University without any relationship to each other. As Strzygowski could naturally not allow himself to adopt the methods of his opponents, he devised a tabular method of "Planforschung," which was supposed to guarantee absolute objectivity, but in hindsight was completely impracticable and clearly intended to justify his abstruse theories. Strzygowski's worldview developed a markedly bizarre, racist tendency that approached Nazi ideology. However, his institute was closed upon his retirement in 1933. Nevertheless, he is to be credited with the expansion of the boundaries of western art history, which he opened to the consideration of non-European cultures. Moreover, his esteem for abstract art, which he understood as uniquely "Nordic," was a step towards an art-historical confrontation with modernity. With all due care, then, Strzygowski may also find his proper place today in the history of the Vienna School.
Synthesis
The era of NazismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
signified a turning point for the Vienna School. Numerous scholars were forced to emigrate and came into contact with the methdological approaches of other nations, in particular in the Anglo-American world. Hans Sedlmayr, a declared Nazi, led the institute throughout the war, and at war's end his career in Vienna likewise came to an end. In 1946, Karl Maria Swoboda assumed leadership of the Insitut, where he constructed a synthesis of the previously irreconcilable schools of Schlosser and Strzygowski, now drained of their ideological intransigence. In 1963 two Ordinarius positions were once more created, and were filled by Otto Pächt
Otto Pächt
Otto Pächt was an Austrian art historian.- Life and work :His father David Pächt was from Bukovina, and mother Josefine Freundlich was a member of the IKG Wien....
(a student of Schlosser) and Otto Demus
Otto Demus
Otto Demus was an Austrian art historian and Byzantinist. He is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History....
(a student of Strzygowski). Under the "two Ottos" Vienna became a "Mekka der Mittelalterkunstgeschichte" ("a mecca for medieval art history"), while also offering excellent coverage of post-medieval art through the appointment of Fritz Novotny
Fritz Novotny
Fritz Novotny , was an Austrian art historian. He is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History.- Biography :...
. Today Werner Hoffmann
Werner Hoffmann
Werner Hoffmann was a highly decorated Hauptmann in the Luftwaffe during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Werner Hoffmann was killed on...
, who developed the traditions of the school and adapted them for an intellectual engagement with contemporary art, may count as the youngest heir of the Vienna School.
Selected literature
- Vincenc Kramář, "Videňská Škola Dějin Umění," Volné Směry (1910).
- Otto Benesch, "Die Wiener kunsthistorische Schule," Österreichische Rundschau (1920).
- Julius von Schlosser, "Die Wiener Schule der Kunstgeschichte: Rückblick auf ein Säkulum deutscher Gelehrtenarbeit in Österreich," Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Instituts für Geschichtsforschung 13 (1934).
- Meyer Schapiro, "The New Viennese School," Art Bulletin 18 (1936).
- Wien und die Entwicklung der kunsthistorischen Methode. Akten des XXV. Internationalen Kongresses für Kunstgeschichte 1983, 1 (Vienna, 1984).
- Christopher S. Wood, The Vienna School Reader: politics and art historical method in the 1930s (New York, 2000).
- Wiener Schule - Erinnerungen und Perspektiven. Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 53 (2004).
- Edwin Lachnit, Die Wiener Schule der Kunstgeschichte und die Kunst ihrer Zeit. Zum Verhältnis von Methode und Forschungsgegenstand am Beginn der Moderne (Vienna, 2005).
External links
- H.H. Aurenhammer, "150 Jahre Kunstgeschichte an der Universität Wien." ("150 years of art history at the University of Vienna.")
- Selected bibliography on the Vienna School
- Homepage of the Institut für Kunstgeschichte, University of Vienna