15 West 16th Street New York, NY 10011 Tel: +1 (212) 294-8301 www.cjh.org Selected Dissertations in Jewish Studies 1894-2008 The Center for Jewish History is the home of five preeminent Jewish institutions dedicated to the history, culture, and art of the Jewish people. The Center for Jewish History provides free online access to its comprehensive collection of Jewish Studies dissertations. The dissertations are made available to Center for Jewish History patrons for research, teaching, and private study. You may reproduce a reasonable portion of a dissertation without prior permission for these "fair use" purposes only.Additionally the dissertations may also be protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code), and some items may also be subject to additional restrictions imposed by the copyright owner and/or Proquest. 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UMI A Bell &Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road.Ann AlbarMI48106-1346 USA 3131761-47008 0 0 / 5 2 1 ~ Erwin Panofsky and Walter Benjamin: German Jewish CulturalTraditions and the Writing of History in Weimar Germany AnnaMaryDempsey Submittedinpartialfulfillmentofthe requirementsforthedegreeof DoctorofPhilosophy intheGraduateSchoolofArtsandSciences COLUMBIAUNIVERSITY 1998 OMINumber:9838908 Copyright1998by Dempsey,AnnaMary Allrights reserved. lThflMicrofonn 9838908 Copyright1998,byUMICompany.Allrights reserved. This microfonn edition isprotected against unauthorized copying under Title 17,United States Code. UMI 300North ZeebRoad Ann Arbor,MI 48103 1998 AnnaMaryDempsey AllRightsReserved ABSTRACT Erwin Panofsky and Walter Benjamin:German Jewish Cultural Traditions and the Writing of History in the Weimar Republic AnnaMaryDempsey Inthisthesis,IhaveanalyzedhowErwinPanofsky'sand WalterBenjamin'sattitudestowardhistoricalinterpretation developedwithinthefragmentedcultureofWeimarGermany.Ihave evaluatedthefunctionservedbytheclassicaltradition--in particulartheworksoftheGermanRenaissanceartistAlbrecht Dtirer--inthepoliticalandculturalrhetoricoftheWeimar RepublicandinPanofsky'sandBenjamin'smethodologicalstudies. IspecificallyfocusonhowPanofsky'stheoryoficonologyand Benjamin'sallegoricalphilosophyintersectwithGermanidealist thoughtandwithGerman-Jewishpoliticalandphilosophical traditions. IhavecomparedtheirwritingstostudiesbyotherGerman writersofthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies includingFrederichNietzsche,AbyWarburgandThomasMannand haveattemptedtoevaluatehowPanofsky's,Benjamin'sandAby Warburg'suseoflanguageisconsistentwiththeNietzschean rhetoriccirculatingwithinWeimarculture.Inconcluding,Ihave comparedPanofsky's1943monographofAlbrechtDurerwithThomas Mann'sDoctorFaustus(1948).Althoughthesetwoworkswere writtenaftertheNationalSocialistscametopower,Ihave regardedthemas"mournful"tributestoWeimarculture.Inthis chapterandalsothroughoutthedissertation,Ihavetriedtoshow howPanofskyandBenjaminutilizedtheRenaissanceandclassical traditionsasmetaphorsfortheirowncommentariesaboutthedeath and/orsurvivalofenlightenedGermanculture. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER1 Weimar Culture, Classical Antiquity and the Search for Order The Production of Culture and the Search For Order Nietzsche as Cultural Hero DOrer as Hero andSymbol German-Jewish Cultural Identity and the Renaissance Conclusion CHAPTER2 Benjamin,Panofsky and the Language of Representation Philosophical,Biographical and Shared Theoretical Foundations GermanIdealist Traditions Panofsky and Benjamin:Brief Curricula Shared Theoretical Foundations Image and Method Panofsky and Melencolia I:Portrait of Artistic Genius The Origin of German Tragic Drama and AlbrechtDOrer i. p.1 p.22 p.35 p.42 p.60 p.74 p.77 p.82 p.87 p.90 p.94 p.101 Benjamin's Allegory:Philosophy, the Image and Baroque Tragic Dramap.106 lconology:Panofsky's Method ofArt Historical Interpretationp.116 Summary:Panofsky's lconology and Benjamin'sAllegoryp.126 The Subject/Object Duality and the Philosophy of VisualRepresentationp.129 Panofsky and the language of Representationp.129 Benjamin and the language of Representationp.137 Epilogue:Panofsky and Benjamin's Philosphy of Representationp.143 CHAPTER3 The Study of History and German..Jewish Culture Writing History: The Influence of Nietzschep .150 Panofsky:The Significance of the Renaissance and the "Classical" Baroquep.153 Benjamin and the Writing of History:Theology and Sciencep.168 Weimar Jewish Culture and the Writing ofHistoryp.178 Conclusionp.1 91 CHAPTER4 Erwin Panofsky and Thomas Mann:Mourning Germany: Faustus and Albrecht Durer through the Centuriesp.195 Panofsky and Mannp.205 Politics:Mann and Panofskyp.214 The Dionysian and its Appeal for Panofsky And Mannp.221 ii. Panofsky,theNietzschean Hero andGerman-Jewish Messianismp.227 TheDionysian,Sensuality and the Abstractp.230 AbstractionandDOrer's ArtisticStylep.238 Faust,DOrer andNationalismp.241 Germany andSalvationp.247 Memory andHeimatp.254 BIBLIOGRAPHYp.257 ILLUSTRATIONSp.283 iii. List of Illustrations 1.AlbrechtDUrer.MelencoliaI,1514,Engraving, WashingtonD.C.,NationalGalleryofArt,Rosenwald Collection. (Photo:Hutchinson,AlbrechtDurer,1990, plate24). 2.StillfromLeniRienfenstahl'sfilmOlympia--Feastof TheNations,1936.(Photo:Adam,ArtoftheThird Re ich,1992 ,p.25). 3.PabloPicasso.DeuxFemmescourantsurlaplage(La Course)(TwoWomenRunningontheBeach(TheRace)), 1922,Gouacheonplywood.MuseePicasso,Paris. (Photo:Fer,Batchelor,Wood,Realism,Rationalism Surrealism,1993,p.72.). 4.GinoSeverini.Maternita(Maternity),1916,Oilon canvas.CollectionJeanneSeverini.(Photo:Fer, Batchelor,Wood,Realism,Rationalism,Surrealism, 1993,p.12). 5.PosteroftheOrganizationtoAidMothersand Children,Ca.1935.Caption:"Germanygrowsthrough strongmothersandhealthychildren."(Photo:Adam, ArtoftheThirdReich,1992,p.16). 6.OttoDix.AltesLiebespaar(OldCouple),1923,Oilon Canvas.StaatlicheMuseenzuBerlin PreussischerKulturbesitz,NationalgalerieBerlin. (Photo:OttoDix,TateGallery,1992,p.120). 7.HansBaldungGrien.DeathandtheMaiden,1509-1511. Panel.KunsthistorischesMuseum,Vienna.(Photo: Snyder,NorthernRenaissanceArt,1985,p.365). 8.OttoDix.War,1932.Triptychwithpredella,Mixed Mediaonwood.StaatlicheKunstsammlungenDresden, GemaldegalerieNeueMeister.(Photo:OttoDix,Tate Gallery,1992,p.170). 9.MatthiasGrunewald.IsenheimAltarpiece(closed Position),1515,Panel(withframing).Musee d'Unterlinden,Colmar.(Photo:Snyder,Northern RenaissanceArt,1985,p.342). iv. 10.GeorgeGrosz.Leichenbegangnis:WidmunganOskar Panizza(FuneralProcession:DedicationtoOscar Panizza),1917-18,oiloncanvas.Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.(Photo:Fer,Batchelor,Wood, Realism,Rationalism,Surrealism,1992,p.287). 11.JohnHeartfield.GermanNaturalHistory,photomontage, 1934.(Photo:WielandHerzfelde,JohnHeartfield 1962,p.167). 12.AlbrechtDurer.Knight,Death,andDevil,1513, Engraving.(Photo:Panofsky,Durer,1943,fig.207) 13.AlbrechtDurer.TheFourHorsemenoftheApocalypse, Ca.1498,Woodcut.StaatlicheMuseenPreussischer Kulturbesitz,Kupferstichkabinett(Photo:Hutchinson, Durer,1990,plate15). 14a.OttoDix.Melancholie(Melancholy),1930,Mixedmedia onwood.OttoDixStiftung.(Photo:OttoDix,Tate Gallery,p.179). 14b.DieterKramer,Melancholie,1970.KarlErnstOsthaus Museum,Hagen.(Photo:Bialostocki,Durer,1986,p. 400). 15.GeorgSluytermanvonLangeweyde."Ineinemkuhlen Grunde ... ""onthecoolland."Ca.1930.Linocut. (Photo:Schuster,Melencolia,1989,fig.331). 16.OrazioGentileschi.DavidafterHisVictoryover Goliath.Rome,GalleriaSpada.(Photo:Panofsky, EssaysonStyle,1995,p.74). 17.HubertLanziger,ca.1930s.TheFlagBearer.U.S. ArmyArtCollection,Washington.(Photo:Adam, ArtoftheThirdReich,1992,p.18). 18.GeorgSluytermanvonLangeweyde.VictoryorDefeat RestsinGod'sHand:OfHonourWeOurselvesare LordandKing,Ca.1936,Woodcut.(Photo:Hutchinson Durer,1990,plate37). 19.AlbrechtDurer.HerculesDefendingViceAgainstVirtue (TheLargeHercules),Ca.1498,Engraving.Berlin, StaatlicheMuseenPreussischerKulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett.(Photo:Hutchinson,Durer,1990, v. Plate,14). 20.AlbrechtDUrer.Portraitof MaximilianI,1519, woodcut.(Photo:Panofsky,DUrer,1943,fig.229). 21.LucasvanLeyden.Portraitof MaximilianI,1520. Etching.Faceengravedwiththeburin.(Photo: Panofsky,DUrer,1943,fig.230). 22.AlbrechtDUrer.Self-PortraitasManofSorrows, 1522,Drawing.Bremen,Kunsthalle.(Photo:Panofsky, DUrer,1943,frontispiece). 23.AlbrechtDUrer.PortraitofErasmusofRotterdam, Engraving,1526.(Photo:Panofsky,DUrer,1943,fig. 305). 24.FilmStillfromHansJUrgenSyberberg'sHitler,aFilm FromGermany,1977.(Photo:Kaes,FromHitlerto Heimat,1989,p.37). vi. 1 INTRODUCTION FewareasofGermanhistoryhaveelicitedasmuchstudy astheWeimarRepublicofthe19205.Becauseofthecultural experimentationthatproliferatedduringtheRepublic'sshort life,wehavecometothinkofitastheGoldenTwenties,the highpointofGerman"modernityinart,literatureand thought. "IInparticular,imagessuchasMarleneDietrichin asmokycabaret,thesexuallyambiguousdancersfromOtto Dix'sMetropolis,the"cleanlines"ofBauhausexperimental architectureortheExpressionistsetsfromDr.Caligary's Cabinetcometomind.Architects,artists,filmmakersand playwrights,indeed,allseemedtobeexploringavarietyof newdirections. Prominentpost-WorldWarIIhistoriansconsideredthe experimenters--theavant-garde--astheprogressive,rational andcosmopolitaninitiatorsofGermanmodernism.2 Thosewho IPeterGay,WeimarCulture:TheOutsiderasInsider(NewYork:Harper &Row,1968),p.8. :FormanypostWorld-WarIIhistoriansofWeimar,"modernity"is associatedwithaliberalleftandamorally"correct"wayofthinking, whereasirrationalismoranti-intellectualismisequatedwiththe conservativeright.WalterLaqueurclaimsthattheleftwasthe"partyof reason,progressandfreedomandasthepartywhich"sponsorsworthy causeswhichnooneelsewaswillingtoback,"[(Weimar:ACultural 2 wereopposedtomodernitywerelabeledtheconservativeright andwereconsiderednationalisticandnostalgicpurveyorsof non-rationalism.3 LatercriticshavemodifiedthisjudgmentcallingGerman modernismaphenomenonnoteasilyseparatedintotwo polarizedcamps.Indeed,theculturalavant-gardeandthe nationalistrightoftenadoptedsimilarrhetorical Boththeavant-gardeandtheconservative right,forexample,embracedtheuseoftechnologyasa History,1918-1933.NY:G.Putnam's,1974),pp.73,45].EberhardKolb writesthat"Oncloserinvestigationofthe'goldentwenties,'therefore, thetypicalfeatureoftheperiodisseentobethesplitbetween modernismandthefearofmodernity,betweenradicalismandresignation, betweensober,factualrationalityandtheattractionofaprofound irrationalismofamystical,contemplative,orchiliastickind."[The WeimarRepublic,trans.,P.S.Falla(London:UnwinHyman,1988)p.,-gs]. WorkoriginallypublishedasDieWeimarerRepublik(MunichandVienna:R. OldenbergVerlag,1984). HenryJ.TurnerclaimsthatthevictoryofNationalSocialismwasa resultofthe"crisisofmodernization",of"utopianantimodernism. [thatwas]anextremerevoltagainstthemodernindustrialworldandan attempttorecaptureadistantmythicpast' ("FascismandModernization" inReappraisalsofFascism,NY:NewViewpoints,1975,pp.117-139). TalcottParsonsconcludesthatNationalSocialism,inafundamentally importantsense,represented"amobilizationoftheextremelydeep-seated romantictendenciesofGermansocietyintheserviceofaviolently aggressivepoliticalmovement,incorporatinga'fundamentalist'revolt againstthewholetendencyoftherationalizationoftheWesternworld," ("DemocracyandSocialStructureinPre-NaziGermany'- inEssaysin SociologicalTheory,NY:FreePress,1966,p.123). 3Modernartingeneralwasseenasbearingmarksofrationalism,aterm derogatorilyusedbyfasciststodecrythose whoespoused"non-German" traits.Foracontemporaryhistorian'suseofthetermsseeEberhard Kolb,TheWeimarRepublic,p.95andpassim. ForsimilartrendsinFrance,seeKennethSilverEspritdeCorps:The AItoftheParisianAvant-GardeandtheFirstWorldWar,1914-1925 (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1989),pp.219-299. 3 societalnecessity.sBothchampionedareturntoaclassic traditionthattheyhopedwouldtransformabankrupt present.6 Eachsidearguedthattheiropponentpromotedan aestheticallybankruptorunhealthyculture.Certainly,the German"cultofthebody,"whichfusedaestheticwith biological/healthconcernswasembracedbyanti-Semiteswho spoutedtheoriesofracialsuperiority.Butadherentsof RudolphSteiner'santhroposophicteaching--apedagogical method,whichjoinedEnlightenmentthoughttoeducational reform--alsoutilizedthisrhetoric.'Infact,biologicalor scientificreasoningoftenjustifiedopposingpositions.8 5SeeJeffreyHerf,ReactionaryModernism:Technology,Cultureand PoliticsinWeimarandtheThirdReich(NewYork:CambridgeUniversity Press,1984).Inthe1920s,"Naziideologywasareconciliationbetwee:1 theanti-modernist,romanticandirrationalistideaspresentinGerman nationalismandthemostobviousmanifestationofmeans-endsrationality, thatismoderntechnology"(p.125).AlsoseeMoshePostone,"Noteonthe GermanReactionto'Holocaust,'" NewGermanCritique19(Winter1980):pp. 97-116. 6SeePeterFritzsch"LandscapeofDanger"inDancingontheVolcano: EssaysontheCultureoftheWeimarRepublic,eds.ThomasW.Kniescheand StephenBrockmann(CamdenHouse:ColumbiaS.C.,1994),pp.29-46."Inthe ageofEbertandStresernann,thefaraway,thefantastic,andthe protean,wasrepresentedbynostalgiafortheimperialpast, neoconservativenotionsofeternalreturn,fascinationwithtechnology, obsessionwiththeAmericanfutureandcarefulattentiontotheBolshevik experiment,"(p.41). 7SeetheWeimardocumentsconcerningthe"thecultofthebody" translatedinTheWeimarRepublicSourcebook,ed.AntonKaes,MartinJay EdwardDimendberg,(BerkeleyandLosAngeles:UniversityofCalifornia Press,1994),pp.673-692. 8Certainly,theracialistanti-Semitictheoriesofthefascistsandmany volkischnationalistssuchasOswaldSpenglerarewellknown.Inan attempttorebuttheirclaims,opponentsofanti-Semitismalsolookedto biologicaltheoryforsupport.IntheJune1920issueofMartinBuber's DerJude,ArnoldZwiegcallsonJewstorecognizethespecificnatureof 4 Althoughananalysisoftheserhetoricalstrategiesisbeyond thescopeofthisstudy,thissummarydoessuggestthat Weimarsocietyisnotableforitsheterogeneity,dissonance, andinparticularforitsfragmentation. OneWeimarcritic,theGermanJewishpsychologistErich Fromm,pointedoutthatWeimar'sdemocracywasafractious cacophonyofvoices,eachdemandingequaltimeandanequal sayingoverning.9 OttoSpengler's1918TheDeclineofthe Westresonatedstrongly,particularlyontheright,with thosewhobelievedintheinabilityofthedemocratic Republictoresolvesocialandeconomicproblems. Interestinglyenough,ThomasMann(priortohisliberal positionofthe1920s)andtheGermanJewishintellectual FranzRosenzweigalsoconsideredSpengler'snationalistic, nostalgicworktobearemarkablebreakthrough. 10 anti-Semitismandthedifficultiesandunfairnessithasvisitedupon them.Hepointsoutthatanti-Semitismisinternationalincharacter, thatitsopponentsare"extensionsofthedevil"("diegepanzerte Faust"),andthatitisbiologicalinnature;"Wefinallyrecognize Anti-Semitismasabiologicalphenomenon,asonewhichaffectseach persondifferently...wearesearchingfortheroot,whichmust obviouslylieinthetruenatureofthe'people'(Volkern)".Arnold Zweig,"DerheutigedeutscheAnti-Semitismus',[DerJude,3(June1920): p.139]."ErkennenwirendlichdenAntisemitismalsbiologisches Phanonmen,...suchenwirseineWurzelauf,dieselbstverstandlich unterhalbdereigentlichvon'Volkern'erfiilltenSphareliegenmuss." 9SeeErichFromm,EscapefromFreedom(NewYork:FarahReinhardtInc. 1941). 10MannwritesthatSpengler'sbook"standsassomethingdignified, prudent,magisterial,unassailable,irreproachable,yetbrotherly.I amasproudofthisbookasifIhadwrittenit myself."ThomasMann, Diaries,selectedbyHermannKesten,trans.RichardWinstonandClara 5 Inotherwords,Weimar'sliberalandconservative thinkersllsharedadeepdisregardfortheinstitutional politicalstatusquo--whatFritzSternhassoaptlylabeled as"thepoliticsofculturaldespair". I::MichaelMakropoulos hassuggestedthatbecausetheWeimargovernmentwasseenas "compromising,"asonewithoutaclearidentityorvalue structure,therewasacontinuoussearchtofindanswers,to findsomekindofglobalsolutionthatcouldsubstitutefor thevaguenessandlackofdirection. 13VanderWillclaims that"dissonances,.inordinarycognitionbecameabasic experience" .14Relativismandnihilismbecametherallying Winston(London:RobinClark,1983).EntryforSeptember,18,1918,p. 6. SeeStephenAschheim,CulturalCatastrophe:GermanandJewish ConfrontationwithNationalSocialismandOtherCrises(NewYork:NYU Press,1996)regardingFranzRosenzweig.Aschheimwritesthat"Franz Rosenzweig--facedwiththemagnitudeoftheEuropeancatastrophe"-saidof OswaldSpengler,authorofthatrightwing-apocalypticworkTheDecline oftheWestthathewas"objectivelyprobablythegreatestphilosopherof historythathasappearedsinceHegel,"(p.37). IIFritzsch,"LandscapeofDanger,"writesthat:"Bauhausarchitects, socialwelfareofficials,Communistvisionaries,radicalnationalists, andcertainlytheNationalSocialistsformulatedtheirpracticeaccording totheassumptionthatthematerialworldwasfugitivebutalsosupple andworkableandthathistorywasdelinquent.Theyapproachedthe twentiethcenturyasastateofpermanentemergencyinwhichthepresent wascontingentandthefutureadangerousbutopportuneterrainthat requiredrelentlessrenovation,"(p.45). I::FritzStern,ThePoliticsofCulturalDespair.SeeIntroduction,xi-xxx. 13MichaelMakropoulos"Tendenciesofthe1920s:OntheDiscourseof ClassicalModernity"inTheory,Culture&Society(SAGE:London,Thousand OaksandNewDelhi,1995)12(1995):pp.87-102. 14WilfriedvanderWill,"TheBodyandtheBodyPoliticasSymptomand MetaphorintheTransitionofGermanCulturetoNationalSocialism",pp. 6 pointsforthosewhowishedtooverthrowthepoliticalorder orsimplytotossoffsocietalambiguity.VanderWill assertsthat"JosefGoebbelswasright"indeclaringina 1935articlethatthe"confusingdemocraticpluralism"and thepoliticalinfightingofthegovernmentalinstitutionsof theWeimarRepublichelpedtogiverisetothevictoryof NationalSocialism.AccordingtoGoebbels:"Neverbefore hadparticularismofeverykindreveledinsuchorgiesjust atatimewhenwebadlyneedinternalunity. "IS SiegfriedKracauer,aJewishliberaljournalistand culturalcritic,claimedin1922thatitwasnecessary"to reachthefulfilledrealmofarealityunderneathanelevated transcendentmeaning"andtolead"ahomelesshumanityback intothenew-oldfieldsofagod-imbuedreality."16Walter Gropius'sBauhauswasanattempttodesignsucha"reality." Itwasbasedonthe"ideaofanewunitaryworldthat containswithinitselftheresolutiontoallantagonistic tensions."P 14-52inTheNazificationofAIt:AIt,Design,Music,AIchitectureand FilmintheThirdReiched.BrandonTaylorandWi1friedvanderWill (Hampshire:TheWinchesterPress,1990),p.19. 15VanderWill,"TheBodyPolitic,"p.19. 16SiegfriedKracauer,"SoziologiealsWissenschaft"inSchriften1. (Frankfurt:Suhrkamp,1974).Quotedandtrans.inMakroupolous, "Tendenciesofthe19205,"p.91. \7WalterGropius,DieneueAIchitekturunddasBauhaus(Mainz: Kupferberg,1965).Quotedandtrans.inMakropoulos,"Tendenciesofthe 7 Largesegmentsofthepopulation,notonlythe intellectuals,werealienatedfromtherulingelite.Tosome extent,thispessimismwaswellfounded.Althoughthe governmentofWeimarinitiallyembracedthe"progressive"and "enlightened"conceptsofafree-marketeconomy,democracy, modernscience,andtheemancipationofthe"newwoman,,18and theJews,manyoftherepressivejudicialandsocial structuresoftheWilhelmineerawereleftintact.Because thegovernmentwasunabletoprojectaunifiedimage,others filledthevacuumwithoftendisastrousresults.Thosemost associatedwithWeimarmodernisminthepopular consciousness,suchastheJewandthemodernwoman,were turnedintoscapegoatsforallthathadgonewrongwiththe Republic--withtheeconomicandsocialissuesthatthe governmentcouldnotorwouldnotclearlyarticulate. Stereotypicalimagescirculated,whichtransformedJewsand the"modern"womanfirstintoobj ectsofki tsch, 19andlater 1920s,"p.95. 18AsR. J.Evanshaspointedout,women'semancipationwasanimportant issueduringWeimar.RethinkingGermanHistory:Nineteenth-Century GermanyandtheOriginsoftheT h i ~ dReich(London:AllenandUnwin, 1987),pp.224-263.Giventhepublicawarenessofthedebatesurrounding the"newwoman",issuesconcerningfemininitywerefocalpointsformany groups--particularlyforthosedismayedwithGermany'slossinWorldWar I.ForanevocativeaccountofsomeofthesereactionsseeKlaus Theleweit,MaleFantasies,trans.StephenConway.(Minneapolis: UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1987). 19SeeSaulFriedlanderReflectionsofNazism:AnEssayonKitsch&Death (Bloomington:IndianaUniversityPress,1993)forananalysisofthe 8 intosocietalprojectionsofh a t e . ~Indeed,forWeimar Germany,JewscouldbeconsideredaprojectionofaGerman "other."TheywereapartofaGermansocietythatdidnot considerthemasfullyintegratedmembersofa"genuine" Germanictradition--despitethebeliefsofmanyJewish intellectualsthattheywereGermansfirstandJewssecond. ManyhistorianshavearguedthatthemajorityofJews wereassimilatedGermanswhodidnotseethemselvesas separatedfromthelargerGermanculture. ~ IOtherscholars havecometodisputethisnotionduringthelasttenyears. Theyclaimthatself-identificationwithGermanydidnotmean completeassimilation.DavidSorkinassertsthatJewswere economicallyassimilatedratherthansociallyintegrated,in part,becausetheychosethispath,butalsobecausethe relationshipbetweenpropaganda,kitschanddeath. ~InCutWiththeKnife:theWeimarPhotomontagesofHannahHoch(Yale UniversityPress:NewHavenandLondon,1993),p.52,MaudLavinsuggests thatwomenandJewswereassociatedwithWeimarbecausetheypreviously hadbeeneffectivelybarredfromthepowerstructuresofGermansociety. Sheobservesthat"duringWeimartheycouldsuddenlyimagineoccupying positionswithinbourgeoissociety--andsometimesactuallyachievethem. Becauseoftherelativenewnessofthispossibilityandthefactthatit occurredduringthetwenties,atthesametimeasintensified modernization,bothgroupschosetoidentifywithmodernelementsof Germansociety".InLavin'sview,thisturnedwomenandJewsintoan easytarget.Perhapspoliticalexpediencymightbeabetterterm.Inmy view,asfarasJewishidentityisconcerned,itsconflationwith liberalismandmodernismisnotallthatclear.Asnotedabove,the boundariesbetweenconservativeandliberalgroupswerenotdistinct, althoughLavinhasapointinassumingthateachoftheirideological goalsdifferedgreatly. '1 - Amongthesescholars,perhapsthemostwellknownarePeterGay,Weimar CultureorWalterLaqueur,Weimar:ACulturalHistory. 9 "larger"societywouldnotletthembecomefullmembers.= GermanJewishidentity,inotherwords,involvedadual standard--politicalacceptanceandreligious/social toleration.MichaelBrennerhassuggestedthatWeimarJews werenot"JewsbeyondJudaism,"asGeorgeMossehasstated, butwereadistinctgroupwithinGermanythatproduceda remarkable,livelyanduniqueJewishTheywere,in otherwords,adistinctvoicewithinthisfragmentedculture. OnecouldarguethatmanyofWeimar'sassimilatedJews suchasthearthistoriansErwinPanofskyandAbyWarburg, wouldnothaveagreedwiththisconclusion.Deeply identifyingwiththeGermancultureofGoetheandSchiller, theyfeltthemselvestobe,asPeterGayremarks,outsiders whobecameinsiders.:4 LikeothermembersofWeimarGermany, theysoughttorescueGermanculturefromthefragmented chaosinwhichitfounditself.Nevertheless,theywerenot fullyassimilatedGermans,regardlessofhow"German"many = SeeDavidSorkin,TheTransformationofGermanJewry:1780-1840(New York:OxfordUniversityPress,1987).Anti-Semitismandthequestionof assLmilationwillbediscussedingreaterdetailinChapter1.Sufficeit tosaythat"assimilated"inaccuratelydescribesthepositionofGerman JewsinGermany.SeealsoSanderGilmanPathologyandDifference(Cornell UniversityPress:Ithaca,1985)andJewishSelf-Hatred:Anti-Semitismand theHiddenLanguageoftheJews(JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress: Baltimore,1986). SeeMichaelBrenner,TheRenaissanceofJewishCultureinWeimar Germany(NewHavenandLondon:YaleUniversityPress,1996). 24SeePeterGay,WeimarCulture. 10 assumedthemselvestobe.Indeed,asJacobKatzbluntly statedoversixtyyearsago,"Jewshavenotassimilatedinto theGermanpeople.,,25AlthoughGermanJewsweredividedintoa varietyofgroupsrangingfromatheisticseculartoorthodox Ostjuden,theywereforGermansanOther.AsEnzoTraverso putsit,"InsteadofinauguratingadialoguebetweenJewsand Germans,assimilationledimmediatelytoaJewishmonologue, whichtookplaceintheGermanicworld..Truesymbiosis presupposedapluralisticsocietycapableofacknowledging theJewishtraditionaswellasJewishotherness. ,,16 WalterBenjamin,oneofthemanynotableJewishcritics toemergefromWeimar'sfragmentedculture,suggestedthat societaltensionswereinevitable: Agenerationthattraveledtoschoolinhorse-drawn tramsisleftoutintheopeninalandscapeinwhich nothingexceptthecloudsremainedunchanged,whilein themiddle,inaforcefieldofdestructivecurrentsand explos ions,thetiny,fragilehumanbody. 17 25JacobKatz,"DieEntstehungderJudenassimilationinDeutschlandund derenIdeologie"(Frankfurta.M.,1935)32.ReprintedinEmancipationand Assimilation:StudiesinModernJewishHistory(Westrnead:Farnborough, 1972),p.72. 16EnzoTraverso,TheJewsandGermany:Fromthe"Judeo-GermanSymbiosis" totheMemoryofAuschwitztrans.DanielWeissbort(LincolnandLondon: UniversityofNebraskaPress),p.40. 17WalterBenjamin,"ErfahrungundArmut" ,inGessamelteschriften,eds. RolfTiedemannandHermannSchweppenhauser,vol.2(Frankfurt:Suhrkamp, 1972),p.214."EineGeneration,dienochmitderpferdebahnzurSchule gefahrenwar,standunterfreiemHimmelineinerLandschaft,inder nichtsunverandertgebliebenwaralsdieWolken,undinderMitte,in einemKraftfeldzerstorenderStromeundExplosionen,derwinzige 11 LikeGropius,Kracauerandmanyotherintellectuals,Benjamin attemptedtomakesenseofWeimar'sculturalchaos.He developedatheoryofhistory,albeitanegativeand destructiveone,thatattemptedtoexplainthedisjointed presentthroughananalysisofthepast.Theliteraryor visualfragmentwastheessentialbuildingblockofthis philosophyofhistory,aphilosophyt h ~ thaditsrootsin NietzscheannihilismandJewishmessianicredemption. Visual"fragments,"inparticular,occupiedacentral placeinBenjamin'smethodologicalinquiries.Suchimages, whichweretheproductsoftheintersectionoflanguage, culturalidentity,andmemory,couldbearbitrarily appropriatedforcontemporaryuse.Heusedthemtoillustrate hisbeliefthathistoryisnotaprogressiveprocess,but was,instead,achaoticcycleofdestructionandrepetition. Benjamin,inhisOriginofGermanTragicD r a m a ~for example,pluckedAlbrechtDUrer'sMelencoliaI(Figure1) fromitssixteenthcenturycontextanduseditasavisual metaphorforthechaoticsixteenth-centuryBaroqueandfor gebrechlicheMenschenkorper." ~WalterBenjamin,TheOriginofGermanTragicDrama,trans.John Osborne,intro.GeorgeSteiner(LondonandNewYork:NewLeftBooks, 1977)(Versopaperbackedition,1985).OriginallypublishedasUrsprung desdeutschenTrauerspiels(FrankfortamMain:SuhrkampVerlag,1963) 12 hisowntroubledperiod.Theoncepotentandfearsomegods ofantiquitythatDUrerhasrenderedasallegoricalsymbols (suchastheJupiter'smagicsquarebehindtheseatedfigure) represented,forBenjamin,thevisualemblemsofourdead myths--mythswhichhaveluredusintoadream-likeacceptance ofthestatusquo.Ontheotherhand,DUrer'scorpsesofthe deadgodsfromAntiquityalsojoltusawake.Theyforceus torecognizethathistoryisnotaprogressiveforce.Asin Jewishmessianicphilosophy,Benjaminconcludesthatitis onlywhenhumankindhasdescendedintomelancholicdespair thatthepathtoredemptionbecomesclear. Benjamin'sinterestsintheafterlifeofclassical cultureandinthevisualdetailsandfragmentswhicharethe buildingblocksoffutureculturalredemptionweresharedby anotherGermanJewishscholar--AbyWa=burg(1863-1929). AlthoughBenjamin'sanalysisofMelencoliaIintheOriginof GermanTragicDramawasbasedonthe1923interpretationof ErwinPanofskyandFritzSaxl,colleaguesofWarburg'satthe UniversityofHamburg,its"spirit"seemstoechothatofthe older ThisisdiscussedingreaterdetailinChapter3,inreferenceto Benjamin'sOriginofGer.manTragicDramawhereheenliststhehelpofthe WorksofAlbertDUrerinevaluatingthesignificanceoftheallegorical writingofseventeenth-centuryGermany.Inthischapter,Icontrastand comparesomeofPanofsky'searlywritingsonDUrerwiththatof Benjamin'sOriginandotheressaysonmimesis. 13 BothWarburgandBenjamin,whowereinterestedin reinterpretationsoftheclassicaltradition,viewedhistory asanunreconcilablecontestbetweenthechaotic"dionysian" andtheserene"apollonian"forcesarticulatedbyFriedrich NietzscheinhisBirthofTragedy(1872).Theybothlookedto Durer'sworkasanexampleofthiscreativetension. Significantly,WarburgandBenjaminviewedhistory,notasa Hegelianrationalprocessbutasadestructiveone.30 Each scholarattemptedtoconstructavisuallanguageof representationandsuggestedthatamontage-like juxtapositionofimageswouldilluminatehistoricalpatterns ofmeaning. ThisviewwouldappeartobequitedifferentfromErwin Panofsky'sneo-Kantianinterpretationofartandofart history.Inhislaterwritings,Panofskydefinedartistic meaningasthatwhichemergedfromtheharmoniousratherthan tensebalancingofapolloniananddionysianforces. Historicaldevelopment,whichwasgovernedbyrational forces,couldbedecodedbyaknowledgeablehistorian. ~Benjamin'sviewsregardinghistoricalpracticewillbediscussedin Chapter3.AlthoughWarburg'stheoryofcultureisonlysummarizedin Chapter1,hisviewswereimportanttothedevelopmentoftheWarburg "School"theoryofarthistory.TherelationshipofWarburg'sto Benjamin'shavebeenexploredbyWolfgangKempamongothers. Nevertheless,theinterrelationshipamongalltheseGermanJewish scholarswarrantsfurtherstudyandexplication. 14 DespitetheapparentdifferencesbetweenPanofskyand theothertwoscholars,therearesignificantsimilarities amongthem.LikeWarburgandBenjamin,Panofskystudiedthe wOLkofAlbrechtDurer.HisengagementwithDurer,whichgoes backtohisGermandoctoraldissertationof191531 and culminatesinhisinfluentialmonographof1943TheLifeand ArtofAlbrechtD u r e r 3 ~ ,wasoneoftheprimarymechanismshe usedtodevelophistheoryofartisticinterpretation (Iconology).Panofsky'searlymethodologicalessayson culturalhistory,alsoreflecttheNietzscheantensions,the Jewishintellectualinfluences,andtheaffective, theologicaldimensionthatareevidentinBenjamin'searly writings(asinTheOriginofGermanTragicDrama).AsI intendtoshowinthesubsequentchapters,Panofsky's writingsarepermeatedwiththetraditions,ambivalenceand intellectualnuancesthatwerewovenintothecritical thoughtofmanyGermanJewishwritersincludingWalter Benjamin.Indeed,thetensionbetweenaGermanandJewish identity,althoughattimescamouflaged,remainsaconstant presenceintheirmethodologicalanalysesofhistoryand,and 31ErwinPanofsky,DUrersKunsttheorieVornehmlichinIhremVerhaltniszur KunsttheoriederItaliener.(Berlin:GeorgReimer,1995). 3 ~ErwinPanofsky,TheLifeandArtofAlbrechtDUrer(Princeton: PrincetonUniversityPress,1943(IhaveusedthefirstPrinceton Paperbackprinting,1971). 15 inparticular,intheirinterpretationsoftheartof AlbrechtDurer. InChapter1,Isummarizetheimportanceofthe classicaltraditionanditsRenaissanceafterlifeforboth Jewishandconservative,nationalistwriters.Althoughthe nineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturiessawtherebirthof manyhistoricalandartistictraditions,eachofthese traditionswere,asGeorgeMossepointsout,fusedwitha classicalvisualrhetoricthatallowedtheGermansto constructadistinctnationalgenealogy.DThevisualculture ofGermanyduringtheearlytwentiethcenturyreflectedthis desiretodefineaclassicalnorthernorigin(thefilmsof LeniRiefenstahlareclearremindersoftheeffectivenessof theGermanpoliticalappropriationofpastclassicalculture, seeFigure2). Indeed,politicalbattlesintheGermanyoftheearly twentiethcenturywereoftenfoughtintheculturalarena.In GeorgeMosse'swords,"theartisticandthepoliticalhad Proponentsofaspecificpoliticalideologyoften 33GeorgeL.Mosse,TheNationalizationoftheMasses:PoliticalSymbolism andMassMovementsinGermanyfromtheNapoleonicWarsthroughtheThird Reich(Ithaca,NY:CornellUniversityPress,1975). GeorgeL.Mosse,TheNationalizationoftheMasses,p.15. 16 associatedtheirownvalueswitha"genuine"Germanculture thatreflectedaclassicalantecedentinAntiquity,the RenaissanceortheeighteenthcenturyEnlightenment.For example,evenbeforetheNationalSocialistscametopower, themythoftheclassicalherowasfusedwiththatofa Nordiconeinordertocreateavisualmodelofaracially pureGerman"type. ,,35Throughoutthe1920s,themagazineDie Sonne,MonatsschriftfurNordischeWeltanschauungund Lebensgestaltungpublishedarticlesonsuch"Nordicsouls"as Michelangelo'snudes,Nietzsche'sUbermenschen,andGoethe's Faust.36 AlbrechtDurer,boththeartistandhiswork,also playedanimportantroleinthepoliticalsphere.TheGerman Renaissancerevival--termedtheDurerzeit--was,inpart,a reactiontowhatwasperceivedasFrenchculturalhegemonyin Europe.37 FortheGermanyofthelate-nineteenthandearly 35SeePeterAdams,ArtoftheThirdReich(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams, Inc.),pp.23-39.Nevertheless,BenedictAnderson(ImaginedCommunities (LondonandNewYork:Verso,1991,p.141)remindsusthat"Inanage whenitissocommonforprogressive,cosmopolitanintellectuals...to insistonthenear-pathologicalcharacterofnationalism...the culturalproductsofnationalismr-poetry,prosefiction,music,plastic arts--showthisloveveryclearlyinthousandsofdifferentformsand styles." ~Adams,ArtoftheThirdReich,p.24. 37RobinLenman,JohnOsborne,andEdaSagarra,"ImperialGermany: TowardstheCommercializationofCulture,"inGermanCulturalStudies: AnIntroductioned.RobBurns(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1995), pp.9-52. 17 twentiethcenturies,asocietyinsearchoforder,DUrer's worksweretheembodimentofclarityandlegibility.His printswerereinvented,reinterpretedandcirculatedin popularcultureinpartbecausetheparticularordertowhich theyadhered--linearperspectiveandhumanproportionality establishedduringtheRenaissance--seemedtooffer dependablevisualstandards. TheRenaissancerevival,or"altdeutschvogue,"grewout ofthe1876MunichAppliedArtExhibition.Oneofits backers,GeorgeHirth,authorofDasdeutscheZimmerder Renaissance(1880)advocatedadecorativestylethatwas specificallyGerman. 38BythetimeofWeimar,thoughartists andartisansnolongeradheredtothesestandards,the "Renaissancerevival"styleremainedpopular.Indeed,the DUrerbund,theorganizationfoundedbyFriedrichAvenariusto supportthe"healthy"GermanRenaissancerevivalculture, persistedintothe1920s. TheRenaissancerepresentedanidealthathadbeen preservedintraditionandelevatedtomythic,iconicstatus byintellectualsaswell.InChapter1,Iprovideasummary ofsomeofthesestudies.IhaveselectedworksaboutDurer 38Lerunanetai,"ImperialGermany,"p.39.ConcerningartinMunichat theturnofthecenturyseeMariaMakela,TheMunichSecession:Artand ArtsinTurn-of-the-CenturyMunich(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity 18 fromthosewriterswhowereimportantcontributorstoGerman culturalhistoryand,inparticular,toarthistory. Secondly,Ihaveframedtheircontributionsinageneral discussionoftheNietzscheanlegacyinGermany.Finally,I havelocatedcertainoftheircontributionswithinamore specificanalysisoftheGermanJewishpolitical,cultural andreligioustraditions. Chapter2hasanarrowerfocus.Inthischapter,I examinetheimportanceoftheGermanidealisttraditionand FriedrichNietzsche'sreinterpretationofitinBenjamin's andinPanofsky'smethodologicalstudies.Idiscusshowthe workofart--specificallyDUrer'sMelencoliaI--wascrucial tothedevelopmentofPanofsky'stheoryoficonologyand Benjamin'sallegoricalphilosophy.Ihavechosentofocuson Panofsky'searlystudies(thosewrittenprimarilybeforehe leftGermanyin1933)andonBenjamin's1928analysisof seventeenth-centuryGermantragicdrama(TheOriginofGerman TragicDrama). Inparticular,Ihaveevaluatedtheirinterpretationsof thetraditionalphilosophicalconcernwithhowtheindividual makes"sense"ofherexperienceofthephenomenalworld.For ImmanuelKant,oneofthemostinfluentialthinkersofthe Press,1990). 19 modernage--andwhosetheoreticalconclusionswerecrucialin thedevelopmentofbothBenjamin'sandPanofsky'saesthetic philosophies--itisimpossibletoknowthenaturalworldas itreallyis.Rather,weinterpretsensoryexperience accordingtoana-priorisetofrules.Inotherwords,the perceivingsubject,organizesherexperienceofthenatural worldaccordingtoasetofconceptsthataredivorcedfrom theworldofobjects.39 ForBenjaminandunlikeKant,the "objectworld"ofnatureisanactiveagent--simultaneously bothdestroyerandredeemer--inourapprehensionof phenomena.Panofsky,however,appearstosupporttheKantian notionthatagencyprimarilyresideswiththeartist/creator (atleastasputforthinhisandFritzSaxl's1923 discussionofDurer'sengravingMelencoliaI). Nevertheless,asIintendtoshow,therearesignificant similaritiesbetweenPanofsky'sandBenjamin'stheoriesof representation.Bothofthemarestudiesabouttheprocess ofhistoricaltransformation,aprocessnotaccountedforin Kant'sphilosophy.Inaddition,bothscholarsamendKant's provisothat"true"knowledgeofGodisnotpossible. Benjamin,inhisearlystudies,intendstodestroythe 39ForausefulsummaryofKant'sphilosophy,seeRogerScruton,"Kant," inGermanPhilosophers:Kant,Hegel,Schopenhauer,Nietzsche(Oxfordand NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1997),pp.1-104. 20 idealizedmythoftheclassicalheroandtotransform traditionalcriticalphilosophyintoanallegoricallanguage ofrepresentation--onethatstructureshistoricalfragments intomimeticpatternsofredemptivepossibilitiesthatallow forreligiousexperience.Panofsky,inhisessay"Perspective asSymbolicForm,"alsointroducesa"theological"dimension tohistheoryofvisualrepresentation.Hiscomplexneo-Kantiananalysis,whichinvestigatesthehistoryofvisual perception,nevertheless,metamorphosesfromanhistorical, scientificaccountoflinearperspectiveintoaphilosophical musingontranscendentalandtheologicalredemption. BothPanofsky'sandBenjamin'stheoriesofvisual representationareessentiallyphilosophiesofhistory.In Chapter3,Ievaluatethesignificanceofthestudyof history--specificallytheclassicaltraditionsofthe RenaissanceandtheBaroque--forPanofskyandforBenjamin. FriedrichNietzsche'sessay"Ontheusesanddisadvantagesof historyforlife,"whichisimportanttoanydiscussionof twentieth-centuryWesternhistory,iscrucialtomyanalysis oftheirinterpretationsofhistory. Inthischapter,IalsoinvestigatehowGermanidealist philosophyintersectswithGermanJewishtraditionsin Benjamin'sandPanofsky'stheoreticalconclusions.Ihave specificallyplacedtheirstudieswithintheGermanJewish traditionoflanguage(the Giventhehistorical 21 circumstancessurroundingbothGermanJewishassimilationand theearlytwentieth-century"Jewishrevival"(asdiscussedin Chapters1and3),itseemstomethatthecontributionof PanofskyandBenjamintotwentieth-centurycultureand letterscannotbefullyappreciatedwithoutthisdimension--whethertheyknowinglyembracedsomeofthesetraditionsor not. Inthefinalchapter,Chapter4,Ihavechosento comparePanofsky's1943monographonAlbrechtDUrerwith ThomasMann'spostwarnovelDoctorFaustus.Boththese works,althoughwrittenaftertheendoftheWeimarRepublic are,inmyview,commentariesaboutit.PanofskyandMann adaptedtraditionalsymbolsofGermanculture--theworksof DUrerandtheRenaissancefigureDr.Faustus--toconvey,in part,theirownsentimentsaboutpastandpresentGerman culturalidentity.Theauthors'effortsaresituatedwithin thewiderintellectualandhistoricalculturalcontextof Weimar.Inparticular,Ihaveattemptedtoevaluatehow theirlanguageisconsistentwiththeNietzscheanrhetoric circulatingwithinWeimarculture.Ihavetriedtoshowhow thesetwoverydifferentcriticsutilizedDUrer'sartas metaphorsfortheirowncommentariesaboutthedeathof enlightenedGermanculture. 22 Chapter 1 WEIMAR CULTURE, CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY AND THE SEARCH FOR ORDER Evenrevolutionarymovementsbackedtheirinnovationsby referencetoa'people'spast'.Butwhatpassesinto historyandbecomesthefoundationforanational ideologyisnottheactualmemoryofasociety,notthe collectiveaccountingoffactsbutwhathasbeen selected,written,pictured,popularizedand institutionalizedbythosewhosefunctionitistodo so .\ The Production of Culture and the Search for Order EricHobsbawmarguesthatGermanyspecificallyused historyinanegativefashion,toarguewhatitwasagainst andwhowereitsenemies.Inthepoliticalandculturalchaos thatwasWeimar,anydefinitionofnationalidentity,however insidious,simplistic,ornoble,couldassumeimportanceina societysearchingforaculturalanchor. DuringtheWeimarRepublic,theworkofbothErwin PanofskyandWalterBenjaminfocusedonaesthetictopicsthat centeredonclassicaltraditions.Panofsky'sstudies,such \EricHobsbawm,"Introduction:InventingTraditions"inEricHobsbawm andTerenceRanger,editors,TheInventionofTradition(Cambridge: 23 as"AlbrechtDurerandClassicalA..'1tiquity":(1921)or PerspectiveasSymbolicForm3,(1924-1925)andBenjamin's "Goethe'sElectiveAffinities,,4(1924)orTheOriginof GermanTragicDrama5(1928)arethematicallyalliedwiththe workofotherculturalcriticsofearlytwentieth-century modernity.Manyscholars,inparticularSusanBuck-Morss, havecommentedthatBenjamin'sanalysisofBaroquetragic dramaisitselfacommentaryonthedecayingandtension-filledEuropeofthe1920s.6 Panofsky'swritingsonAlbrechtDurerarealsoanimated CambridgeUniversityPress,1983),p.13. :ErwinPanofsky."DurersStellungzurAntike,"JahrbuchfurKunst-geschichteI(1921/1922):pp.43-92.ReprintedinMeaningintheVisual Arts.PapersinandonArtHistory.GardenCityNY:Doubleday,1955. Phoenixedition,Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1982,pp.236-285. 3ErwinPanofsky."DiePerspektiveals'symbolischeForm,'"Vortrageder BibliothekWarburg1924-1925.LeipzigandBerlin:B.G.Teubner,1927. Englishtrans.PerspectiveasSymbolicFonn.Trans.ChristopherS.Wood. NewYork:ZoneBooks,1991. 4WalterBenjamin,"GoethesWahlverwandschaften",Writtenin1919-1922. publishedinNeueDeutscheBeitrage,1924-1925.Englishversion"Goethe's ElectiveAffinities."Trans.StanleyCorngoldinWalterBenjamin: SelectedWritingsVolume11913-1926.Eds.MarcusBullockandMichaelW. Jennings.(CambridgeMAandLondon:TheBelknapPressofHarvard UniversityPress,1996),pp.297-360. 5WalterBenjamin,TheOriginofGermanTragicDrama,trans.JohnOsborne, intra.GeorgeSteiner(LondonandNewYork:NewLeftBooks,1977)(Verso paperbackedition,1985).OriginallypublishedasUrsprungdesdeutschen Trauerspiels(FrankfortamMain:SuhrkampVerlag,1963).Alsoin GessammelteSchriftenVol1,p.203-.Eds.RolfTiedemannandHermann Schweppenhauser.FrankfortamMain:SurhkampVerlag,1972- , 6SusanBuck-Morss,TheDialecticsofSeeing:WalterBenjaminandthe ArcadesProject(Cambridge,MA:M.I.T.Press,1989).Inthisbrilliant analysisofBenjamin'sfinalwork,thePassagenarkaden,Buck-Morss providesaninsightfulsummaryoftheWeimarcontextinwhichBenjamin worked.Hertexthasplayedanimportantpartintheconclusionsreached 24 bytheculturaldebatesofWeimarGermany.ForPanofskyand manyofhiscolleagues,theiranalysesoftheRenaissanceas oneofWesternhistory'ssignificantculturalfloweringsand astandardagainstwhichotherepochsmightbecompared cannotbeseparatedfromthecritiquesoftheirownsociety--asocietywhichwasoftenconsideredaschaoticand culturallyadrift.Notuntil thefirstrailroadsandindustrialplantswere built ...weremanandnature ... doomedtobecomeless interestingandlessimportantthanthoseantihumanand antinaturalforcesthatseemtodetermineourown period--theforcesofmassesandmachines--andofwhich wedon'tyetknowwhethertheyarethemanifestationsof anunknownGodoranunknownDevil.Theriseofthese newforces,nottheBaroquemovement,meanstherealend oftheRenaissance,andatthesametimethebeginning ofourownepochofhistory,anepochthatisstill strugglingforanexpressionbothinlifeandinart, andthatwillbenamedandjudgedbythegenerationsto come--providedthatit doesnotputanendtoall generationstocome.7 Thesearchforculturalcoherence,forthetypeof "order"exemplifiedinpasthistoricalepochs(particularly thoselabeledclassical)is,asIintendtoshow,evidentin thetheoriesdevelopedbyPanofskyandBenjamin.Theirearly studiesare,infact,centeredononeofhistory'sclassic artists,thesixteenthcenturyRenaissancepainterand inthischapter. 7ErwinPanofsky,"WhatisBaroque?"(1935),inThreeEssaysonStyle,ed. 25 printmakerAlbrechtDurer,andonperhapshismostfamous engraving,MelencoliaI(Figure1).Theartistoccupiesa centralplaceinPanofsky'sIdea(1924)andPerspectiveas SymbolicForm(1924-1925)aswellasinthedevelopmentof histheoryoficonology.ForBenjamin,DUrerisacentral characterinhisexplicationoftheOriginofGermanTragic Drama. Panofsky'sandBenjamin'sinterestintheartistandthe afterlifeoftheclassicalispartofaEuropean-wide culturalfocusonhistoricaltradition.France,asKenneth SilverandRomyGolanhaverecentlyargued,sawarebirthof classicalmotifsarticulatedanddisseminatedinPicasso's art.8 Picasso'sDeuxFemmescourantsurlaPlage(LaCourse) (1922,Figure3)orTroisFemmesalaSource(1921)are reworkingsofclassicalthemeswhileGinoSeverini's Maternita9 (1917,Figure4)looksbacktothenursing MadonnasoftheRenaissance.AsDavidBatchelorsuggests, suchnaturalisticartworksofthe1920swereconsciousart-IrvingLavin(Cambridge,MAandLondon:TheM.I.T.Press,1995),p.88. 8SeeKennethE.Silver,EspritDeCorps:TheArtoftheParisianAvant-GardeandtheFirstWorldWar,(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress, 1989)andRomyGolan,Modernity& Nostalgia:ArtandPoliticsinFrance betweentheWars(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1995). 9Severini'sreininterpretationofnursingRenaissanceMadonnaswas certainlynotuniquetotheavant-garde.Ananonymousnationalist artist,reworkedthisthemeforapropagandisticposterandproduceda remarkablysimilarworktoSeverini's(Figure5). 26 historicalquotationsofclassicalsourcesandnotnostalgic tributestoasimpler,ruralpast.Theywere"reflection[s] onculture."loEventheschematizedpaintingsofCharles-EdouardJeanneretandAmedeeOzenfantwerenotcubistic renditionsbutwere,instead,illustrationsoftheclassical order--"amoderndevelopmentoftheclassicaltraditionof ancientGreece."llWeimar'sinterestinclassicism--defined hereasthecivilizationassociatedwithancientGreeceand Rome--isrelatedtoasearchfororderthatarosefromthe socialdislocations,themoral/politicalresignationand economiccollapsecausedbythedefeatinWorldWarI. Becausepoliticalinstitutionswerenotdeeplyrootedinthe Germanlandscape,Germansfeltaparticularlyacutesenseof helplessness. I:Culturalcriticsandartistssoughtaunifying order,aculturalcoherence,towhichthespinningWeimar culturecouldanchoritself.Manychosetolooktothepast--10DavidBatchelor,", ThisLibertyandthisOrder':ArtinFranceafter theFirstWorldWar."Realism,Rationalism,Surrealism:ArtBetweenthe Wars,ed.BrionyFer,DavidBatchelor,PaulWood(NewHavenandNewYork: YaleUniversityPress,1993),p.12. IIBatchelor,"ArtinFrance,"p.25.BatchelorstatesthattheL'Esprit NouveaumanifestooftheseartistslinkedRaphael,Poussin,Chardin, Ingres,Corot,Cezanne,SeuratandRousseauwith"Greekartand'Negro' sculpture...allthisworkdrewonadeeperlevelofrealitythanwas representedinthe'superficialsensations'ofImpressionismand Naturalism. " 12WalterLaqueur,Fascism:Past,Present,Future,(NewYorkandOxford: OxfordUniversityPress,1995),p.29. 27 particularlytoantiquity--forthatanchor .13 Theresurgenceofinterestintheclassicaltradition characteristicofWeimarGermany,wasspurredbythedebacle ofWorldWarIanditsaftermath.Inaddition,thefastpace ofchangeintheeconomicandculturallandscape, particularlytheunprecedentedadvancesintechnology,appear tohaveproducedatimethatseemedoutofcontroltomanyof itsobservers.Indeed,rapidindustrialization--whetherin themechanizationofagriculturaloutputorintheexplosion ofnewmediasuchasfilmandphotography--isoneofthe chieffeaturesofWeimar.14 13Indeed,manyothercritics,notjustthoselivingduringtheWeimar Republic,havetransformedand"reinvented"classicalantiquityinorder toaddresstheirown concerns.Certainly,artistsofthe Renaissance,includingAlbrechtDtirer--who,arguablybroughtthe traditionsoftheSouthtotheNorth--returnedtoclassicalsources, particularlythoseofancientRome.InGermany,criticalarthistorical interestinclassicalGreekculturebeganwiththepublicationofJ.J. Winckelmann's1755seminalwork,GedankentiberdieNachamungder griechischenWerkeinderMalerenundBildhauer-Kunst.Englishtrans. ReflectionsontheImitationofGreekWorksinPaintingandSculpture, trans.ElfriedeHeyerandRogerC.Norton(LaSalle,Illinois:OpenCourt PublishingCompany,1987).Greekartwascharacterized,forWinckelmann, by"noblesimplicityandquietgrandeur."Intheearlynineteenth-century,theclassicalnormwerefilteredthroughaRomanticlenswhich balancedpassionwithWinckelmann'sreserve.Thisrevisednorm,asMosse pointsout,gavewaybythe1940stothemonumentalarchitectureofthe Nazis.SeeTheNationalizationoftheMasses:PoliticalSymbolismand MassMovementsinGermanyfromtheNapoleonicWarsthroughtheThird Reich(IthacaandLondon:CornellUniversityPress,1975),p.30. 14SeeDetlevPeukert,WeimarRepublic:TheCrisisofClassicalModernity. Trans.RichardDeveson(NewYork:HillandWang,1993).Originally publishedasDieWeimarerRepublik(FrankfortamMain:SuhrkampVerlag, 1987).Heprovidesausefuldefinitionofmodernity:"modernityis characterizedbyhighlyrationalizedindustrialproduction,complex technologicalstructures ... asfarascultureisconcerned,media productsdominate ... inintellectualterms,modernitymarksthetriumph 28 Becauseofallthetechnologicalchanges,humanity's relationshiptonatureandartwasaltered.Tosomeextent, allthe"isms"ofearlymodernity(fromImpressionism,to cubism,toverism)canbeseenaseffortstograpplewiththe uncertaintiesofhumanity'sevolvingrelationshipwith technologyandthechangesitwroughtinourinteractions withtheworldandwitheachother. Withsomuchuncertainty,tradition(definedasaGerman culture"descended"fromtheGreeksandinfusedwithdistinct Germanictraditions)wasnostalgicallyreassuring.It providedastartingplacefromwhicheithertoreturntothe pastortoconstructafutureutopia(thetwoendpointsin Benjamin'swritings).ForBenjamin,thefuture-the"not-yet"-wasexpressedinthearchaic. 15Thearchaic,inturn,was preserved,albeitnotexplicitly,inallegoricalimagesof frozen,transformednature.Theseimageshadamoraland theologicalpurpose.InOrigin,theygiveaglimpseofthe originofredemption. InGermanyinthevisualarts,ottoDixappropriatedthe artofsuchnorthernmastersasDurer,MatthiasGrunewald, ofwesternrationality,"p.82. 15SusanBuck-Morss,TheDialecticsofSeeing,114. 29 HansBaldungGrienandPieterBruegel.Forexample,his imagesofagingwomenrecallthethemesofvanityanddeath thatHansBaldingGrienpainted.IntheOldCouple(1927, Figure6)Dixemployedtheoldmastermethodofusinglayers ofglazingandameticulousbrushstroke(asinBaldung's DeathandtheMaiden,1509-1511,Figure7).16Suchamethod wasadistinctrejectionofthefree-formedpainterlystyle ofKirchnerandotherearlierExpressionists.Dix'sWar Tryptich(1929-1932,Figure8),tociteanotherexample,is richinreferencestoChrist'spassionandmartyrdomandcan becomparedtoMatthiasGrUnewald'sIsenheimAltarpiece (1515,Figure9).MuchasGrUnewaldattemptedtoillustrate theheavenlyredemptionawaitingthosewhosuffereddreaded diseasessuchastheplague,Dixattemptedtofindsome "redeemingvalueinthedestructionandcarnageofthe bat tlefields . ,,17Inthecenter,Dixtrans formsGrUnewald's crucifixionsceneintoasoldier'sgrotesquedeathonaniron barwhilethesleepingsoldiersinthepredellaappearto recallHansHolbein'sDeadChrist(1521). GeorgGroszalsoinvokedthestyleoftheclassical 16ForadiscussionofthispaintingandothersbyOttoDix,seeKeith HartleyandSarahO'BrienTwohig,OttoDix1891-1969(London:TheTate Gallery,1996).OntheOddCouple,seeTateGalleryCatalogue,p.121. 17MariaTatar,Lustmord:SexualMurderinweimarGermany(NewHavenand 30 Renaissanceartistsinhiswork. InFuneralProcession: DedicationtoOscarPanizza(1917-1918,Figure10),Grosz, thoughpaintingafuturisticcanvasthatdepictsafast-paced urbanlifeofresidentsandbuildingswhichinhabitasliding perspectivalscale,alsoreworkedtheformofthetraditional Renaissanceallegory. 18Despitetheabstractstyli zation,the humanfiguresarestillevident.Grosz,inotherwords, depictedavisualpandemoniumthatmirroredsociety's"moral chaos"-akindofvisualoverkillreminiscentoftheworksof HieronyrnousBosch. 19HetransformedBosch'sandPieter Breugel'sallegories,inaneffort,ashiscontemporaryHarry Kesslersuggested,to"achievebypictorialmeanssomething quitenew ... somethingthatpaintingachievedinearlier periods(Hogarth;religiouspainting) . " ~Groszwritesthat London,YaleUniversityPress),p.82 18GroszisfrequentlyassociatedwiththeNeueSachlichkeitartof mimeticandpoliticalrealism.Hisjournalisticcaricaturesareallied withthe"naturalistic"cleareditorialconventionsoftheday.However, muchofhisworkcannotsoeasilybecharacterizedas"faithful"to nature. PriortoWorldWarI,hehadbeenassociatedwithwhatisoften incorrectlytermedthe"subjectivist"andindividualistartof Expressionism.Evenhislater"realistic"worksarehighlysuggestiveof previousartisticerasandtechniquesandrequireknowledgegreaterthan asimpleawarenessofthepoliticalissuesof[the day.SeePaulWood, "RealismsandRealities",inBrionyFer,DavidBatchelorandPaulWood Realism,Rationalism,Surrealism:ALtBetweentheWars,pp.250-331 especiallypp.283-290. 19PaulWood,"RealismsandReali ties,"p.285. 20HarryKessler,quotedinM.K.Flavell,GeorgeGrosz:ABiography,(New Haven:YaleUniversityPress,1988),p.38.FirstpublishedinNeue 31 Onecancertainlynolongerlivetodayasanold'Dutch master' .[but]oneshouldusepaperandslatesto showpeoplethedevilishmugconcealedintheirown faces..Donotfearlookingbacktoyourancestors. Multscher,Bosch,Bruegel..andAltdorfer.Why thentheusualpilgrimagetothephilistineFrench Mecca?Whynotreturntoourancestorsandsetfortha GermanWhilethereuseofpastvisualtechniquescalls attentiontoart--amethodemployedaswellbyartistsof othereras--thespecificuseofclassicalmotifsduringthe 1920swasbasedonadistinctpolitical Certainly Jugend,May(1917):p.2. GeorgeGrosz,"AmongOtherThings,aWordforGermanTradition",first publishedas"UnteranderemeinWortfUrdiedeutscheTradition",Das Kunstblatt15,no.3(1931).Trans.TheWeimarRepublicSourcebook,pp. 501-502. Theterm"classical"isdefinedveryloosely.InGermany,it was associatedwitha"Germanic"traditionthatwasbelievedtostretchback tothatofancientGreece,buthadthroughthecenturiesbeentransformed intoadistinctNorthernidiom.Mossepointsoutthat"theclassical themereappearedcontinuallythroughoutthenineteenthcenturyandlater. ..[Forexample]theshieldofMinervawasusedtosymbolizethe horriblefatewhichawaitedenemiesoftheGermanpeople ... [Indeed]the classicswerealwaysaliveamidstGerman and monumentsofsacredflame--whichrecalledalong-lostheritage...(and that]imitationsofantiquityandoftheRenaissancewereusedtocreate amysticalGermanspirit,"(Mosse,TheNationalizationoftheMasses, 43-44,58).Thiswasparticularlyevidentinarchitecturewhereclassical monumentalformsofancientGreeceandRomewerereinterpretedbyWilhelm KreisinthelatenineteenthcenturyinhisBismarcktowersandthenby AlbertSpeerduringthe"thousand-yearReich"ofAdolphHitler-symbolsof thepoweroftheReichandofitshistoricallegitimacythroughits associationwithancientRome.(SeeMosse,p.50,wherehecites conversationshehadwithSpeer). Similarly,theGermancultofthebodyofthelatenineteenthand earlytwentiethcenturies,was"basedon"theGreekidealofbeautyas initiallyreinventedbyWinckelrnann,thenadaptedbytheRomantics,and finally"aryanized"bylaternationalistgroupswhotransformedtheideal ofthehealthy,beautifulbodyintoametaphorforthenationaliststate. AsoneWeimarideologuewrote:"Bodyculture,gymnastics,physical exerciseandhygiene,sportinallitsincarnationssuchasthoseplayed 32 manyWeimarartists,historiansandwriterssharedan interestinclassicalwhichoftenborderedonthe sentimentalandnostalgic,atraittheysharedwithartists oftheRomanticMovementoftheearlynineteenthcentury. Nevertheless,othersemployedthecultureofantiquityto furtheranationalistagenda.Classicalartandits associationwithcivilizationweremetaphoricallyequated withthecountryoforiginwhilethenon-classicwasdecried asforeignorubarbaric"(whichinFrance,ofcourse,meant German).!3 Nevertheless,Weimar'sadaptationoftheclassicrelates toasearchforanorderthatcouldcontrolthechaoswrought inthenude ... areafewofthedescriptivenamesforthenew phenomenon ...Thematerialismandrationalismofthenineteenthcentury havefinallybeenvanquished.Inallrealmsandwalksoflife,blood,new impulses,andintuitionarerisinguponcemoreagainstmerereason, will,andtheintellect."(WolfgangGraeser,"BodySense:Gymnastics, Dance,Sport,"firstpublishedinKOrpersinn:Gymnastik,Tanz,Sport [Munich:C.H.BeckscheVerlagsbuchhandlung,1927,pp.7-11],ReprintedWeimarSourcebook,pp.683-685).AlsoseevanderWille,"TheBodyand theBodyPolitic."Hepointsoutthatthemainjournalofthenudity cultwastitledDieSchonheit,whichbythe1920spromoteda"Greek spiritinaGermanmannerbutasonememberofthecultfromthe Weimarperiodr.oted,'Theysoonfellforideasofeugenicsandracial hygiene:[for]theblue-eyedblondyoungladywithhersoulfullof longing,'"(pp.29-30). !3SeeSilver,EspritdeCorps,pp.83-145,foradiscussionofFrench nationalismandattitudestowardtheGermansduringandafterWorldWar I.HequotesthesculptorAugusteRodin,who,speakingin1917 exclaimed:"Here'swhatIthink:wewilldowelltoabandonallthe chimerascomingfromasickmindandreturntothetrueancient tradition,oldasthecenturies,insteadofmakingthingswithoutvalue. Forawhilenow,thecitiesofEuropehavebeenravagedbychese barbarians.Wedon'tneedGermaninfluence,butratherthatofourmost beautifulclassictraditions,"(pp.100-101).OriginallyinLa Renaissance,5,no.19(September15,1917):pp.17-18. 33 bytechnologicalchangesandthesocialandeconomic displacementsoccurringaftertheFirstWorldWar.Inpart, itrepresentsanefforttoslowdowntherateofchangeand cometotermswithit.Dix'smethodicaltechniqueandGrosz's "realistic"allegoriesareeffortsthatpainstakingly highlighttheprocessofmakingandviewingart--aprocess thathadbeen"speededup"byartistsfromtheImpressionists totheItalianFuturistswhosoughttocapturethechanging, fleetingimpressionsofnature. AccordingtoEdmondViolier,aFrenchartcriticofthe 1920s,theclassicalmethod,whichisa"conceptionwhich tendswithallitsyoungenergiestowardaliberationfrom thetransitoryandtheexceptional--thatis,fromall individualism--necessarilyimpliesauniversalityofnumber andduration ... [andis]define[d]as'classical,'asopposed tothedirecttechnique".:4InGermany,artistssuchasMax Beckmannexpressedawishtoridartofthesupposed "mysticism"andindividualityoftheearlierartofthe Expressionists. Emergingfromathoughtlessimitationofthevisible, fromafeeble,archaicdeteriorationintoempty decoration,andfromafalseandsentimental,timorous :4EdmondViolier,"TowardtheClassicalOrder--ClassicalTechnique," Bulletindel'EffortModerne10(January1924):p.15.QuotedinSilver, p.271. 34 mysticism,wearehopefullyarrivingatatranscendental objectivity . .. asisevidentin ... Grunewaldand Bruegel. :::s Theimpositionofanidentifiable,"objective"and organizedmethodallowedtheimagetoserveadidactic function.UnlikeImpressionism'stransitory,naturalistic images,whichoperateastransparentwindowsontoafleeting momentofreality,artistsofthetwentiesoftensoughtto impartanideologicalmessageintheirpaintings.The allegoricalcartoonsofGroszorHeartfield,forexample,are moralinstructors.AlthoughHeartfield'sDeutsche Naturgeschichte(Figure11)combinespictorialandtextual languagereminiscentoftheemblemsofthepast, ~ 6italso functionsasacontemporarypoliticaleditorial.Inhis commentary,Heartfieldpointsoutthattheworkhasthree meanings:onerelatedtotheactualscientificprocessofthe metamorphosesofinsects,asecondtotheequationof progresswithhistory(vis-a-visthemetaphoricalassociation ofevolutionarysciencewithhistory)andathirdtoarather wrypoliticalcommentaryonthe"biological"andinevitable :::sMaxBeckmann,"CreativeCredo."FirstpublishedinTribunederZeitund Kunst.EineSchriften-Sammlung,ed.KasimirEdschmid,vol.13, SchopferischeKonfession(Berlin:ErichReissVerlag,1920),pp.61-67. Reprintedandtrans.InWeimarRepublicSourcebook,pp.487-489.Quote, p.489. ~ 6SeeSusanBuck-Morss,TheDialecticsofSeeing,p.60. 35 transformationofmanintonature(despitehumanity'sbest effortstocivilizeitself).Buck-Morssnotesthatthelatter specificallyreferstothemythofhistoricalprogress,in particulartothepolitical"progression"ofGermanyfrom democracytoNationalSocialism.:7 Heartfield'squestioningoftheassociationofhistory withprogress(aconceptbornduringtheEnlightenment)is alsoatthecoreofBenjamin'sandPanofsky'searlycultural studies.Similarly,theirinterestinclassicalhistory,or Benjamin'sstudyoftraditionalallegory,ispartofthe generalculturalresurgenceofinterestinthe"classical" highpointsofasharedpast.Certainly,thereinterpretation ofAntiquityduringtheRenaissanceandtheeighteenth-centuryEnlightenmentwereimportantinfluencesinWeimar's owncharacterizationoftheirgoldenclassicalage.Asnoted earlier,historyprovidedsolutionsforapresentspinning outofcontrol.But,inparticular,historyprovidedthe heroesthatthevanquishedGermansofWorldWarIsought. Nietzsche as Cultural Hero DuringWeimarGermany,difficulthistoricaltruths,such :7Buck-Morss,Dialectics,pp.60-62. 36 asthedefeatinWorldWarI,weresanitizedandmythologized intosimpleexplanationsandencodedintoandmappedonto visualsymbolsthatrevampedpastambiguities.Richard Besselregardstheimageoftheheroicsoldierasonesuch myth."Ourboysatthefront"didnotlosethewar,sothe storygoes,butweredefeatedbythecowardiceofthoseat home.::1!Besselpointsoutthat,bytheendofthewar,the soldiershadengagedinstrikesagainsttheircommanding officersandabandonedmanyoftheirmilitaryunits.Itwas necessarytocreateanimageoftheconqueringherointhe faceofobviousdefeat. Thecontrastbetweenthehorrificconditionsonthe battlefrontandthesomewhatinsulatedlivesofthepeopleat homeintheReichwasreplayedasthereasonfortheloss, allowingthesoldierstoescapeallblameforthedefeat.It waseasiertoacceptthemythoftheheroicsoldierthanto confronttheinconsistenciesofreality.Thismayseem extraordinarygiventhat,asBesselnotes,asignificant numberof"theheroesfailedtoshowup.":.9Thepropaganda aboutthewarwasatoddswithreality--therealityofa ::1!RichardBessel,Germany,AftertheFirstWorldWar(Oxford,England: ClarendonPress,1993),p.263. :.9RichardBessel,"TheGreatWarinGermanMemory,theSoldiersofthe FirstWorldWar,Demobilization,andWeimarPoliticalCulture,"German 37 disorderedsociety,disconnectedfromitsstandardizedbut orderedandtraditionalImperialpast.Inthepopular culturaldiscourse,Germanyhadnotreallylostthewarbut "something Nietzcheanconceptswereinvokedtosupplytheverbal rhetorictosupportthemythofavital,triumphantGermany. 31 Nietzschewastransformedfromhispositionasasupporterof theindividualwhofoughtsocietalnormstoonewhosupported thestatusquo.Oneconservativenationalistclaimedthat "Nietzschestandsasquestioner,asfighter,asthesolitary one.HestandsfortheReichasprotectorofthepast,as crusherofthepresent,astransformeroftheThe philosophersuppliedavocabularytoencompassavarietyof ideologies,allowingNazis,anti-Semitesandradical conservativestodehumanizetheiropponentswiththe appellationUntermenschen. History6no.1(1988):pp.20-34. roSeeStephenAschheirn,TheNietzscheLegacyinGermany1890-1900 (Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1992)particularlyChapterV "ZarathustraintheTrenches:TheNietzscheMyth,WorldWarI,andthe WeimarRepublic,"pp.128-163. 31Nietzscheanrhetorichasprimarilybeenassociatedwiththefascists andrightwingnationalistsinGermany.Nietzsche,however,was influentialfortheleft,theavant-gardeandGermanJews.Nietzsche's influenceonPanofsky'sandWalterBenjamin'sWeimarwritingswillbe discussedinChapter3andonthelaterwritingsofPanofskyandthoseof ThomasManninChapter4. 3:FriedrichHielscher,OasReich(Berlin:OasReich,1931),p.200. QuotedinAschheim,TheNietzscheLegacy,p.153. 38 Priorto1914,ErwinPiscator,theproducerof experimentaltheater,commentedthatNietzschewasthe "scourgeofthemiddleclasses."However,hehelpedtolift themfromtheir"petitbourgeoisideals."DuringWorldWarI thischanged: theentireintellectualeliteofEuroperoseasoneman inthedefenseoftheir"CherishedHeritage"whichthey hadtillthenviewedwithsomeskepticism..They roseagainst'enemies'likeTolstoyandDostoevskyand PushkinandZolaandBalzacandAnatoleFranceandShaw andShakespeare,andwenttowarwithGoetheand Nietzscheintheirknapsacks.Andsothisgeneration setthesealonitsownspiritualbankruptcy.Whatever theymayhavethoughtandwhatevertheymayhavedoneit becameevidentonAugustfourththatalltheyhad thoughtanddonewasnothing." ThosewhomNietzschehadoriginallycriticized transformedhisideasintoaheroicparadigmthatcould inspireGermansocietytothrowofftheweakyokeofthe loser.Nietzsche'sZarathustra,whichwascarriedintothe battlefieldbyliterateGermans,becamethenewmodelfor Germannationalism--anationalismthatisevidentillthe writingsofboththerightandleft.Utilizedalongwith othernationalicons(suchasDurer'sKnight,Deathand Devil,Figure12),Nietzscheanismsgaveimpetustothe 33ErwinPiscator,ThePoliticalTheatre:AHistory,1914-1929(NewYork: Avon,1978),p.11.OriginallypublishedasOasPolitische Theater. (ReinbekbeiHamburg:RowohltVerlag,1963). 39 formationofthemythofthevitalandvictoriousGerman. Unfortunately,themisappropriationofNietzsche'sideas bythefascistrighthasoftenobscuredhisinterestinand connectionwithliberalEnlightenmentthought.Hitler's transformationoftheUbermenschintotheracializedblond Aryaniswellknown.ButNietzsche'sheroicindividual strugglingagainstconformityalsowidelyinfluencednumerous "left-wing"and"anti-rational"Expressionistartistsand critics.34 Theyfoundhischampionshipoftheindividual's potentialfor"self-creation"--coupledwithhisdisdainfor materialism--tobeparticularlyenticing.Theseartistswere responding,inpart,tothefailed1848revolutionandthe idealists'claimthatthestatewastherationalsupporterof individualfreedom."Ultimately,manyoftheseExpressionist artistsrejectedNietzscheanindividualismforDadaism, socialismorothermovementsthatemphasizedthecollective. AccordingtoSethTaylor,Nietzsche'swell-known 34SeeSethTaylor,Left-WingNietzscheansiThePoliticsofGerman Expressionism1910-1920(BerlinandNewYork,WalterGruyterPress, 1990),pp.1-59."WhileitistruethatNietzscheassumedconservative positionshostiletoliberalism,hedidsoatatimewhenGerman liberalismhadbetrayeditscosmopolitanoriginsandembraced andimperialism.Inotherwords,Nietzsche'santipoliticsstoodagainst thedevelopmentsinGermanhistorywhichreachedtheirculminationin fascism,"p.2. 3SSeealsoFritzStern,TheFailureofIlliberalism:Essaysonthe PoliticalCultureofModernGermany(ChicagoandLondon:Universityof ChicagoPress,1975),pp.11-12. 40 irrationalismwas"toorational"fortheExpressionists becausehiswritingswereactuallythe"climaxofthe skepticalEnlightenmenttradition.,,36Nietzschestates "thatIamapupilofearliertimes,especiallytheHellenic. .Idonotknowwhatmeaningclassicalstudiescouldhave forourtimeiftheywerenotuntimely--thatistosay, actingcountertoourtimeandtherebyactingonourtime and,letushope,forthebenefitofatimetocome.,,3'He pointstoGoethe,asa"genuine"culturedindividual,and quotesfromoneofhisletters:"'Ihavetoiledforhalfa centuryandallowedmyselfnorest,buthavecontinually strivenandsoughtandworkedaswellandashardasI Perhapsitwasthiskernelofrationalthoughtthat attractedmanyofthoseschooledinGermanidealisttheory. Thelate-nineteenth-centuryNeo-Kantians'emphasisonthe morallydrivenindividual,theirrejectionofeconomic materialismandtheirelevationofindividualconsciousness inthehistoricalprocessarerelatedtoNietzsche'sideas.39 36Taylor,LeftWingNietzscheans,p.228. 37FriedrichNietzsche,"OntheUsesandDisadvantagesofHistoryfor Life",UntimelyMeditations,trans.R.J.Hollingdale(Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress,1983)p.60. lSNietzsche,"DavidStrausstheConfessorandtheWriter",Untimely Meditations,p.9.HecitesalettertoGoethefromEckermann,March14, 1830. 39SeeThomasWilley,BacktoKant:TheRevivalofKantianisminGerman 41 JakobBurckhardt'scontentionthattheRenaissance"gavethe highestdevelopmenttoindividuality,andwhereoneofthe mostpreciousfruitsoftheknowledgeoftheworldandofman herecomestomaturity"isinkeepingwiththeseNietzschean sentiments.-IO AlthoughDadaistsrejectedNietzsche'sheroic individualism,thephilosopher'swritingsremained influentialforthemandforavarietyofothers, 4\including GermanJewssuchasAbyWarburg,FranzRosenzweig,Martin Buber,WalterBenjamin,andasIwillshow,ErwinPanofsky. ForAbyWarburg,Nietszche'sdefinitionofcreativityasa forcethatemergesfromprimitiveDionysianpathosand Apollonianserenitywasparticularlyinfluential.4;Although SocialandHistoricalThought,1860-1914(Detroit:WayneStateUniversity Press,1978)foradiscussionoftheneo-Kantianmovementandin particularhisdiscussionofHermannCohen(pp.105-116)andErnst Cassirer(pp.171-173). -10JacobBurckhardt,TheCivilizationoftheRenaissanceinItaly,Vol.2, (NewYork:Harper&Row,1929),pp.303,516. 4\Nietzsche,"DavidStrauss",p.5.AlthoughNietschewrotethat "knowledgeandlearningisneitheranessentialmeanstoculturenora signofit"isnotinkeepingwiththeneo-Kantianview. 42 MargaretIversen,["RetrievingWarburg'sTradition",ArtHistory,16, no.4(December1993):p.551]pointsoutthatWarburgownedawell-worn andusedcopyofNietzsche'sBirthofTragedythatisstillinevidence attheWarburgInstitutetoday.ConcerningWalterBenjamin,thereisa vastliteratureontheNietzscheaninfluenceinhiswritings.Seeanyone ofthebookslistedinBenjamin(secondaryliterature)inthe bibliography. ForNietzsche'sinfluenceonright-wingwriters,seeFritzStern,The PoliticsofCulturalDespair:AStudyintheRiseofGermanicIdeolO9Y (Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1961).ForNietzsche's influenceontheleft,seeSethTaylor'sLeft-WingNietzscheans,passim. 42 thedarkforcesofDionysiusneverdisappeared,Warburg ferventlysoughttocontainthem.Nietzsche,thoughenamored oftheDionysian,wished"toorganizethechaosH ofthe HellenicGreeksandtransformthese"dark"forcesinto something"higher"sotheGermanscouldbecome"thefirst-bornand[the 1model[for 1...futurecui turednations. ,,13 ToWarburg,asweshallsee,theRenaissanceartistand humanistAlbrechtDUrer,representedNietzsche'sheroicmodel whocouldovercome--oratleastkeepatbay--thedark Dionysianforcesthat,forWarburg,inhabitedallmen. Durer as Hero and Symbol Duringtheearlynineteenthcentury,Durerwasperceived astheexemplaroftheloneartisticgeniusstruggling againstalloddstocreateworksofsubjectivegenius.44 By theearlytwentiethcentury,hewasdeployedtosupportthe mythoftheundefeatedhero.TheNationalSocialists,for example,transformedDurer'sasceticChristianknightfrom theKnight,Death,andtheDevilintoateutonicsoldier. Theyassociatedhimwiththequalitiesofindividuality, 43Nietzsche,"OntheUsesandDisadvantagesofHistoryforLife,"p.123. ~SeeJanBialostockiDUrerandHisCritics.1500-1971:Chaptersinthe HistoryofIdeasIncludingtheTexts.(BadenBaden:V.Koerner,1986)for 43 courage,fortitude,and,significantly,withavirile masculinity--qualitiesnecessarytoleadtheGermanicrace awayfromthebourgeoisineffectualityofWeimar.Priorto thelattertransformation,Durer'sartwastoundergoa seriesofincarnations. DuringtheKaiserreichofthelatenineteenthandearly twentiethcenturies,sculpturallikenessesoftheartist couldbefoundonthefacadesofmanymuseumsandschools.45 Hisimagedecoratedpostersandinvitationsandstoodasthe centerpieceattheGermanpavilionattheChicagoWorld Exhibitionin1893.Hislife,infact,servedasthe inspirationforavarietyofculturalorganizations, particularlythatofFriedrichAvenarius'sinfluential Dlirerbund TheDlirerbund,asanorganization,soughttosuggest ausefulanalysisoftheafterlifeandreceptionoftheartofDurer. 45ForaconcisediscussionoftheafterlifeofAlbrechtDurer,seeJane Hutchinson'sAlbrechtDurer,ABiography(PrincetonNJ:Princeton UniversityPress,1990).HutchinsonremarksthatDurerwasthefirst artisttobehonoredbyhavingamonumentdedicatedtohimin1847,(p. 197) . ForanespeciallyinsightfulaccountofAvenariusDurerbundandits publicationKunstwartseeGerhardKratzschKunstwartundDurerbund:Ein BeitragzurGeschichtederGebildetenimZeitalterdesImperialismus (Gottingen:Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,1969).Althoughlabelledas bourgeoisvehicleforthepromotionofa"healthy"culture,theKunstwart providedaforumforanumberofpoliticalviewsrangingfromtheanti-SemiticviewsofNissen,LangbehnandBartelstothoseofGermanJewswho questionedwhatit meanstobeJewish.IssuessurroundingJewish identitywereraisedinanumberofissuesintheKunstwart. 44 properstandardsoftasteindecorating,theartsandevenin everydaymanners.DUrerwasdomesticated,sotospeak.His lifeandartwerepromotedasthearbiteroftheculturally appropriate.Reproductionsofhisanimaldrawingsandsomeof hiswatercolorswerewidelycirculatedandbecameptililic favorites.47 AlthoughtheDUrerbundwasprimarilyacultural censorshipvehicleanddisseminatorofstandardsratherthan aneducationalorganization,prominentarthistorianssuchas HeinrichWolfflinandWillhelmPinder(wholatersupported theNaziregime)aswellastheGermanJewishpainterMax Liebermanweremembers.Itsinfluencewassopervasivethat despiteadeclineinmembershipafterWorldWarIanda cessationofitsactivitiesduringthe1920s,thestandards it hadsetcontinuedtoinfluenceGermansociety. InthejournaloftheDUrerbund,DerKunstwart, Avenariuspublishedawidevarietyofopinionsrangingfrom therelevanceofKantforcontemporaryculturetoproposals fortheestablishmentofa"healthy"Germanculture.The latterproved,ofcourse,tobeparticularlyinsidiousinthe handsofracialnationalists.InanearlyissueofDer Kunstwart,MornmeNissen,anardentconservativeand nationalistwhodecriedthenewFrenchartasanti-German, nSeeHutchinson,DUrer,p.199. 45 appealedtoviewerstolooktotheRenaissanceforGerman culturalstandards.LikemodernistssuchasJuliusMeier-Graefe,hestressedtheunhealthinessoftheartheviewedas decadent.In"DUreralsFuhrer,"heclaimedthat"Di.irer leadsusfromdecadentfeminismtoahealthymanlyart.He workscleanly. ,,48 SupportforDUrerasanexemplarofGermanculturewas notconfinedtotheconservativebourgeoisie.JuliusMeier-Graefe,thesupporterofforeignartistssuchasCezanneand Munch,followedAvenarius'leadinlookingtoDUrerfor historicaljustification.Inhissurveyofnineteenth-century Germanart,49Meier-GraefechallengedGermanartiststoboth aspiretoandsurpasstheexamplesetbythepast 4 ~ o m r n eNissen,"DUreralsFUhrer",inDerKunstwart15(1904):p.94. DUrerleadsus"vondekandenteFeminismuszugesunderMannlichkeitder kunst ... erarbeitetesauberlich". Differentculturalgroups,notonlyracistnationalists,employed biological/organicjustificationsfortheirparticularviewpoint.Inthe June1920issueofMartinBuber'sDerJude,AxnoldZwiegcallsonJewsto recognizethespecificnatureofanti-Semitismandthedifficultiesand unfairnessithasvisiteduponthem.Hepointsoutthatanti-Semitismis internationalincharacter,thatitsopponentsare"extensionsofthe devil"(diegepanzerteFaust"),andthatitisbiologicalinnature;"We finallyrecognizeanti-Semitismasabiologicalphenomenon,asonewhich affectseachpersondifferently...wearesearchingfortheroot,which mustobviouslylieinthetruenatureofthe'people'(Volkern)".Arnold Zweig,"DerheutigedeutscheAntisemitismus',inDerJude,3,June1920, p.139."ErkennenwirendlichdenAntisemitismalsbiologisches Phanonmen,...suchenwirseineWurzelauf,dieselbstverstandlich unterhalbdereigentlichvon'Volkern'erfUlltenSphare1iegenmuss." 49J.Meier-Graefe,EntwicklungsgeschichtedermodernenKunst(Stuttgart: JuliusHoffmann,1904).Trans.asModernAxt:BeingaContributiontoa NewSystemofAesthetics(London:W.Heinemann,1908). 46 cosmopolitanmaster:"SinceDUrertherehasbeennoGerman painterandeveninitsgoldenage,theessentialinGerman artwasalmostalwaysmoredraftsmanshipthanofapainterly kind..theGermanisamusician,apoet,heisalways lessasapainter..GermanarthasneverlefttheGothic MeierGraefewasineffectcallingforGerman artiststoentertheinternationalpantheonofgreatartists byappealingtonationalistsympathies.Hesoughttoinspire themto"leavetheGothicbehind,"with"gothic"meant pejoratively,inordertoelevateGermancultureto internationalacclaimasthemodernartists'Renaissance forbearshaddone. AccordingtoMeier-Graefe,theartisticmodelsthat Germanpaintersshouldfollow,iftheyaretocastoffthe yokeofmere"draftsmanship,"werethegreatFrench Impressionistsandpost-ImpressionistssuchasCezanne.To makethismorepalatabletoanationthathadinrecent memorybeenenemiesoftheFrench,Meier-Graefewrappedhis exhortationinhistoricalandnationalistsentiment.The Frenchartistswerenot"foreign"butwerepartofan CitedinPeterJensen,MarketingModernisminFin-de-SiecleEurope (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1994),p.244.Jensenstates that"Howironicitwasthattheapologistsforthenewestavant-gardes sofrequentlymarshalednationalistrhetoriconbehalfofartistswhose statureandlivelihooddependedupontheirinternationalcommercial 47 internationalpantheonofgreatartistswithoutnational allegiance.Meier-Graefelinked"foreign"modernistswith Durerandhopedtoestablishthehistoryofauniversalbut rarifiedcosmopolitanavant-garde,anaesthetically adventurouscultureofgeniusthattranscendedtheboundsof thepoliticalnationwithanewcultural"nation."The concernforthelabel"foreign"wascertainlynotmisplaced. Astrange"paradox"ofthiseraisthattheGerman Expressionists,whorejectedcontemporaryFrenchartistic influencesandlookedtotheGermanmastersGrunewaldand Cranachfortheirinspiration,wereunabletochangethe publicperceptionthatGermanmodernartwasadistinctly Franco-Jewishimport. 51 TheExpressionistartistscitedtheirprecursorsinthe German"Gothic"periodasinfluentialratherthan contemporaryFrenchartists5:becausetheapparentsubj ecti ve, anti-classicalsensibilitiesofGrunewald'sIsenheimAltar (Figure9)orDurer'sApocalypse(1497/98,Figure13)were moreinkeepingwithacontemporaryGermanfeeling.Kirchner, connections,"(p.262). 51SeeJoanWeinstein,TheEndofExpressionism:ArtandtheNovember RevolutioninGermany1918-1919(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress, 1990). 5 ~ ~SeePeterSelz,GermanExpressionistPainting(Berkeley:Universityof CaliforniaPress:Berkeley,1974),p.16. 48 forexampledeniedthattheCubistsofFranceorthe FuturistsinItalyexertedanyinfluenceonDieBruckeand insteadfoundits"arthistoricalcorroborationinCranach, Beham,andothermedievalGermanmasters"suchasAlbrecht DUrer. 53TheRenaissancemastersimilarlyinspiredother ExpressionistsandNeueSachlichkeitartists.Paula M6dersohnBeckerhad"greatadmiration"forDUrer,while ErichHeckellookedtoHansHolbein,LucasCranach,andDUrer for AlthoughDurerasaRenaissanceartistwasverymuch inspiredbytheItalianpaintersandhumanists,theGerman Expressionistsandavant-gardefocusedonhowhediffered fromhissoutherncontemporaries.Thisreconstructionofa pastnortherngoldenageservedtheusefulpoliticalpurpose ofallowingtheavant-gardetolocatetheirartwithina Germannationalframeworkandthelargerculturaldiscourse circulatingduringthefirstthirdofthetwentiethcentury. Itwasanodtotradition,tothecollectivememoryofshared experiencesusedtodefineidentity. Despitetheavant-garde'sclaimthattheyhadrejected theRenaissanceinfavoroftheMiddleAges,theinfluential "QuotedinPeterSelz,"E.L.Kirchner'ChronikderBrucke',"CollegeArt JournalX(1950):p.50. 49 artistscitedbythemarestillconsidered"classical." Insofarastraditionaltextsinarthistoryareconcerned, Dureristhoughtofasatitanofsixteenth-centuryhumanist-inspired"classical"art.InrejectingRaphaelandthe artistswhohadenteredthelargerartistic/culturaldialogue asstandardbearersofacosmopolitangoldenage,the Expressionistsappearedtobesearchingfortheirownpast-forlinkstoaGermanhistoricalhighpoint.Theartists theycited--Grunewald,Durer,Cranach,andHolbein--were artistsdirectlylinkedtothis"golden"past. Durer'simageryhadconsistentlyremainedinthepublic arenasincethesixteenth-centuryandhadachievedlegendary, symbolicstatuslongbeforetheearlytwentieth-century. 55 Indeed,theartisthadbecomeasymbolofGermanidentity,a figurewhosereachextendedwellbeyondthehistorical contextinwhichhe Duringthe1920s,hewasno longerthearbiterofRenaissancerationaleandreasonbut Seltz,GermanExpressionistPainting,p.16. 55 SeeBialostocki,Durer,orHutchinson,AlbrechtDurer(pp.187-206), fortheir afterlifeofDurer. ThisisnotaphenomenonassociatedonlywithGermany.AsRomyGolan haspointedout,evensuchFrenchmodernistsasLegerandLeCorbusierwho havebeenassociatedwithtechnologyandthe"pure"linesofmodernism, rejectedthe"machine"infavorofthemoreorganicworldassociatedwith thetraditionalandlong-standingcultureofthepeasants.Thisseemsto bearejectionofthepresentoratleastanattempttoredefineit accordingatraditionalpast,Modernity&Nostalgia,pp.61-84. 50 becameinsteadtheembodimentofamythic,medievaland distinctGermansensibility.Artistssuch~ sOttoDix,like thepre-warExpressionists,lookedtohimforartistic inspiration.Dixclaimedthathiswoodcutsweredirectly inspiredbythoseofDurer.MaxSauerlandt,amodernist advocateandarthistorianwhoresidedinHamburg,wrotethat "Inthoseyears[the1920s]arosethenew,hardheroic beauty,abeautyoftrulytragicbearing,whichhadgrown strangetoEuropeanpaintingsincetheheroicendofthe MiddleAgesinGrUnewaldandinDUrer'sApocalypse. , , 5 ~ Duringthefour-hundredthanniversaryofDurer'sdeath, in1928,theNurembergtowncounselorganizedanexhibition todetailtheartist'slife,histeachersandthe"popular nationalculturesothatvisitorstoNurembergaswellasits inhabitantsmayfinallyhaveacorrectimpressionofits medievalpopularculture."~TheseDUrerfestivitieswere primarilyanoccasiontocelebratethehistoricalcultureof Nurembergasseenintherecreationsoftraditionalfolk 57MaxSauerlandtDieKunstder1etztendreissigJahre,lecturedelivered in1933(Hamburg,1948),p.117.QuotedinSelz,GermanExpressionist Painting,p.16. 58StadtratNuremberg,BerichttiberdieVeranstaltungenunddenVerlauf desDtirerjahres,1928(Nuremberg:SelbstverlagdesStadtrats,1928)p.2 "WeitererAusste1lungensollteneinenEinb1ickindieLebensverhaltnisse desMittela1tersgewahren.Vo1ksturnlicheVeranstaltungenschliesslich warendazubestimmt,denBesuchernNurnbergswiederBevo1kerungder stadteinenEindruckvondermitte1a1ter1ichenVo1ksku1turzu 51 dancesonthemainsquare. DUrer'sartandlife,sincehisdeathinthesixteenth century,havebeencontinuouslyinthescholarlyaswellas thepubliceye.MatthiasMende,in1971,citesover10,000 articlesandbooksinprintontheartistandhisworkwith over2000entriesaloneaboutDUrer'sMelencoliaI. S9These includereferencesfromthesixteenthrightthroughthe twentiethcenturies.Inthemiddletolatenineteenth century,Durerhadbeenassociatedwiththeartist/scientist whopursueshisartaccordingtotherulesofreason.Max Allihnwritesin1871thatDUrershowsan"inclinationfor theoreticalresearchaboutproportion,perspective,andthe lawsofaesthetics.Beneaththeartistisaphilosopher.uoo Bytheendofthenineteenthcentury,thisbeliefIn reasonandhumanprogressgraduallygavewaytoaconcern withsubjectivity,irrationalityandtheveracityof scientificprogress.Forexample,AlbertSchweitzerpointed outtheself-deceivingflawsinhistoricalanalysisinhis vermitteln." S9 MatthiasMende,DUrer-Bibliography:ZurFtinfhundertstenWiederkehr desGeburtstagesvonAlbrechtDUrer(Wiesbaden:OttoHarrassowitz,1971). 00MaxAllihn,DUrer-Studien.VersucheinerErklarungschwerzudeutender Kupferstiche:DUrersvonkulturhistorischernStandpunkte(Leipzig:R. Wiegel,1871),p.112. 52 1906TheQuestfortheHistoricalJesus,whileadecade later,inoneofGermany'smostpopulartheologicalworks, TheIdeaoftheHoly(1917),RudolphOttosummarizedthenon-rationalelementsinLuther'stheology. 61Atthetenth conventionoftheGermanPhilosophicalSocietyinLeipzigin 1928theofficialsummarynotedthat"Thediscussionsin Leipzigandtheiraftereffectsrevolvedinlargepartaround theproblemoftheirrational. ,,6: ThosewhointerpretedtheworkofDurerwerenotimmune fromtheseinfluences.Aninterestinthenon-rational, eitherasseenthroughaNietzscheanlens(asFaustor Dionysius)orthroughafantasticalprism,wascharacteristic ofmanyoftheworksofDurer'sinterpreters.Moritz Thausing,inhispopularDurermonographof1876,proclaimed thatDurer'sfigureofMelancoliaIshowsthat"humanreason despairswhileattheedgeofitspower.Itistherestless, unliberatedgenius,Faust[whosays]'wecanknow61MichaelBrenner,TheRenaissanceofJewishCultureinWeimarGermany, (NewHavenandLondon:YaleUniversityPress,1996),p.42. Felix,Krueger,ed.PhilosophiederGemeinschaft:7Vortrage,gehalten aufderTagungderDeutschenPhilosophenGesellschaftvom1.-4.Oktober 1928inLeipzig(Berlin:Welt-Verlag,1922),p.155.Citedandtrans.in Brenner,TheRenaissanceofJewishCulture,p.42. 63MoritzThausing,DUrerGeschichteseinesLebensundseinerKunst (Leipzig:E.A.Saman,1884),p.450."diemenschlicheVernunft verzweifelndamRandeihrerKraft!Esistderrastlosunbefriedigte Genius,derFaust ... 'dasswirnichtswissenkonnen'." 53 NietzschehimselfhadchosenoneofDurer'sprintsasa visualsymbolofthedearthofreason.Heregardedtheknight oftheartist'sKnight,DeathandDevilasanexemplarofthe inevitablyfutilestruggleoftheGermanh e r o . ~Infact,the deathofreasonwasassociatedwithaFaustianpessimismthat hadbecometransformedintotheGermanindividualcharacter, acharacterdrawnfromNietzsche'sThusSpakeZarathustra. AbyWarburg,thefounderoftheWarburgLibraryin Hamburg,wasinfluencedbyNietzsche'sdepictionofclassical Greekcultureasonethatemergedfromthetensebalance betweentheDionysian(primitive/subjective)andthe Apollonian(rational/clarity) .65In1905,inananalysisof Durer'sDeathofOrpheus,hewroteofDurer'stenacityin definingatheoryofproportion: ButantiquitycametohisaidthroughItalianmediation notonlyinthestimulatingDionysianaspectsbutalso throughApollonianclarity:TheApolloBelvederealways hoveredbeforehiseyesashesearchedfortheideal proportionsofthemanlybody,andregardingVitruvian proportions,hecomparedthemwithactualnature.Durer broodedwithafaustian,ever-increasingintensityover ~SeeBialostocki,DUrer,pp.256-278. 65OnWarburgseeErnstGombrich,AbyWarburg.AnIntellectualBiography (London:TheWarburgInstitute,1970);DieterWuttke,"AbyWarburgund seineBibliothek,"Arcadia1(1966):pp.319-333;WernerHofmann,Georg SyarokenandMartinWarnke,DieMenschenrechtedesAuges.OberAbyM. Warburg(FrankfurtamMain,EuropaischerVerlagsanstalt,1980);Horst Bredekamp,MichaelDiers,andCharlotteSchoell-Glasseds.,AbyWarburg. AktendesinternationalenSymposiumsHamburg1990(Weinheim:VCHActa Humaniora,1991). 54 theproblemofproportionsthroughouthisForWarburg,theDionysian,primitivepathoswasnot conqueredbyApollonianclassicgrandeur.Rather,thetwo qualitiesexistedsidebyside.Inalateressayhenoted that"Asmodernreligiousstudieshaveshown,thetragic, classicrestlessnessbelongstothecultureofGreek-Roman antiquity,asitisembodiedinthe'Doppelherme'ofApollo-Dionysos . ,,67 AlthoughWarburgsubscribedtoGermanidealistnotions ofhumanprogress,suchprogresswasnotinevitable.The reverseofenlightenedreasonwasthedarksideofDionysian primitivism,towhichmankindcouldeasily But despitethisfear,orbecauseofit,throughouthislife Warburgstudiedhumanity'sdark,irrationaltendencyinits Warburg,"ToddesOrpheus,"(1905)"AberdasAltertumkamihmjaauch durchItaliensVermittelungnichtnurdionysischanstachelnd,sondern auchapollinischabklarendzuHilfe:DerApollovonBelvedereschwebte ihmvorAugen,alsoernachdemIdealmassdesmannlichenKorperssuchte, andVitruviusProportionenverglicherdiewirklicheNatur.Dieses faustischeGrubelntiberdasMasshatDurermitsteigenderIntensitatzeit seinesLebensinBanngehalten."(GesammelteSchriften,Leipzigand Berlin:B.G.Ttibner,1932),p.58 67AbyWarburg,"DerEintrittdesAntikisierendenIdealstilsindie MalereiderFriihrenaissance"(1914)InGesammelteSchriften,p.176."Die tragische'klassischeUnruhe'gehore,wiejaauchdiemoderne religionswissenschaftlicheForschungbeweise,wesentlichzurkulturdes griechisch-romischenAltertums,dasmangleichsamimSymboleiner 'DoppelhermevonApollo-Dionysos'schauenmusse." SeeMichaelDiers,"WarburgandtheWarburgianTraditionofCultural History"inNewGermanCritique65(Spring/Summer1995):pp.59-74,esp. 66-68. 55 guiseasthemysticalorastrological(notunlikethepre-War Expressionists).Thushewouldwarnin"ALectureonSerpent Ritual"that"Withthesewavesthecivilizationofthe mechanicalageisdestroyingwhatnaturalscience,itself emergingoutofmyth,hadwonwithsucheffort. ,,69Emil Waldman,writingduringWorldWarI,echoedthesesentiments. Sadly,heconcludedthat"Perhapsitisinourtime..such thattheconnectionbetweenthesensual[Dionysian]andthe intellectual[Apollonian]isnolongerpossible,becausewe arehopeless--tornapartbythetumultuous,rapidsofour thoughts.InDurer'scase[however],thiswasstillpossible. ""'0 ForAbyWarburg,intheendtherewashopethat, throughman'srationalexerciseofconscience,thewarring tendenciesmightbeovercome. BythetimeofWeimar,theFaustianindividual strugglingagainstthestatusquohadbeenappropriatedand transformedintoasymbolofthenation--andattimestinged withnationalistorracialovertones.Itisremarkablethat evensoenlightenedamanasGustavPauli,thedirectorof 69J!iliyWarburg,"ALectureonSerpentRitual,JournaloftheWarburg Insitute2(1939):p.289. 70EmilWaldmann,AlbrechtDurersSticheundHolzschnitte(Leipzig;Im InselVerlag,1917),p.10."VielleichtistunsermZeitalter ... diese ZusammenfassungvonSinnlichemundvonGedanklichemnichtmehrm6glich, weilwirdamithoffnungslosindiereizendenStromschnellender GedankenkunsthineingerissenWtirden.BeiDurerwarsienochm6glich." 56 theHamburgKunsthalleandapupilofAntonSpringerand friendofwarburgandPanofsky71couldwrite: Itwouldnotbedifficulttoprove,inanyoftheworks ofthematureDUrer,thepermeationofGermanicwith Roman[Classic]form..Inanycase,itisessential torecognizethatinDurertheGermanicelementretains theupperhand-despitealltheorizing.Theunconscious willoftheRaceisstrongerthantheconsciousstriving oftheIntellect. lin Toreadersofthelatetwentiethcentury,thisstatement seemsastonishing,givenGermany'slaterhistory. Nevertheless,itisinkeepingwiththeculturaldiscourseof thetime. InaviewsimilartoWarburg's,MaxJ.Friedlander suggeststhattheexistenceofabalancebetween"reason"and "melancholy"appearstobethekeytounderstandingDUrer's MelencholiaI. Thenagain,especiallyashewasmakingtheprintof Melencolia,hisverysoulwasdarkenedbydoubt..he 71KarenMichelsnotesthatPanofskyreceivedhisappointmentatHamburg largelythroughtheeffortsofGustavPauli.SeeMichels,"EThTinPanofsky unddasKunsthistorischeseminar,inArnoHerzig,ed.DieJudenin Hamburgbis1990:WissenschaftlicheBeitragederUniversitatHamburgzur Ausstellung'VierhundertJahreJudeninHamburg'(Hamburg:Hans ChristiansVerlag,1991),pp.383-392. 71GustavPauli,"Durer,ItalienunddieAntike",VortragederBibliothek Warburg,I,1921-1922(Berlin/Leipzig,1923),pp.66-67."Eswarenicht schwer,anirgendeinemderWerkedesreifenDUrerdieDurchdringung germanischerFormgebungmitromanischernachzuweisen...Alswesentlich istjedenfallsanzuerkennen,dassinDurerdasgermanischeElementdie Oberhandbehalt--trotzallerTheorie.DennderunbewussteWilleder RasseiststarkeralsdiebewussteAbsichtdesintellektes." 57 longedtoholdtothesimplebeliefthatthroughdivine manifestation,clearnessandlightispossible..The sentence,inwhichtheconceptsofreasonandof melancholyaresoextraordinarilyboundtogether, affordsusthekey[totheengraving'smeaning].'3 ButFriedlander'swordsdonotimplybalance.Forebodingly, theyhintatthedarkerforcesof"unreason"soonto overwhelmthoseoflightandreason. Theincreasingimportanceofnationalismcanbefollowed inthesuccessiveeditionsofHeinrichW6lfflin'sprefaceto hisve