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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Monument Question in Late Habsburg Austria A Critical Introduction to Max Dvořák’s Denkmalpflege Jonathan Blower Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2012 Abstract The present thesis is a critical introduction to a body of writings on heritage conservation by the Czech-born art historian Max Dvořák (1874–1921). From 1905 onwards, Dvořák was both professor of art history at the University of Vienna and Conservator General at the state institution responsible for heritage conservation in Austria: the ‘Royal and Imperial Central Commission for the Research and Preservation of Artistic and Historical Monuments’ (est. 1850). His published and archival texts on the subject are presented here for the first time in English translation. In this sense, the thesis follows the model of existing scholarship on the visual arts in Vienna around 1900, namely the combined English translations and critical introductions to the writings of Camillo Sitte (Collins & Collins, 1986), Otto Wagner (Mallgrave, 1988) and Alois Riegl (Forster & Ghirardo, 1982). A translation-based approach to foreign textual sources is essential to cross-cultural understanding in the study of art and architectural history, particularly in the case of German, which is no longer accessible to the great majority of scholars working in these fields. As an introduction to Dvořák’s Denkmalpflege, this thesis provides the historical context necessary for an informed reading of the texts and, on this basis, evaluates his considerable contribution to the conservation of Austrian cultural heritage. The institutional history of the Central Commission and the emergence of modern conservation theory around the turn of the century are outlined as the preconditions of Dvořák’s activity, which included inventorization, institutional reform, published propaganda and a number of case-specific polemics. His responses to conservation issues in Vienna and Split are analyzed in detail as representative case studies from the centre and periphery of the empire, where modern conservationists were fighting a battle on two fronts against the incursions of modernity on the one hand and the destructive practices of nineteenth-century restoration on the other. Dvořák’s close collaboration with the Austrian heir apparent Franz Ferdinand is then investigated, followed by a critique of his reaction to the devastation of the First World War. In each case, it is argued that the state administration of cultural heritage in late Habsburg Austria, with its diverse peoples, languages and histories, was an inherently political issue and part of a cultural effort to preserve the empire itself. Declaration I hereby declare that I have composed this thesis, that it is my own work and that it has not been submitted for any degree or professional qualification other than that specified. Jonathan Blower March 2012 Contents Volume 1: The Monument Question in Late Habsburg Austria A Critical Introduction to Max Dvořák’s Denkmalpflege Acknowledgements Abbreviations Tables and Illustrations Introduction 1 1. The Monument Institution 15 The Central Commission in the Nineteenth Century 21 The Great Portal Question 28 Riegl and Dehio: Altruism and Egotism in the Modern Monument Cult 37 Dvořák’s Conservation Theory and the Karlsplatz Question 49 2. Dvořák, Bode and the Monuments of German Art 63 Art history: International Congress or German Members’ Club? 68 The Founding Aims of the Deutscher Verein für Kunstwissenschaft 76 The Monuments of German Art 84 3. Diocletian’s Palace: A Case Study in Politicized Conservation 93 Rudolf Eitelberger’s Pragmatic Cultural Imperialism 96 The Destructive Preservation Work of Alois Hauser 106 Alois Riegl: From Isolamento to Ensemble Protection 112 Max Dvořák and the Episcopium Controversy 122 4. The Conservation Catechism and Denkmalpflege at War 133 Franz Ferdinand and the Genesis of the Conservation Catechism 134 The Lesson of the Catechism 141 Conservation at War 148 Notes 160 Bibliography 187 Illustration Sources 198 Volume 2: Max Dvořák’s Denkmalpflege 1. Alois Riegl (1905) 202 2. German Art Topographies (1906) 218 3. The Development of the Karlsplatz in Vienna (1907) 225 4. Francesco Borromini as Restorator (1907) 227 5. Introduction to the Austrian Art Topography (1907) 234 6. Memorandum on the Organization and Working Program of the MAG (1908) 248 7. Viennese Traffic Considerations (1908) 255 8. Restoration Questions I: The Royal Castle at Prague (1908) 257 9. Restoration Questions II: The Royal Palace on the Wawel (1908) 264 10. Restoration Questions III: Split (1909) 270 11. A Law for the Destruction of Monuments (1909) 283 12. Notice: It Tends to be Dark under the Lamps (1909) 285 13. The Karlsplatz Question (1909) 286 14. Monument Cult and Artistic Development (1910) 292 15. The Museum Building on the Karlsplatz (1910) 309 16. Saving Historic Vienna (1910) 315 17. The Prospect of the Emmaus Monastery in Prague (1910) 318 18. A Law for the Protection of Monuments (1910) 321 19. An Austrian Law for the Protection of Monuments (1910) 324 20. Monumente Deperdita: Finis Vindobonae (1911) 327 21. Monument Preservation in Austria (1911) 329 22. Protecting Monuments and Protecting the Church (1911) 341 23. The Recent Renaissance (1912) 348 24. Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914) 360 25. Collectors, Museums and Monument Preservation (1915) 363 26. Schinkel’s New Guardhouse (1915) 371 27. The Conservation Catechism (1916) 380 28. Duino (1916) 452 29. A Letter to Colleagues in Italy (1919) 457 30. Monument Preservation (1920) 461 31. The Maintenance and Use of Former Royal Palaces (1920) 467 32. The Balkanization of Vienna (1920) 472 Acknowledgements For his constant encouragement, advice, input and patience over the course of my producing this thesis, I should like to express my warmest thanks, first and foremost, to Iain Boyd Whyte, who has been far more than an academic mentor to me over the last decade. Andrew Barker and Miles Glendinning, as my second supervisors, have been equally supportive and encouraging; without the former I might never have got started, without the latter I would perhaps never have finished. Particular thanks are due here to the staff of the German department at the University of Edinburgh: Mary Cosgrove, Eleoma Joshua and Sabine Rolle in particular. I would also like to thank a number of colleagues who have provided much appreciated input and support in various ways over the last few years: Claudia Heide, Richard Woodfield, Jindřich Vybíral, Branko Mitrović, Georg Vasold, Beate Ebelt, Ján Bakoš, Jorge Otero-Pailos and Joško Belamarić. If the Arts and Humanities Council of Great Britain made this research possible in its early stages, Berit Homburg has helped keep the wolf from the door since. Warm thanks to her and to Dominikus Müller. There are four people in particular who have made me feel very much at home abroad, to say nothing of humouring my bookish German: Katrin Schamun, Barbara Seng, Nadja Kugler and Geka Pahnke. Vicky Falconer kindly read the manuscript and made many helpful suggestions and improvements. I am grateful to her for this and much else besides. Abbreviations CC K. K. Zentral-Kommission DVfK Deutscher Verein für Kunstwissenschaft GSPK Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz IKUW Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Universität Wien JCC Jahrbuch der Central Commission* KJZK Kunstgeschichtliches Jahrbuch der K. K. Zentral-Kommission* MAG Monumenta artis Germaniae MGH Monumenta Germaniae historica MZK Mitteilungen der K. K. Zentral-Kommission* NFP Neue Freie Presse IÖGF Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung ÖZKD Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege ZASMB Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin * The reader is referred to the Bibliography for notes on these journals. Tables and Illustrations Table Page 1 Attendance figures for the (International) Congress of Art History 71 according to stated place of abode (1873–1912) 2 Comparative Austrian monument expenditure in florins and percentages, 111 from the budgets of the Ministry of Education (1888–98) 3 The Kunstraub controversy in foodstuffs and paintings (1919) 157 Figure Page 1.1 Oskar Strnad, monument for the Adriatic coast (1915) 16 1.2 Anton Fenkhorn, Erzherzog Carl (1860) 18 1.3 The Central Commission seal 25 1.4 Sant’Ambrogio, Milan (1860) 27 1.5 The west front and Great Portal of the Stephansdom (2011) 31 1.6 Wenzel Jamnitzer, table centrepiece (1549) 48 1.7 Otto Wagner, Karlsplatz with projected museum building (1906) 55 1.8 Karl Pippich, Demolition of the Elisabeth Bridge (1897) 57 1.9 Mock-up of Wagner’s museum project of 1909 (1910) 60 2.1 Max Dvořák (1910) 64 2.2 Wilhelm