Bangor University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY c.G. Jung's reception of Picasso and abstract art Hill, Lucinda Award date: 2020 Awarding institution: Bangor University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 C. G. JUNG’S RECEPTION OF PICASSO AND ABSTRACT ART C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 107 DECLARATION Yr wyf drwy hyn yn datgan mai canlyniad fy ymchwil fy hun yw’r thesis hwn, ac eithrio lle nodir yn wahanol. Caiff ffynonellau eraill eu cydnabod gan droednodiadau yn rhoi cyfeiriadau eglur. Nid yw sylwedd y gwaith hwn wedi cael ei dderbyn o’r blaen ar gyfer unrhyw radd, ac nid yw’n cael ei gyflwyno ar yr un pryd mewn ymgeisiaeth am unrhyw radd oni bai ei fod, fel y cytunwyd gan y Brifysgol, am gymwysterau deuol cymeradwy. I hereby declare that this thesis is the results of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. All other sources are acknowledged by bibliographic references. This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree unless, as agreed by the University, for approved dual awards. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are two people that I must acknowledge for their support over the last three years. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr Lucy Huskinson. Her expertise, patience, and enthusiasm throughout the process of my researching and writing of this thesis has been exceptional. Without doubt I would not have had such a positive and rewarding experience without her guidance. Besides my supervisor, I must thank my mother for her endless encouragement—I dedicate this thesis to her. ABSTRACT In 1932 C. G. Jung (1875-1961) wrote a controversial essay on the famed Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881- 1973). Jung’s essay refers to the first ever museum retrospective of Picasso’s work, which was held at the Kunsthaus in Zurich. Jung’s essay appeared in print, on what was the last day of the exhibition in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a Swiss, German language daily newspaper which was circulated throughout Zurich. In his essay Jung claimed that Picasso had a ‘schizoid’ personality, and he sought to analyse Picasso’s artwork alongside the pictorial expressions of his patients. Jung’s comments caused an international furore, and criticism was rife over the derogatory nature of his claims. However, Jung’s reception of Picasso was by no means an isolated case in his attitude towards art. It is well known, for instance, that Jung took a dislike to modern art. He confessed in a letter written in 1947 that he was: ‘only prejudiced against all forms of modern art’ finding them ‘mostly morbid and evil.’1 I find Jung’s view of modern art perplexing since he is very open to innovative thought and discovery—which are the hallmarks of modern art movements. Indeed, Jung is regarded as one of the greatest explorers of the human mind, and he was committed to seeking forms of inspiration from beyond conventional ‘scientific’ boundaries. Modern art parallels Jung’s interests: it embraces the spirit of experimentation, and uses new imagery and techniques in order to challenge creative conceptions. On the surface one would assume therefore that Jung would have been keen to build a fruitful relationship with modern artists and modern art movements. But, instead, Jung seems to express a striking prejudice towards modern art. In my study I explore the nature and extent of this seeming prejudice and possible reasons for it. Jung’s relationship with art has been relatively overlooked. Jung was a keen collector of art and artefacts and was himself a competent artist. Ulrich Hoerni, Jung’s grandson and co-editor of The Art of C.G. Jung (2018),2 recently confirmed that for decades few people were aware of the significant role art played in Jung’s life. Furthermore, Jung’s understanding of artistic expression was influenced by the creation of his own collection of paintings. We also find, between 1913-1930, that Jung conducted a self-experiment known as his ‘confrontation with the unconscious,’ the results of which he recorded in written text, drawings and paintings. Jung engaged in a lengthy process of psychological development before transferring these writings and images into the book, Liber Novus. The book was bound in red leather and contained several of Jung’s elaborate and highly finished paintings. Jung’s book has since then always been known as the Red Book. Significantly, Jung’s choice of medium to express his profound experiences brings to light his deeply personal relationship with art and artistic forms of expression. Jung’s intense reaction to Picasso’s art therefore reveals the complexity of his own creative life in relation to art. My study seeks to address and provide important context to Jung’s understanding of modern art. In addition to exploring 1 C.G. Jung Letters, Volume 1, Letter to Esther Harding 7/8/47, p. 469 cited in Sylvester Wojtkowski, ‘Wrestling with the Azazel, Jung and Modern Art, A Critical Appraisal,’ ARAS Connections, 2015, p. 2 2 The Art of C.G. Jung, Edited by the Foundation of the Works of C.G. Jung, Ulrich Hoerni, Thomas Fischer, Bettina Kaufmann, W.W. Norton & Company, New York/London, 2018 possible reasons for Jung’s apparent prejudice towards modern art, I will address the impact that Jung’s unwillingness to engage in a deeper exploration of modern artforms had on the development of his psychological ideas. In responding to these questions, I hope to show that Jung the ‘artist’ had more to say than he explicitly said in his writings. CONTENTS List of illustrations PART 1: Jung’s view of Picasso, modern art and the modern era Chapter 1—Introduction 1 Chapter 2—Jung and the Picasso essay of 1932 10 Chapter 3—Jung’s view of the modern era 29 Chapter 4—Jung and the ‘schizoid’ expression in modern art 42 Chapter 5—Jung’s letter to Herbert Read (1960) 69 Chapter 6—Jung’s approach to his ‘confrontation with the unconscious’ 81 Conclusion: Chapters 1-6 105 PART II: Jung’s Red Book paintings and misinterpretation of modern art Chapter 7—Jung’s collection of art and his own paintings 108 Chapter 8—Jung and the anima 135 Chapter 9—Jung and mandalas 161 Chapter 10—Jung’s misinterpretation of modern art 195 Conclusion 227 Bibliography 236 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1—Pablo Picasso, Woman with Crossed Arms, 1901/2 Fig. 1a—Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Fernande Olivier, 1906 Fig. 1b—Pablo Picasso, Girl with Mandolin, 1910 Fig. 1c—Pablo Picasso, The Violin, 1914 Fig. 1d—Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avigon, 1907 Fig. 1e—Pablo Picasso, Three Women, 1908 Fig. 1f—Hermann Hubacher, Italian girl, 1932 Fig. 1g—Guido Reni, David with the Head of Goliath, 1606 Fig. 1h—Pablo Picasso, Self-portrait, 1901 Fig. 1i—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin grimant before a woman sitting, 1905 Fig. 1j—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin and Woman with Necklace, 1917 Fig. 1k—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin Playing a Guitar, 1918 Fig. 1l—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin with Guitar, 1918 Fig. 1m—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin with Clasped hands, 1923 Fig. 1n—Pablo Picasso, Paulo as Harlequin, 1924 Fig. 10—Pablo Picasso, The son of the Artist as Harlequin (Portrait of Paulo), 1924 Fig. 1p—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin Musician, 1924 Fig. 1q—Pablo Picasso, Harlequin, 1927 Fig. 2—Pablo Picasso, Girl before a Mirror, 1932 Fig. 3—C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 123 Fig. 4—Hans Arp, Elementary Construction, 1916 Fig. 5—Salvador Dalì, The Sacrament of the Last Supper, 1955 Fig. 6—Odilon Redon, The Eye like a Strange Balloon moves towards Infinity, 1882 Fig. 7—Giovanni Segantini, The Punishment of Luxury, 1891 Fig. 8—Peter Birkhäuser, Fourth Dimension, 1956/7 Fig. 9—Yves Tanguy, Noyér indifferent, 1927 Fig. 10—Erhard Jacoby, Fire Sower, date unknown Fig. 11—Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, 1912 Fig. 11b—Franz Beda Riklin, Verkündigung, 1915 Fig. 11c—Tibetan Buddhist Mandala Fig. 12a—C. G. Jung, Cosmological Schema in Black Book V, page 169, 1916 Fig. 12b—C. G. Jung, Systema mundi totius, 1916 Fig. 13a—C. G. Jung, Mandala Sketch, August 4 and 7, 1916 Fig. 13b—C. G. Jung, Mandala Sketch, August 6, 1916 Fig. 14—C. G. Jung, Window on Eternity, The Red Book, page 159, 1927 Fig. 15—C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 163, 1932 Fig. 15b—C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 125, 1919/20 Fig. 16—C. G. Jung, Spheric Vision IV, 1919 Fig. 17—C. G. Jung, Spheric Vision III, 1919 Fig. 18—C. G. Jung, Celtic Scene II, ca. 1919 Fig. 19—C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 79 Fig. 20—C. G. Jung, Star, 1921 Fig. 21—C. G. Jung, The Red Book, page 129, 1921 Fig. 22—Pablo Picasso, Woman’s Head (Fernande), 1909 Fig.