View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Enlighten: Theses THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF CZECH ART MARTA FILIPOVÁ A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY OF ART August 2008 © Marta Filipová 2008 Abstract National identity can be expressed in many ways by individuals, groups and states. Since the nineteenth century, Central Europe has been undergoing rapid changes in the political, social and cultural spheres, which was reflected in the self-definition of the nations living in this region, and in their definition by others. The Czech people, who until 1918 were a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, gave birth to a national revival movement in the nineteenth century and eventually emancipated themselves to create an independent Czechoslovakia. The idea of „national identity“ was, therefore, crucial and this was enhanced in many areas of human activity, including the construction of a historical legitimacy for the nation. The struggle for recognition of the historical existence of the Czech nation was also projected into the discourse adopted for historical and contemporary art writing and exhibition practice. In this thesis, I focus on the ways in which Czech national identity was constructed in the historiography of art. I shall argue that the various ideologies which influenced the writers led to an understanding of Czech art as epitomising certain qualities of the Czech nation. At the same time, the Czech nation was presented as highly advanced because of its artistic achievements. I shall explore how art historians, historians, artists, archaeologists and philosophers created their notion of a Czech national art on the basis of either negotiating a compromise with the various ethnic groups, methodologies and political affiliations, or by emphasising their opposition to the same. Another contested area was the concept and political uses of artistic quality. It will be my aim to examine broader circumstances of these contestations in the Introduction and more specific ideological motivations behind Czech art history in the subsequent chapters. In Chapter One, I shall outline the main places where art history was practiced in Bohemia and Moravia which were crucial for constructing the discourse on national art. Chapter Two examines the texts of the first Czech art historians in the second half of the nineteenth century who became interested in the national aspects of Czech art because of the political and cultural climate. In Chapter Three, I shall examine the nineteenth century debates between Czech and German authors on the origins of mediaeval art, confirming Czech or German national identity 2 respectively. Chapter Four studies the rise of Czech art history as a “scientific” discipline in Prague and the attempts of Czech art historians at its professionalisation, which – nevertheless – did not abandon a nationalistic discourse. The main focus of Chapter Five is the co-existence of nationalistic views of Czech art with the attempts of artists and art critics to bring Czech art into a dialogue with Western art. In the following chapter, Chapter Six, this practice is explored in the context of the Viennese university and the so-called Vienna School of art history, particularly the work and legacy of Max Dvořák. The influence of the School on Czech art history is the topic of Chapter Seven, which again brings up the question of the divide between international and national perspectives of Czech art. Criticism of the Czech Vienna School followers from various groups of art historians is examined in Chapter Eight. Finally, in Chapter Nine, I conclude with the exploration of the rise of a new concept of art historical identity, the concept of Czechoslovak identity. 3 Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................2 List of Figures.......................................................................................................6 Introduction..........................................................................................................8 National identity in art history..........................................................................18 Political and cultural aspects of Czech nationalism...........................................21 Nineteenth century........................................................................................21 Twentieth century .........................................................................................35 Conclusion.......................................................................................................39 1. Czech Institutions of Art History in the Nineteenth Century .......................41 The university in Prague...................................................................................45 Journals of the nineteenth century ....................................................................51 Art history in Moravia......................................................................................54 Conclusion.......................................................................................................57 2. The Early Constructions of Czech Identity in Art History ...........................59 Jan Erazim Vocel, the founder of Czech art history..........................................60 K. V. Zap.........................................................................................................68 F. J. Lehner: the first history of art of the Czech nation ....................................77 Conclusion.......................................................................................................80 3. Czech and German Art History in the 1870s and 1880s ...............................82 German authors on art in Bohemia ...................................................................83 Alfred Woltmann..........................................................................................83 Bernhard Grueber .........................................................................................87 Defences of Czech art ......................................................................................92 Conclusion.......................................................................................................98 4. Attempts for Scientific History of Czech Art at the Turn of the Century..101 Institutional art history in Prague....................................................................103 Karel Chytil ................................................................................................109 Karel Bartoloměj Mádl ...............................................................................115 Calls for improvement in art historical education ...........................................124 Conclusion.....................................................................................................126 5. Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism in Art around 1900..............................128 Exhibitions at the end of the century...............................................................130 Modern art criticism and the revision of national art.......................................144 F. X. Šalda..................................................................................................159 Conclusion.....................................................................................................167 6. Max Dvořák, the Vienna School and Czech Art History.............................170 Czech art history under the influence of Vienna .............................................178 Max Dvořák and Czech art..........................................................................179 Conclusion.....................................................................................................199 7. The Internationalisation of Art History.......................................................202 Scholarship in Prague..................................................................................204 The Vienna School disciples and the internationalisation of art history...........208 Conclusion.....................................................................................................225 4 8. Criticisms of the Vienna School and its Ideology ........................................227 Against the method: Karel Chytil ...................................................................227 Against a Western orientation: Florian Zapletal and Josef Strzygowski ..........231 Conclusion.....................................................................................................241 9. The Art of the Czechoslovak People.............................................................244 Czechoslovak art............................................................................................249 The history of art in Slovakia......................................................................253 Folk art in Czech art history ...........................................................................260 The construction of Czechoslovak art: conclusion..........................................271 Conclusion.........................................................................................................273 Bibliography .....................................................................................................283 5 List