On paper, the Nazis shouldÂn’t have liked GusÂtav Klimt. As galÂlerist and YoutuÂber James Payne says in his new Great Art Explained video above, their denunÂciÂaÂtoÂry “DegenÂerÂate Art ExhiÂbiÂtion” of 1937 includÂed the work of “Paul Klee, Otto Dix, Pablo PicasÂso, Marc ChaÂgall, and Piet MonÂdriÂan, as well as Egon Schiele and Oskar KokoschÂka” — but someÂhow not Klimt, “who, at one time or anothÂer, had been described as moralÂly quesÂtionÂable, obscene, or even pornoÂgraphÂic, and was friends with JewÂish patrons, intelÂlecÂtuÂals, and artists.” And it isn’t as if the Nazis just ignored his work; in fact, they activeÂly pressed a few of his paintÂings into the serÂvice of their ideÂolÂoÂgy.
The search for those paintÂings, and thus an answer to the quesÂtion of how they could have been givÂen a pro-Nazi spin, takes Payne to VienÂna (this video being part of his Great Art Cities sub-series). It was there that the 22-year-old Klimt — along with his brothÂer Ernst and their friend Franz Mach — received the career-makÂing comÂmisÂsion, straight from the emperÂor himÂself, to paint a series of ten hisÂtorÂiÂcal murals on the ceilÂings and walls of the city’s stoÂried BurgthÂeÂater. This made posÂsiÂble Klimt and Mach’s next major murÂal project for the UniÂverÂsiÂty of VienÂna, though the forÂmer’s conÂtriÂbuÂtions were rejectÂed by the offiÂcials, and latÂer delibÂerÂateÂly destroyed by GerÂman forces retreatÂing at the war’s end.
HavÂing died in 1918, Klimt nevÂer learned of his work’s ultiÂmate fate (much less its more recent reconÂstrucÂtion with artiÂfiÂcial intelÂliÂgence). Even by the time the Nazis rose to powÂer, he’d been dead long enough for them to approÂpriÂate his art, and even the much more darÂing art he made after the UniÂverÂsiÂty of VienÂna debaÂcle. Take his Beethoven Frieze from 1902, a “34-meter-long homage to Beethoven’s Ninth SymÂphoÂny as interÂpretÂed by Richard WagÂnÂer: Hitler’s favorite piece of music, often played at Nazi ralÂlies, interÂpretÂed by his favorite comÂposÂer.” That Klimt “celÂeÂbrates the triÂumph of ideÂalÂism over mateÂriÂalÂism” seems to have repÂreÂsentÂed enough of a philoÂsophÂiÂcal overÂlap to be useÂful to the Third Reich.
“In 1943, in VienÂna, the Nazis even sponÂsored the largest-ever retÂroÂspecÂtive of Klimt’s art.” Indeed, Payne idenÂtiÂfies “a TeuÂtonÂic qualÂiÂty to Klimt’s work that would have appealed to the Nazi aesÂthetÂic.” But he could also be porÂtrayed as “part of the AusÂtriÂan folk traÂdiÂtion” with “GerÂman philoÂsophÂiÂcal roots,” and like conÂvenÂtionÂal Nazi artists, Klimt made much use of clasÂsiÂcal icons and nude bodÂies. Yet there is litÂtle in his life or worldÂview of which the Nazis could posÂsiÂbly have approved, and even his work itself sugÂgests that he knew full well the danÂgers of popÂuÂlar appeal. “If you canÂnot please everyÂone with your actions and art, you should satÂisÂfy a few,” says the quoÂtaÂtion from the poet and philosoÂpher Friedrich Schiller incorÂpoÂratÂed into Klimt’s 1899 paintÂing Nuda VerÂiÂtas. “To please many is danÂgerÂous.”
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
Thank you very much for this specÂtacÂuÂlar video and inforÂmaÂtion that makes us be sad for the lost art and the horÂrors that hapÂpened only 100 years ago. Art is the best of a culÂture. Thank you.
Thx. Good read.