08/20 - 08/21
After a long weekend, we had our fourth class on the Tuesday (08/21) morning. Continuing from where we left off at our last class, Prof. Stuart talked about the dramatic changes brought on by the advent of the Napoleonic Wars, particularly the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Recognizing the empire's imminent collapse, Francis II refashioned himself as the Emperor of Austria, thus becoming Francis I. Feelings of nationalism propagated in Europe during much of this period, with people identifying with a country itself rather than the monarchy. The Habsburgs use art and music to counter the spread of nationalism.
Following Napoleon's defeat, the thousand-year status quo had been turned on its head and there was a need to prevent more wars. Austrian foreign minister and later Chancellor Metternich was the architect of this new world order, which saw internal repression within Habsburg lands. During this period known as the Biedermeier, the middle class expanded and art was largely benign and anti-revolutionary. By 1848, revolutions spread rapidly across Europe, many of which are led by students. After Ferdinand I abdicated from the Austrian throne, Franz Joseph replaced him.
After class, we joined Gretl at the Leopold Museum in the MuseumsQuartier, which is located at the former site of the imperial horse stables. Interestingly, the museum is dedicated to art from around the turn of the twentieth century to the advent of WWII. During this period, contemporary artists were jaded by the overuse of the historicism style, which only rehashed the art styles of the past. The establishment of the Secession organization by Gustav Klimt enabled contemporary Austrian artists to have their own place and create modern art. With the motto of "to every age its art, and to every art its freedom," the Secession aimed to ensure that modern art wasn't constrained by the arts of the past.
The front of the Leopold Museum.
Gretl further explained that the Secession helped popularize applied arts, which involved utilitarian objects. For the most part, people in the early twentieth century believed fine arts to be high culture while applied arts were considered low culture. However, some scholars began believing that preconceived notions shouldn't be brought into art, which thus encouraged the elimination of judging what is considered high and low culture, as well as ushering in modern art. Otto Wagner was a notable absolute modernist, redesigning much of Vienna in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Art history as an academic disciplined as engendered in Vienna during this time period.
Examples of applied art.
On Wednesday (08/21) morning, we had our fifth class on Zoom. Prof. Stuart explained the newfound rights garnered by certain demographic groups and the reorganization of social classes. The Hungarians obtained more rights following the 1867 Ausgleich, which established the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy. Jewish people also finally obtained formal equal rights in 1867 as everything wasn’t fully recognized beforehand. Their rights would later be taken away during the Nazi period, despite some people having had these rights their whole lives. Suffrage and voting rights were soon extended to all male citizens.
Emperor Franz Joseph's 1857 royal decree to tear down Vienna's wall fortifications paved the way for the Ringstraße. Prof. Stuart expressed that a new social class arose during this time: the Ringstraße barons. While these barons benefitted from laissez-faire economics, the prospering artisanal workers were replaced by factory workers. Viennese mayor Karl Lueger spoke to the social alienation of this petit bourgeois class by using Jewish people as scapegoats.
Around 4:00, myself and a few other students decided to visit the Secession museum, the organization that Gretl had talked about the day before. Entering a building with a golden cabbage head, we were greeted with different types of modern art. Despite never having visited any modern art museums before, I nonetheless enjoyed learning about unique art forms. For instance, one artist—Simone Fattal—expressed her Middle Eastern heritage through sculptures and collages. Despite the Secession's precept to only promote, the museum still features a painting from their founder in their basement. As explained by a museum worker, Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze was originally meant to be destroyed following its initial exhibition, but was instead saved after it was purchased by a private buyer in 1903.
The Secession museum and its prominent golden cabbage head.
Left to right: a section of Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze & Simone Fattal's modern art.
After enjoying a light dinner, we joined the rest of the class at the St. Charles Church (Karlskirche) and were treated to a beautiful rendition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. At just over an hour long, it was a memorable experience listening to Vivaldi's renowned work representing the seasonal cycle while inside the stunning baroque church. When I got back to my apartment, I decided to listen to some music by Schönberg to compare between the two music composers. I had remembered Gretl talking about Schönberg's rather unorthodox and controversial music as he had forced himself away from predictable tonal structures in order to avoid reusing notes too often. Choosing to listen to Schönberg's Variations for Orchestra, it was jarring yet also eerily fascinating to hear the music switch from pleasantly melodic to hauntingly raucous. While I would say that I liked Vivaldi's more comforting Four Seasons, I nevertheless respected Schönberg's experimentation with music and that he was a pioneer of modernist musical composition.
Exterior and interior of St. Charles Church.
German Words of the Day: Gemütlich (Cozy) & Entschuldigung (Excuse Me)
Provided by: Transparent Language