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by  Nathan Timpano

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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2010
The Semblance of Things: Corporeal
Gesture in Viennese Expressionism
Nathan J. (Nathan James) Timpano
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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE & DANCE

THE SEMBLANCE OF THINGS:

CORPOREAL GESTURE IN VIENNESE EXPRESSIONISM

By

NATHAN J. TIMPANO

A Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Art History
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Spring Semester, 2010
The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Nathan Timpano defended on
April 2, 2010.

____________________________________
Adam Jolles
Professor Directing Dissertation

____________________________________
Natalya Baldyga
University Representative

____________________________________
Roald Nasgaard
Committee Member

____________________________________
Robert Neuman
Committee Member

Approved:

__________________________________________
Adam Jolles, Chair, Department of Art History

__________________________________________
Sally McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.
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This dissertation is dedicated to my wife
who patiently supported my research
throughout these many years

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and thank the many individuals and institutions who have
been instrumental in my development as an art historian.

My gratitude goes chiefly to my advisor, Dr. Adam Jolles, for his expert guidance,
mentorship, and commitment to the highest of standards. I would also like to thank the
committee members of my dissertation, Drs. Roald Nasgaard, Robert Neuman, and
Natalya Baldyga, for their continual support and thoughtful contributions to this project. I
am indebted to Barbara Filo for encouraging me to start this journey as an undergraduate,
and for her unwavering passion for the field of art history. I would like to thank my wife,
Kiara Timpano, and my friends Chris Vorstius, Christina Stubenrauch and Christoph
Brenner, for their collective help with German translations when my own erudition was
not sufficient.

The writing of this dissertation was made possible through the support of a number of
national and international fellowships. I want to recognize and thank the Department of
Art History at Florida State University, the Federal Republic of Germany‘s Deutscher
Akademischer Austauch Dienst, the Austrian-American Fulbright Commission in
Vienna, Austria, and the Harvard Art Museum/Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard
University. My research would not have been possible without access to a number of
archives, including the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and
Puppentheatermuseum in Munich, Germany; the collections of the Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek (including the Theatermuseum) in Vienna, Austria; the Egon Schiele-
Archiv at the Albertina in Vienna, Austria; and the library at the Institut für
Kunstgeschichte at the University of Vienna. Additional research was facilitated through
documents, photographs, and works of art housed at Florida State University, the
National Gallery of Art, and Harvard University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES…………….…………………………………………………………vi

ABSTRACT….…………………………………………………………………………..xiii

INTRODUCTION: A NOVEL APPROACH TO GESTURE AND ITS ROLE IN
VIENNESE MODERN PAINTING………………..……………………..………………1

1. ―THE SEMBLANCE OF THINGS:‖ RE/VISIONING VIENNESE
EXPRESSIONISM…………...……………………………………………………... 12
1.1 The Dialectics of Expressionistic Vision...…...…………………..…..……...16
1.2 The Vision of Modern Life...................….……………...……..……………34
1.3 Jugendvision, Old and New:

1.3a Part I: The Vienna Secession.….………………………..…………..41
1.3b Part II: The Klimtgruppe………………………….………………...52

2. ―THE WOMAN EMERGES:‖ SCIENTIFIC VISION, MODERN CABARET, AND
HYSTO-THEATRICAL GESTURE………………………………………………....72
2.1 Critical Responses to the Role of Psychopathology in Viennese
Expressionism.………………..………………………………………………74
2.2 Hysteria, Consciousness, and Hypnotic Vision.………………..………....….81
2.3 ―The Woman Emerges:‖ Augustine, Dora, and the Sex of Hysteria….…..….88
2.4 ―Hysteria is now the fashionable disease:‖ Pathology, Theater Culture, and
the Emergence of Hysto-theatrical Gesture……………....………………...104

3. PLAYWRIGHTS, PUPPETS, AND PAINTERS: HYSTO-THEATRICAL GESTURE
AS METAPHOR IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE VIENNA………………..………….…....…140
3.1 Wearing Hysteria: Hysto-theatrical Gesture in Viennese Visual Culture…..144
3.2 Playing with Puppets:
3.2a Part I: The Marionette as Metaphor in Viennese Drama……....….167
3.2b Part II: The Marionette as Metaphor in Viennese Painting…….....190

4. THE BODY SPEAKS: CORPOREAL GESTURE AND THE CRISIS OF
LANGUAGE IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE VIENNA………………………..…..……….…237
4.1 The Puppet‘s Gesture: Language and Meaning in the Viennese Modern
Body...............................................................................................................242
4.2 ―My body is made up of nothing but ciphers:‖ Decoding Corporeal Gesture in
Viennese Visual Culture……………………………………..……………..262

CONCLUSION: GESTURE AND THE VIENNESE MODERN BODY……..………285
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………...…….290
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………………...309
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LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 Oskar Kokoschka, Hans Tietze and Erica Tietze-Conrat, 1909, oil on canvas. New
York, The Museum of Modern Art…………………………………………………..63

1.2 Egon Schiele, Nude Self-Portrait, 1910, gouache, watercolor and pencil. Vienna,
Albertina…………………….………………………………………………………..63

1.3 Koloman Moser, The Love Potion—Tristan and Isolde, 1913, oil on canvas. Vienna,
Leopold Collection………...………………………………………………………....64

1.4 Gustav Klimt, Philosophy, 1900-07, oil on canvas. Destroyed by fire in 1945.……..64

1.5 Gustav Klimt, Medicine, 1901-07, oil on canvas. Destroyed by fire in 1945.…….…65

1.6 Gustav Klimt, Jurisprudence, 1903-07, oil on canvas. Destroyed by fire in 1945.….65

1.7 Gustav Klimt, Judith I, 1901, oil on canvas. Vienna, Österreichische Galerie
Belvedere………………………………………………….………………………….66

1.8 Gustav Klimt, Beethoven Frieze (detail), 1902, fresco inlaid with gemstones.
Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere/Secession.................................................66

1.9 Gustav Klimt, Procession of the Dead, 1903, oil on canvas. Destroyed by fire in
1945…………………………………………………………………………….…….67

1.10 Gustav Klimt, Hope I, 1903, oil on canvas. Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada….67

1.11 Gustav Klimt, Three Ages of Women, 1905, oil on canvas. Rome, Galleria Nazionale
d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea…….…………………….………………………68

1.12 Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents I, 1904-07, tempera and watercolor on parchment.
Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere…………………………………..…….68

1.13 Gustav Klimt, Hope II, 1907-08, oil on canvas. New York, The Museum of Modern
Art…….……………………………………………………………………………..69

1.14 Gustav Klimt, Judith II (Salome), 1909, oil on canvas. Venice, Galleria d'Arte
Moderne………………………….………………………………………………….69

1.15 Gustav Klimt, Death and Life, 1916, oil on canvas. Vienna, Leopold Collection….70

1.16 Oskar Kokoschka, Frontispiece, from The Dreaming Youths, 1907-08, lithograph.
Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek…………………..….…………………70

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1.17 Oskar Kokoschka, The Girl Li and I, from The Dreaming Youths, 1907-08,
lithograph. Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek……..……………………..71

2.1 Macrodactylie Disease, photograph of unknown patient, first published in Nouvelle
Iconographie de la Salpêtrière, c. 1890…………………………………………….133

2.2 Paul Régnard, Tétanisme, photograph of Augustine, first published as plate 16 in
Iconographie photographiquede la Salpêtrière, vol. II, c. 1878…….………...…....133

2.3 Paul Régnard, Hystéro-Épilepsie: Contracture, photograph of Augustine, first
published as plate 29 in IPS, vol. II, c. 1878…….…………...……………………..134

2.4 Paul Régnard, Attitudes Passionnelles: Extase, photograph of Augustine, first
published as plate 23 in IPS, vol. II, c. 1878….…………………………………….134

2.5 M. Richter, Hystero-epileptic attack: period of contortions, 1877, print (after a
drawing by Jean-Martin Charcot). Providence, Brown University Library….…..…135

2.6 André Brouillet, A Lesson at the Salpêtrière Clinic, 1887, oil on canvas. Artwork in
the public domain……………………………...……………………………...….…135

2.7 Sarah Bernhardt reprising her role in Adrienne Lecouvreur, c. 1905-06, photograph.
Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Library, Philip H. Ward Collection of
Theatrical Images………….…………………………….………………………..…136

2.8 Sarah Bernhardt in Dame aux camélias, c. 1880s, photograph. Philadelphia,
University of Pennsylvania Library, Philip H. Ward Collection of Theatrical
Images……………………………………………………………………….……...136

2.9 Jane Avril, c. 1893, photograph. Artwork in the public domain………….......…….137

2.10 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril Dancing, 1892, oil on cardboard. Paris,
Musée d'Orsay…………………………………………………………………..…137

2.11 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1899, lithograph. San Diego, San Diego Art
Museum…………….………………………………………………………………138

2.12 Lovis Corinth, Gertrud Eysoldt as Salomé, oil on canvas, 1903. Present whereabouts
unknown………………………………………………………………………..….138

2.13 Gertrud Eysoldt as Elektra, c. 1903, tinted photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek………………………………………………..139

3.1 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna,
Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek..............................................205

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3.2 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna,
Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek..............................................205

3.3 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna,
Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek…....………................……..206

3.4 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna,
Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek……....……................……..206

3.5 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna,
Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek…….……................……….207

3.6 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Clytemnestra, and Maria Gärtner as Elektra, c. 1909,
photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek...........207

3.7 Maria Gärtner as Elektra, c. 1912, photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek............................................................................208

3.8 Annie Krull as Elektra, c. 1909, photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek............................................................................208

3.9 Ernestine Schumann Heinck as Clytemnestra, and Annie Krull as Elektra, c. 1909,
photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek...........209

3.10 Koloman Moser, The Love Potion—Tristan and Isolde, 1913, oil on canvas. Vienna,
Leopold Collection………….……………………………………………………..209

3.11 Paul Régnard, Léthargie: Hyperexcitabilité Musculaire, photograph of Augustine,
first published as plate 14 in IPS, vol. II, c. 1878…………….……………………210

3.12 John Duncan, Tristan Sharing the Love Potion with Isolde, 1912, oil on canvas.
Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh Museums and Art Galleries……….……………….210

3.13 John William Waterhouse, Tristan and Isolde, 1911, oil on canvas. London,
Whitford and Hughes………………………………………………………………211

3.14 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Tristram and Isolde Drinking the Love Potion, 1867, oil on
canvas. Present whereabouts unknown……...………………….…………………211

3.15 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Isolde, 1898, photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek...........................................................................212

3.16 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Isolde, 1903, photograph. Vienna, Theatersammlung,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek...........................................................................212

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3.17 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Kundry at the Bayreuth Festival, 1897, photograph.
Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek..............................213

3.18 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Kundry at the Bayreuth Festival, 1897, photograph.
Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek…….…………….213

3.19 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Kundry at the Bayreuth Festival, 1911, photograph.
Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek….……...………..214

3.20 Anna Bahr-Mildenburg as Kundry at the Bayreuth Festival, 1911, photograph.
Vienna, Theatersammlung, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek……….…...……..214

3.21 Alexander Moissi as Oedipus in Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Max Reinhardt‘s
Oedipus Rex, 1910, photograph. Berlin, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Archiv...........215

3.22 Gustav Moreau, The Apparition, c. 1874-76, oil on canvas. Paris, Gustav Moreau
Museum……………….……………………………………………………………216

3.23 Gustav Moreau, Salome Dancing before Herod, c. 1874-76, oil on canvas. Paris,
Gustav Moreau Museum…………………………….………………..……………216

3.24 Franz von Stuck, Salome, 1906, oil on canvas. Munich, Städtische Galerie im
Lenbachhaus.............................................................................................................217

3.25 Franz von Stuck, Dancing Salome, 1906, oil on canvas. Private Collection…....…217

3.26 Tilla Durieux as Circe, c. 1912-13, photograph. Munich, Museum Villa Stuck….218

3.27 Tilla Durieux as Circe, c. 1912-13, photograph. Munich, Museum Villa Stuck….218

3.28 Franz von Stuck, Tilla Durieux as Circe, 1913, oil on canvas. Berlin, Alte
Nationalgalerie…………………………….…………………………..…………...219

3.29 Franz von Stuck, Tilla Durieux as Circe, c. 1912-13, mixed media on paper. Private
Collection……….………………………………………………………………….219

3.30 Mary or Franz von Stuck, Study for Salome (?), c. 1906, photograph. Munich,
Museum Villa Stuck……….……………………………………………....…...….220

3.31 Mary or Franz von Stuck, Study for Salome (?), c. 1906, photograph. Munich,
Museum Villa Stuck…………….…………………………………………………220

3.32 Mary or Franz von Stuck, Study for Salome (?), c. 1906, photograph. Munich,
Museum Villa Stuck…………………….…………………………………...…….221

3.33 Maud Allan as Salome in The Vision of Salomé, c. 1906, photograph. Artwork in
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