smk artjournal statens museum for kunst copenhagen

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1 smk artjournal statens museum for kunst copenhagen

2 smk artjournal Artiklerne er fagfællebedømt The articles are peer-reviewed Redaktion Editor: Peter Nørgaard Larsen Forlagsredaktion Publishing editor: Sven Bjerkhof Billedredaktion Picture editor: Pernille Feldt Korrektur Proofs: Gitte Hou Olsen Oversættelse til engelsk Translation into English: René Lauritsen Grafisk tilrettelæggelse Graphic design: Katja Bjarnov Lage Reproduktion og tryk Reproduction and printing: Narayana Press, Odder Typografi Fonts: Katerine, Trade Gothic Papir Paper: 150 g 2 U Silk & 270 g Invercote 2012 Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen ISBN ISSN Forside Front: Detalje af XXX Detail of XXX Bagside Back: Detaljer af fig. 1, s. 6, fig. 2. s. 16, fig. 1, s. 36, fig. 3, s. 54, fig. 12, s. 81, fig. 1, s. 84 Details of fig. 1, p. 6, fig. 2. p. 16, fig. 1, p. 36, fig. 1, p. 54, fig. 12, p. 81, fig. 1, p. 84 Fotos Photos: ARoS (foto Ole Hein Pedersen) s. 57 tv., 61, 136. Clausens Kunsthandel, København s. 91, 159. Den Hirschsprungske Samling, København s. 25 th., 113 n. Det Kongelig Bibliotek, København s. 12, 13,101, 102, 103. Faaborg Museum s. 40, 123 ø. Fuglsang Kunstmuseum s. 57 th., 62, 137. Grafische Sammlung Kunsthaus Zürich s. 25 tv., 113 m. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston s. 50, 127. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek s. 44, 125. Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz, Winterhur s. 45, 126. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles s. 41, 123 n. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam s. 26, 42, 114, 124. Øvrige fotos: SMK-foto Jakob Skou-Hansen & Riccardo Buccarella. Copydan XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX

3 indhold contents 4 f o r o r d 6 98 e va de l a fuente pedersen Jacob Jordaens Færgebåden fra Antwerpen Om erhvervelsen og kritikkens modtagelse Jacob Jordaens The Ferry Boat to Antwerp Concerning its acquisition and reception h e n r i k holm Gipskroppe som performance Den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling set i et performativitetsperspektiv Plaster Bodies as Performance The Royal Collection of Casts viewed from a performative perspective 36 xx 120 m i r i a m hav e wat t s Individ og type? L.A. Rings I høst og Sædemanden Individual and Type? L.A. Ring s Harvest and The Sower r a s m u s k j æ r b o e Stilen i sig selv Det klassiske, det moderne og den moderne klassicisme i tre gennembrudsskulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg og Einar Utzon-Frank The Style in Itself The classical, the modern, and Modern Classicism in three breakthrough sculptures by Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg, and Einar Utzon-Frank k at h r i n e segel og ole nørrega a r d jensen Henri Matisse Le Luxe II Henri Matisse Le Luxe II k a s pa r thormod Den forladte by En fortolkning af Palle Nielsens radérserie The Abandoned City. A reading of Palle Nielsen s etchings

4 foreword Research is at its best when it grows and has its mettle tested in a critical setting. Sadly, many museums and universities do not have the critical mass required to ensure that art history studies and research continue to develop and grow. This also applies to the Statens Museum for Kunst; despite its status as Denmark s leading museum of art it does not have the necessary critical mass within certain areas. As funding diminishes, there is little prospect of expanding the tenured staff. In response to this situation, the SMK strives to supplement its staff with scholars working on PhD projects and in postdoctoral positions. It is, then, a cause for joy that the museum within the last couple of years has been able to attract numerous PhD and postdoctoral projects addressing subjects such as Titian, Asger Jorn, Danish Graphic after World War II, Danish Art Collectors, and Portrait Painting in the Renaissance and the Baroque. The SMK also aims to place increased emphasis on research positions within its other core areas, i.e. conservation and education. As regards education, the museum co-operates with a range of cultural institutions in Copenhagen on hosting a PhD project that examines the institutions possibilities for playing a bigger part as democratic sources of education and general enlightenment. In terms of conservation the SMK intends to have its focus on technical art history research accompanied by PhD projects. For example, we expect to launch a study of artists practice in 17th century Denmark at some point in Setting up research centres is another way of boosting research. With funding from the Velux Foundation and the Villum Foundation, the SMK together with the National Museum of Denmark and the School of Conservation at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts set up the Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation (CATS) in Operating across conventional professional categories, this centre is something entirely new in the Nordic countries and has the potential to become a major asset for research-based preservation of our cultural heritage. The museum is also working to set up a counterpart to CATS: an art historical research centre that focuses on Danish art and international art in Denmark. Such a centre would not be based on a single focus area; it represents our belief that the SMK s own research environment and the research conducted by other museums would benefit from the closer co-operation such a centre has to offer. The museum also hopes that our focus on dissemination will give rise to the allocation of funds for an interdisciplinary centre for research on exhibition design. The SMK Art Journal consists, like previous editions, of articles written by the SMK s in-house scholars and by external forces alike. All contributions take their point of departure in works of art with particular relevance for the Statens Museum for Kunst. Their subject matter spans all the main collections at the museum: From the Royal Collection of Paintings Eva de la Fuente Pedersen examines the Danish reception of Jacob Jordaens The Tribute Money. The Ferry Boat from Antwerp, whereas Miriam Have Watts scrutinises issues of type versus individual in Laurits Andersen Ring s The Sower and Harvest. Henrik Holm takes a contemporary look at the Royal Cast Collection by applying performativity theory to the collection s unique field, Rasmus Kjærboe provides an account of the tension between Classicism and Modernism in a number of important Danish sculptures, and Kaspar Thormod offers a new interpretation of Palle Nielsen s graphic series The Abandoned City from the Royal Collection of Prints and Drawings. Furthermore, Kathrine Segel and Ole Nørregaard Jensen present the results of new studies and the information it has yielded on Matisse s technique and the genesis of one of the SMK highlights: Le Luxe II. Peter Nørgaard Larsen Head of Collections and Research forord 4

5 forord Forskning udvikles bedst, når den afprøves i et kritisk miljø. På mange museer og universiteter er der desværre ikke tilstrækkelig kritisk masse til at sikre, at den kunsthistoriske forskning fortsat udvikles. Det gælder også for Statens Museum for Kunst, der trods sin status som Danmarks hovedmuseum for billedkunst på flere områder ikke besidder den nødvendige kritiske masse. Med faldende bevillinger er der ikke udsigt til udvidelser i den faste forskerstab. Museet søger derfor at supplere bemandingen med forskere i ph.d.-projekter og post. doc.-stillinger. Det er derfor glædeligt, at SMK i de sidste par år har kunnet tiltrække flere nye ph.d.- og post. doc.-projekter med emner som Tizian, Asger Jorn, Dansk grafik efter 2. verdenskrig, Danske privatsamlere samt Renæssancens og barokkens portrætmaleri. Inden for de andre kerneområder, bevaring og formidling, er det ligeledes ambitionen at udvikle fagligheden gennem øget fokus på forskeruddannelse. På formidlingsområdet er SMK i samarbejde med en række københavnske kulturinstitutioner blevet vært for en ph.d., der undersøger institutionernes muligheder for at spille en stærkere rolle som demokratiske dannelsesinstitutioner. På bevaringsområdet er det tanken, at museets satsning på forskning i teknisk kunsthistorie skal ledsages af ph.d.-projekter. En undersøgelse af kunstnernes arbejdsmetoder i 1600-tallets Danmark forventes således igangsat i Etableringen af forskningscentre er en anden vej til øget forskning. Med støtte fra Velux Fonden og Villum Fonden har SMK i 2011 i samarbejde med Nationalmuseet og Kunstakademiets Konservatorskole etableret det kunstteknologiske center CATS (Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation). Ved at operere på tværs af de gængse fagdiscipliner er centret en nyskabelse i Norden og har potentiale til at blive et stort aktiv for den forskningsbaserede bevaring af kulturarven. Som pendant til CATS arbejder museet på at etablere et kunsthistorisk forskningscenter med fokus på dansk kunst og international kunst i Danmark. Ikke baseret på et enkelt indsatsområde men fordi vi tror på, at SMK s eget forskningsmiljø og andre museers forskning vil have gavn af det tættere samarbejde, som et sådan center kan tilbyde. Desuden håber museet i nærmeste fremtid, at de senere års satsning på formidling vil resultere i allokeringen af et tværfagligt center for forskning i udstillingsdesign. SMK ART JOURNAL består som tidligere årgange af artikler skrevet af såvel interne som eksterne forskere. Men de er alle fælles om at tage afsæt i kunstværker, der har særlig relevans for SMK. I spændvidden favner de museets store samlinger: I malerisamlingen undersøger Eva de la Fuente Petersen den danske reception af Jacob Jordaens Færgebåden fra Antwerpen, mens Miriam Have Watts nærlæser type-individproblematikken i Laurits Andersen Rings Sædemanden og I høst. Henrik Holm aktualiserer Afstøbningssamlingen gennem en performativitetsteoretisk analyse af samlingens særlige genstandsfelt, Rasmus Kjærboe redegør for spændingsforholdet mellem klassicismen og modernismen i en række betydningsfulde danske skulpturer, og Kaspar Thormod giver en nytolkning af Palle Nielsens grafiske serie Den forladte by fra Kobberstiksamlingen. Desuden præsenterer Kathrine Segel og Ole Nørregaard Jensen ny viden om Matisses maleteknik og tilblivelsen af et af museets absolutte hovedværker, Le Luxe II. Peter Nørgaard Larsen Samlings- og forskningschef 5 forord

6 eva de la fuente pedersen 6

7 Jacob Jordaens Færgebåden fra Antwerpen Om erhvervelsen og kritikkens modtagelse e va de l a fuente pedersen Ak, havde Jordaens bare ventet med at gifte sig til han havde været i Italien. Francis Beckett i Illustreret Tidende 1913 I efteråret 2008 viste Statens Museum for Kunst en fokusudstilling om den flamske barokmaler Jacob Jordaens ( ) monumentale maleri Tempelskatten. Peter finder mønten i fiskens gab også kaldet Færgebåden fra Antwerpen [fig. 1]. Med udstillingen, som blev produceret i samarbejde med Bonnefantenmuseum i Maastricht, fejredes afslutningen på en restaurering, som startede den 18. september 2007 i et åbent værksted i en af museets udstillingssale. 1 Udstillingen udgør endnu en knopskydning på maleriets brogede receptionshistorie. 2 Færgebåden fra Antwerpen var første gang udstillet i 1905 på en monografisk udstilling i Antwerpen. 3 Det blev udlånt af den daværende ejer, den svenske godsejer Axel Ekmann, og fragtet den lange vej til Antwerpen fra Stockholm, hvortil det var kommet i foråret 1758 fra Amsterdam. 4 Anden gang Færgebåden fra Antwerpen blev udlånt, denne gang som et hovedværk fra Statens Museum for Kunsts samlinger, var i 1930 til en stort anlagt udstilling i Bruxelles i anledningen af 100-året for Belgiens uafhængighedserklæring. 5 I anmeldelsen af udstillingen fra 1930 sammenligner kritikeren A.H. Cohen Jordaens med Van Dyck: Ligefrem voldsom og brutal, men også imponerende i den brede og dristige udfoldelse af sin palet, fremtræder netop i dette naboskab Jacob Jordaens. Max Rooses havde med sin biografi (1906 fransk, 1908 tysk version) gjort sit til at rehabilitere Jordaens i den kunsthistoriske kanon. Max Rooses, direktør for Plantin Moretus Museet i Antwerpen, gav et par linjer inde i forordet følgende karakteristik af Jordaens som maler: Jordaens, folkets og borgerskabets maler, den, der kraftfuldt, glimrende, forherliger sansernes nydelse. Rooses sammenligner Jordaens med de to andre store skikkelser i den flamske barok, Peter Paul Rubens og Anton Van Dyck. Førstnævnte karakteriseres som heltemaleren, som kunne alt og formåede alt; sidstnævnte som den digteriske, den forædlende og forføreriske. I nærværende tekst rettes blikket mod erhvervelsen og den danske reception af Jordaens maleri Færgebåden fra Antwerpen: Hvilke briller er maleriet blevet set med gennem tiden? Hvilket skønhedsbegreb har farvet øjnene, der så? Hvilke normative smagsdomme har gjort sig gældende? Hvordan lod det sig gøre at erhverve et hovedværk fra den flamske barok så sent som i 1912? Meget af maleriets udenlandske receptionshistorie er allerede behandlet. 6 For at se den danske receptionshistorie i et større perspektiv vil indledningen handle om Jordaens første biograf, Joachim von Sandrart, som alle senere biografier bygger på. Den tyske maler og kritiker Joachim von Sandrart ( ) [fig. 2] har skrevet den eneste samtidige kilde til Jordaens oeuvre. Det kan være relevant at placere Sandrart i sin samtid for at forstå hans reception af Jordaens maleri. Sandrart stod nemlig ikke for det akademiske skønhedsbegreb, som senere dannede norm. Også i sin samtid stod Sandrarts æstetik i opposition (Fig. 1) Detalje af Jacob Jordaens Færgebåden fra Antwerpen ca The Ferry Boat to Antwerp Olie på lærred 281 x 468 cm Statens Museum for Kunst 7 eva de la fuente pedersen

8 eva de la fuente pedersen 8

9 9 eva de la fuente pedersen

10 til den klassicerende tendens, som fandt sted syd for Alperne med Giovanni-Paolo Lomazzo ( ) og brødrene Taddeo Zuccaro ( ) og Federico Zuccari (1540/ ) som eksponenter. 7 Ligesom det er tilfældet med Jordaens forløb Sandrarts formative år inden for et nordeuropæisk miljø, hvor antikken og højrenæssancen nok var præsent som en del af en uundværlig visuel bank, men ikke eneste eller altdominerende normsætter. Sandrart blev født i Frankfurt am Main, hvortil familien var kommet som calvinistiske flygtninge fra Wallonien. 8 Som ung studerede han i Prag og siden i Utrecht, hvor han i 1627 sluttede sig til Rubens, som var på rundrejse i Holland. Herefter rejste han til England med Gerrit van Honthorst, som han havde været i lære hos i Utrecht. Efter en række år i Italien bosatte han og hans familie sig i Amsterdam, hvor han blev del af det humanistiske litterære miljø, som også Jordaens var det. Det er i Sandrarts traktat, Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau- Bild- und Malerei-Künste, at Færgebåden fra Antwerpen beskrives kort. 9 Første bind udkom i 1675 og indeholder teoretisk stof som for eksempel proportionering af den menneskelige krop, om affekterne, regler for historiemaleriet, om hvordan lyset skal være i atelieret, om hvordan man maler draperi, om farver, om perspektivkunsten etc. Andet bind udkom i 1679 og indeholder en lang række biografier over kunstnere fra hele Europa, hvoraf Jordaens er en del længere end mange andre kunstneres. Mange af kunstnerne havde Sandrart selv mødt og talt med på sine mange rejser. Sandrarts æstetiske målestok er farvet af hans samtids nordeuropæiske barokkunst. 10 Hans skønhedsbegreb vægter således naturstudiet og det naturtro frem for antikken, farven frem for linje og komposition. Højest i Sandrarts mål for det fuldkomne maleri er således, at farven er natursand, at den skaber atmosfærisk rum gennem graduering af kulørernes mætningsgrad, og at den skaber illusion af form i figurerne (relief), ved at lys og skygge males som farver (og ikke ved at lokalfarven skygges med sort og lysnes med hvid). Det er denne manieristiske farveteori, som Sandrart hylder i sine teoretiske udredninger såvel som i kunstnerbiografierne. For kompositionen gælder, at tegnede forstudier er forudsætning og fundament. Kompositionsstudier og udkast skal sikre harmoniske grupperinger af figurerne og rationelle overgange mellem grupperne. Med vores nye viden om Jordaens kreative udvikling af Færgebådens komposition, hvortil en malet kompositionsskitse såvel som malede olieskitser af hoveder knytter sig, kan vi konstatere, at Sandrart baserede sine anvisninger på gældende praksis. 11 Efter ordlyden i Teutsche Academie må man tro, at Sandrart mødte Jordaens i Antwerpen i 1671: Han lever stadig i stor velstand i Antorf som 78-årig. Sandrart beskriver den gamle Jordaens som en agtet mand, der havde samlet sig store rigdomme, altid glad, venlig og fuld af kærlighed og imødekommenhed. Det er tydeligt, at Sandrarts skønhedsbegreb matcher Jordaens maleri: Med sin store mesterlige pensel malede han gejstlige og verdslige historier, poesier (Poësien) og alle mulige dagligdags begivenheder, i legemsstørrelse mest efter levende model med en meget stærkt ophøjet naturlig kolorit og så god malemanér, at han ikke viger pladsen for selv de mest berømte mestre. Færgebåden beskriver Sandrart i direkte forlængelse af et legemsstort maleri med overflødighedshornet, som vistnok er Pomona: 12 I legemsstørrelse malede han også, hvordan satyrer holder og bærer overflødighedshornet, hvilket De tre gratier selv fylder med alle slags gode frugter, grønsager, druer og andet. Dennes velforstandige billeder er mere forunderlige end almindeligvis; således har han i en lang sals længde og enestående godt malet den store færgebåd til Antwerpen, i hvilken ses alle slags dyr og alle mulige forskellige mennesker, som hver arbejder efter deres kald. 13 Når Sandrart skriver, at Jordaens malede meget hurtigt, kan det være et resultat af, at Sandrart krydrer sin biografi med et yndet topos, som renæssancen og barokkens kunstkritik havde arvet fra antikken. En anekdote hos Plinius fortæller, at maleren Pausias skulle have malet et billede af en dreng på én dag og kaldt det et hemerésios (étdagsbillede). 14 Sandrarts beundring for sin 15 år ældre flamske kollega er ikke kun tom panegyrik. Et håndgribeligt vidnesbyrd er Sandrarts eget maleri Februar, hvor den tykke kok, der personificerer måneden, tydeligvis er inspireret af Jordaens maleri med en herre på Louvre museet. 15 Georg Brandes ( ) [fig. 3] må være den første danske kritiker, der har forholdt sig til Jordaens værk. I sine rejsememoirer fra 1868 skriver han: Også for Rubens er Livet Kraft [ ] Livet er i kødet, er kødets blomstrende kraft, og kødets sundhed og yppighed er livets glæde. Men denne dyriske livsfylde er ikke hvilende og nydes ikke i yppig ro; blodet strømmer rask gennem årerne, alle organer virker og bevæges uden rast; den hele kolossale menneskelige maskine er sat i mægtig svingning [ ] Hans elever har omformet den (stilen) dels eva de la fuente pedersen 10

11 11 eva de la fuente pedersen (Fig. 2) Jacob von Sandrart: Portræt af Joachim von Sandrart ( ) efter malet selvportræt Portrait of Joachim von Sandrart Kobberstik, 333 x 227 mm Statens Museum for Kunst

12 i retning af det skønne, dels i retning af det drøjt-joviale; Van Dyck bringer Rubens ind under skønhedens lov og elegancens begrænsning, Jordaens er Rubens, bragt ind under kødelighedens og drøjhedens overdrivelse. 16 Da Cohen skrev om udstillingen i 1930, var kritikken ikke kommet meget videre end til sådan en simpel værdidom. Myten om Jordaens sanselige og usmykkede realisme skulle leve længe. Den danske reception fortsatte med erhvervelsen af Færgebåden, da Karl Madsen ( ) [fig. 4] som nyudnævnt direktør for Statens Museum for Kunst købte Jordaens maleri af en svensk privatsamler. I en artikel normative kanonisering af den italienske højrenæssance, en kanon, som bæres langt op i 1900-tallets kritik. Kritikken af Jordaens maleri som antiklassisk og brutal realisme gives ud fra dette æstetiske barometer. Georg Brandes bruger begrebet det skønne om Van Dycks stil som modsætning til Jordaens maleri. Georg Brandes nære ven, kunsthistorikeren Julius Lange ( ) [fig. 6], kunne ikke drømme om at beskæftige sig med en maler, der var så langt fra det klassiske ideal som denne flamske barokmaler. 19 I sine skrifter fokuserede Lange på den danske nyklassicisme, antikken (Fidias) og italiensk renæssance. Ligesom Brandes skrev han en (Fig 3) Portrætfoto af Georg Brandes ( ) Photographic portrait of Gerog Brandes Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København (Fig 4) Portrætfoto af Karl Madsen ( ) og hustruen Thora Madsen ( ) Photographic portrait of Karl Madsen and his wife, Thora Madsen Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København i tidsskriftet Tilskueren skriver Karl Madsen: Han led ikke som den højtdannede Rubens af dårlig samvittighed over at have fjernet sig fra Antikkens anvisning af de rette mål. 17 I samme åndedræt karakteriserer Karl Madsen Jordaens i følgende vendinger: Han elskede det sunde, det blodrige og saftfulde, det rigt og yppigt svulmende, elskede det med en varme, en fyrrighed, en glødende begejstring, som gjorde den grove realist, der foretrak det plumpt naturlige, til lyriker, til virkelig poet. Han digtede hymner til glæden. I Illustreret Tidende (1913) skriver Francis Beckett ( ) [fig. 5] en artikel om nyerhvervelsen, hvor han indleder med et suk over, at Jordaens giftede sig så tidligt: Ak, havde Jordaens bare ventet med at gifte sig til han havde været i Italien. 18 Han havde da sikkert kunnet tilegne sig den sans for sammenhæng i en figur, for bevægelsen, for formen, der savnes i dette billede. Men måske havde han i så fald tilsat den djærvhed og friskhed, det saftige lune og den voldsomme kødelige kraft [ ]. I modsætningen til Sandrart er Becketts, Madsens og Brandes kritik farvet af 1800-tallets monografi om Michelangelo. Julius Lange, Karl Madsen og det danske kritikermiljø var i deres domme og blik på kunsten farvet af en tysk fagtradition, der udgik fra Johann Joachim Winckelmann ( ). Normsættende var Winckelmanns hovedværk Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums, som udkom i Dresden i 1764 og i en revideret posthum udgave i Wien Som noget nyt fokuserede Winckelmann på en kunsthistorie med et kulturhistorisk og ikke et biografisk afsæt. Brandes brug af begrebet det skønne er måske inspireret herfra. Winckelmann satte med et lån fra Plinius naturhistorie antikkens kunst ind i en lineær udviklingsmetafor, som bestod af fire faser: en arkaisk, en høj (det sublime), en skøn og en imitativ (romerske plagiater). 20 For en connaisseur som Bernard Berenson ( ) var barokken ikke noget, man beskæftigede sig med. 21 I den internationale kunsthistorie var det først med østrigeren Alois Riegls ( ) værk om det hollandske gruppeportræt, at 1600-tallets maleri blev inddraget i den kunsthistoriske kanon. 22 Herefter fulgte den schweiziske kunsthistoriker Heinrich Wölfflin ( ) med en teori om, at eva de la fuente pedersen 12

13 sender behændigt den varme kartoffel videre til museets venneforening, som havde påtaget sig at forhandle med Axel Ekman om en mulig erhvervelse af Jordaens maleri. Dr. Looström beklager over for journalisten, at værket nu går til udlandet, men fastholder, at det danske museum da også har fået lov til at betale dyrt. I en artikel i Dagens Nyheter den 12. december 1912 lyder overskriften: Finspongtavlen som solgtes til Danmark. Hr. Axel Ekmans forsvar for salget. Her får godsejeren ordet og tager til genmæle efter den foregående dags hetz. I artiklen fortæller Ekman, at han for flere år siden flyttede fra herregården Finspong til kunsten følger en lovbundet cyklisk veksling mellem et klassisk og et barokt formudtryk. Ligesom Riegls var Wölfflins tilgang renset for æstetiske værdidomme. Købet af Færgebåden fra Antwerpen vakte jubel i den københavnske presse, da maleriet endelig efter en tiltrængt rensning kom op at hænge i den såkaldte Rembrandt-sal i museet i Sølvgade. 23 I Sverige var man knap så begejstret. Nabolandets ærgrelser blev ikke mindre af, at Tizians ungdomsportræt af hans svigerfar Giovanni Bellini kort forinden var blevet erhvervet af Glyptoteket fra den svenske greve Gustaf Trolle-Bonde. Siden 1828 havde Tizians maleri været del af samlingerne på herregården Säfstaholm. Gennem kunsthandler M. Marcus i København blev det solgt til Glyptoteket, som siden deponerede det på Statens Museum for Kunst. Den 11. december 1912 og dagene derefter kunne man i de svenske aviser læse artikler med overskrifter, der taler deres eget sprog, Svenska Dagbladet: Endnu et klassisk kunstklenodie ud af landet (11/ ), Dagens Nyheter: Atter et stor kunstværk ud af landet, Søderkøpings Posten: Dyrebart svensk kunstværk solgt til Danmark og i Göteborgs Handels Tidning indleder Axel L. Romdahl en harmdirrende artikel under overskriften Kunstudvandring med følgende salve: Säfstaholms Tizian, Finspongs Jordaens to af de mest berømte og kostbare kunstklenodier i svensk privateje passerer inden for et halvt år grænsen på vej til københavnske gallerier. Romdahl kritiserer de private ejere for at afhænde hovedværker til højestbydende uanset social stilling og forpligtelse (sic!). I Nya Dagligt Allehanda lyder overskriften: Kunsteksporten til Danmark. Her kommer det svenske nationalmuseums inspektør, Dr. Looström, under forhør. Journalisten vil have hans mening. Inspektøren den nærliggende mindre Mogård, hvor der ikke var plads til det store maleri. Siden blev maleriet udlånt til en stor Jordaens-udstilling i Antwerpen i 1905, hvorfra i øvrigt Karl Madsen kendte det. Herefter deponerede Ekman værket på Fria Konsternas Akademi i Stockholm, hvor det endnu hang i Artiklen konkluderer, at under de omstændigheder var det kun naturligt, at Ekman ønskede at sælge maleriet. Samme dag bringer Stockholms Dagblad også et interview med Axel Ekman. Den lyder unægtelig lidt anderledes end Dr. Looströms. Ekman forklarer, at han to år tidligere havde tilbudt Færgebåden til inspektøren på det svenske museum. Denne havde meddelt, at maleriet ikke havde interesse. I sommeren 1912 havde Axel Ekman indledt forhandlinger med det svenske museums venneforening, da kræfter her var af en anden mening end inspektøren. Ekman tilbød venneforeningen at erhverve maleriet for kr. Da venneforeningen ikke kunne gå højere end kr. så Ekman sig nødsaget til at søge efter en udenlandsk køber. Til hans store overraskelse vendte venneforeningen tilbage den 7. november (Fig 5) Portrætfoto af Francis Beckett ( ) Photographic portrait of Francis Beckett Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København (Fig 6) Portrætfoto af Julius Lange ( ) Photographic portrait of Julius Lange Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København (Fig 7) Portrætfoto af Nicolaus Lützhøft ( ) Photographic portrait of Nicolaus Lützhøft Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København 13 eva de la fuente pedersen

14 med besked om, at de nu havde samlet kr. til erhvervelsen. Ekman forklarede, at han var forpligtet af de forhandlinger, han i mellemtiden havde indledt med det danske museum, som han havde tilbudt maleriet til en pris, der var en tredjedel højere end de Mediestormen bragte kun den halve sandhed. Axel Ekman havde helst set, at maleriet var endt på Nationalmuseum i Stockholm. I stedet endte det med, at tre potentielle købere var i spil på én gang. Det var lige præcis den situation, som Ekman havde frygtet. Ud over de to nationalgallerier var der en tredje udenlandsk samler, hvis bud Ekman følte sig forpligtet til at afvente, inden han kunne melde endeligt ud til de to museer. I sine breve til Karl Madsen bad han om fuld fortrolighed, indtil handelen var faldet helt på plads. Han var klar over, hvilken mediestorm et salg ud af Sverige ville medføre. Umiddelbart efter, at det svenske museums venneforening havde meddelt, at man kun kunne og ville give kr. for Færgebåden, havde Ekman tilbudt en samler fra kontinentet maleriet for kr. Af senere breve til Karl Madsen fremgår, at det var Max J. Friedländer, den store kender af flamsk kunst. Friedländer var på dette tidspunkt på kunstmuseet i Berlin. Gennem brevene i Statens Museum for Kunsts brevarkiv er det muligt at følge forløbet dag for dag. Axel Ekmans første skriftlige henvendelse til Karl Madsen er dateret 31. oktober To måneder senere, på årets sidste dag, var den anden og sidste halvrate på kr. tikket ind på Ekmans konto i Skandinaviska Kredit Aktiebolaget i Norrköping. Helt op til den 17. november 1912 havde Max J. Friedländer forkøbsret. Først da han havde meldt fra, var der fri bane for Karl Madsen. Den 27. november skriver Ekman til Karl Madsen, at han inden den 1. december vil have en klar udmelding, om hvorvidt den unge museumsdirektør vil være i stand til at skaffe pengene. Ekman måtte jo snarest muligt meddele det svenske museums venneforening, om han ville afhænde maleriet til de kr., som de havde været i stand til at samle. I et telegram til Ekman dateret 29. november meddeler Karl Madsen: Gunstigt resultat forventes. Håber at komme om en uge. I et brev dateret den 7. december skriver han konfirmerende, at de fornødne pengemidler nu er til disposition. På den anden side af Sundet var alle journalisterne selvsagt begejstrede. Nyerhvervelsen blev først præsenteret for publikum omkring den 11. februar, efter at konservator Rønne havde restaureret maleriet. Kritikeren Chr. A. Been skriver, at al den brune sovs, der var hældt ud over det i det øjemed, at frembringe den rette galleritone var blevet fjernet. Been nævner også, at en fod forsvandt hist og et par hænder kom frem her og at billedet ved restaureringen er blevet genfødt i sin ungdoms strålende farvepragt. Been beklager, at museets bureaukratiske traditioner ikke tillod offentligheden at følge med i restaureringsprocessen (!). I Politikens kronik 11. februar 1913 Galleriets ny Jordaens og Galleriets ny Direktør gør maleren og kritikeren Nicolaus Lützhøft ( ) [fig. 7] sig nogle interessante overvejelser over Karl Madsens virke. Lützhøft indleder kronikken med at fremhæve de betydelige forøgelser af samlingen, som Karl Madsens nye ledelsesstil havde resulteret i. Først havde han i 1911 indledt sin tid som ny direktør med at finde Rembrandts maleri Korsridderen gemt og glemt i et depot på Fredensborg Slot. 24 Dernæst erhvervede han Joakim Skovgaards store maleri Kristus i de dødes rige og nu Jordaens næsten lige så kolossale maleri. Lützhøft skriver: Hvert af disse kunstværker angiver en af de retninger, i hvilke Direktøren for malerisamlingen må have sin opmærksomhed henvendt; Han skal holde et vågent øje med statens kunstværker, som er deponerede, have føling med samtidskunsten og lejlighedsvist tilføre samlingen et eller andet klassisk kunstværk fra udlandet. De pejlemærker gælder sådan set stadig. En anden kritiker, som kalder sig Bro, tegner et sympatisk billede af manden bag nyerhvervelsen: Karl Madsen føler ikke blot selve kunstnerglæden over billeder. Han føler i nok så høj grad glæde over at lade så mange som muligt blive berigede af det. Heri rammer Bro essensen i den tidsånd, som gjorde erhvervelsen mulig. Det var en tidsånd, som gennemsyrede Skønvirkebevægelsen: troen på, at godt design og god kunst kan løfte og vende den brede befolkning til det bedre. Skønvirkebevægelsen var en international bevægelse, der i England gik under navnet Arts and Crafts Movement og i Tyskland og Østrig under betegnelsen Jugendstil. Fællesnævneren var tanken om, at ånden og hånden skulle forenes i kunst, design og industri. Den nye æstetik så kunsten som et element, der skulle gennemstrømme hverdagen med en folkeopdragende åndelighed. Den kreds af kunstinteresserede finansmænd, som havde muliggjort erhvervelsen, talte mange af Skønvirketidens største mæcener og samlere. Brygger Carl Jacobsen var med sine kr. den ubestridt største bidragyder. Ingeniør J. Rump, tobaksfabrikant Holger Hirschsprung og andre privatsamlere, som fx landmandsbankens direktør Herman Heilbuth, var også eva de la fuente pedersen 14

15 med i første række. Skønvirkekunstnernes mæcener, som Etatsråd Bestle og enkefru Kühle, var der også. Godsejer Johannes Hage, hvis egen samling endnu er under ét tag på Nivaagaards Malerisamling nord for København, var også blandt bidragyderne. Muligvis var Jordaens antiklassiske stil årsag til den svenske museumsinspektørs svigtende interesse og Max J. Friedländers afbud. Karl Madsen havde derimod øje for andre kvaliteter. Han så Færgebåden fra Antwerpen som en meget vigtig komplettering af museets samling af malerier af den flamske kunstner, en samling, som gik helt tilbage til Christian IV og Frederik IIIs tid. Med købet af Færgebåden fra Antwerpen markerede Karl Madsen et vendepunkt i museets historie. Indtil da havde man anset samlingen af ældre udenlandsk kunst for afsluttet. 25 Det var en kvantitativ og ikke altid kvalitativ arv efter enevælden, som blev betragtet som et afsluttet kapitel. Nyerhvervelsen gav anledningen til stiftelsen af Dansk Kunstmuseumsforening. Foreningens første bestyrelse fik Johannes Hage som formand, og hermed blev startskuddet givet til mange vægtige nyerhvervelser frem til i dag. 1 restaureringsprojektet blev gennemført under bevaringschef Jørgen Wadums ledelse med støtte fra The Getty Foundation. Udstillingen Jordaens. Et mesterværk bliver til blev ledsaget af en bog med samme titel (herefter Wadum & Pedersen 2008) og indeholder artikler af Troels Filtenborg, Lars Hendrikman, Badeloch Noldus, Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, Anneflor Schlotter, Johanneke Verhave og Jørgen Wadum, SMK termerne receptionshistorie og receptionsæstetik forstås og defineres her som hos Wolfgang Kemp, Kunstwerk und Betrachter: Der rezeptionsästetische Ansatz, I Kunstgeschichte. Eine Einführung, (ed. Hans Belting o.a.) Berlin 1996, , især 242f. 3 Henri Huymans: L exposition Jordaens á Anvers, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1905, ; Færgebåden hævdes at være malet til Sverige (255). 4 I foråret 1758 var maleriet blevet fragtet fra Amsterdam til De Geer familiens residens i Sverige, Finspong Slot. I de bevarede kilder nævnes maleriet første gang i hans efterkommer Maria Christina de Geers ( ) testamente dateret 23. juni 1741 som det store maleri af Jordaens i hall en (het grote stuk van Jordaens in het voorhuis), Isabella van Eeghen: Het Huis met de Hoofden, Maandblad Amstelodamum 38, 1951, 137; Badeloch Noldus i Wadum & Pedersen 2008, 97ff. 5 a.h.cohen: Die Ausstellung Altflämischer Kunst, Pantheon 1930, p. XXXVIII, og Badeloch Noldus i Wadum & Pedersen 2008, annette Nicopoulos: Die Stellung Joachim von Sandrarts in der europäischen Kunsttheorie. Disertation. Kiel 1976, Christian Klemm: Joachim von Sandrart. Kunstwerke und Lebenslauf, Berlin 1986, Joachim von Sandrart: Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau- Bild- und Malerei-Künste. I-II, Facsimile udgave 1994, 2. del, 336. Vi ved ikke med sikkerhed, hvor Sandrart så Færgebåden. Det kan have været på en nu ikke længere dokumenteret rejse til Antwerpen, eller det kan have været under et ophold i Amsterdam i 1628, eller i perioden 1637 til Nicopoulos 1978, 101ff. 11 Vedrørende olieskitsen: Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, Jordaens Tribute Money: an unknown oil sketch, i Jordaens Genius of Grand Scale, CISA Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies in Art X, (red. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Zita Ágota Pataki), Stuttgart 2012, Statens Museum for Kunst KMSsp233, Olaf Koester: Flemish Paintings. Statens Museum for Kunst 2000, 145. Olaf Koester foreslår, at Sandrart refererer til Pomona i Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Der er dog også en lille mulighed for, at Sandrart beskriver det maleri, den danske konge bestilte hos Jordaens, og som blev leveret i 1652 eller tidligt I Kunstkammerinventariet 1690 beskrives det Et stort kunstigt stycke gjort af Jordaens om Nymphis og Cornu-copia. 13 In Lebens-Grösse mahlte er auch, wie die Satyren die Cornucopien aufhalten und tragen, indem die drey Gratien selbige mit allerley schönen Früchten, Obst, Trauben, und andern, erfüllen, dern holdselige nakende wolverstandene Bilder, in Zeichnung, Colorit und geistreicher Manier der Farben mehr verwunderlich als gemein zu sehen, so hat er auch in eines langen Saals Länge, das grosse Uberfahrt-Schiff zu Antorf ausgebildet, darinnen allerley Thire und Leute, dern jeder nach seinem Beruf arbeitet, unvergleichlich wol vorstellet. Sandrart 1994, Eva-Bettina Krems: Der Fleck auf der Venus. 500 Künstleranekdoten von Apelles bis Picasso. München 2003, Klemm 1986, Georg Brandes: Samlede Skrifter, bd. 11, 1902, Genoptrykt i: Karl Madsen: Museets forøgelser med flamske malerier fra det 17. Aarhundrede, Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XI-XII, , Samling af avisudklip, Statens Museum for Kunst, Danmarks Kunstbibliotek. 19 Om Julius Langes kunstsyn: Birger Wamberg i Hvorfor kunst? / Lisbeth Bonde og Maria Fabricius Hansen (red.). København 2007; Marianne Marcussen: The reception of antiquity and danish art history : Julius Lange and the representation of the human figure in the visual arts, i Acta Hyperborea : Danish studies in classical archaeology. København 1990, ; Viljen til det menneskelige: tekster omkring Julius Lange / red. af Hanne Kolind Poulsen, Hans Dam Christensen, Peter Nørgaard Larsen, København alex Potts: Flesh and the Ideal. Winckelmann and the origins of art history. Yale University 2000, Eric Fernie: Art History and its methods. A Critical Anthology. London 2000, Alois Riegl: Das holländische Gruppenporträt, Prag, Wien, Leipzig 1902; Om Riegl og Heinrich Wölfflin, se: Michael Podro: The Critical Historians of art avisudklip-arkiv, Statens Museum for Kunst. 24 Karl Madsens tilskrivning er først for nylig blevet videnskabeligt efterprøvet med moderne tekniske undersøgelser og kenderblik af Rembrandt-eksperter (se Statens Museum for Kunsts udstillingskatalog Rembrandt? Mesteren og hans værksted, 2006). 25 Om betydningen af erhvervelsen og den efterfølgende etablering af Dansk Kunstmuseumsforening som museets venneforening, der fik stor betydning for fundraising til nyerhvervelser mange år frem i tid: Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XLIII-L , 9ff. Om Karl Madsens indsats for ikke kun at erhverve dansk samtidskunst, men også ældre europæisk kunst af høj kvalitet, se: Villads Villadsen: Statens Museum for Kunst , 1998, 172f. 15 eva de la fuente pedersen

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17 Gipskroppe som performance Den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling set i et performativitetsperspektiv h e n r i k holm Ren performativitet forudsætter tilstedeværelsen af et levende menneske som taler på en måde, der på én gang er spontan, intentionel, fri og uerstattelig. Jacques Derrida 1 Hvad gør performativitet? Nogle af de grundlæggende præmisser for studie af performativitet vil blive beskrevet her og anvendt på Den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling. Det sker ikke blot for teoriens skyld, men fordi teoridannelsen i denne sammenhæng kan bidrage til en fornyet forståelse af afstøbningernes historie og betydning, og fordi man i dette perspektiv kan opridse konturerne af et fremtidsscenarie for afstøbningssamlinger i det hele taget. Hvis man spørger, hvad performativitet er, får man ikke noget svar. Performativitet er en handling, der fører et stemningsskifte, en ny forståelse eller en reaktion med sig, som kan være uventet eller afviger fra, hvad man kunne forvente, eller som svarer nøjagtig til, hvad man kunne forvente. Performativitet handler derfor ikke om at være noget, men om at der sker noget. Uanset om man bevæger sig i kraft af det uventede eller i kraft af forventningerne, sker der en bevægelse. Som citatet ovenfor markerer, handler performativitet om, at mennesker påvirkes af det, de oplever og i særlig grad, at det styrer deres handlinger. Man performer i forhold til nogle forventninger, man ikke selv har sat, men som er givne. Hvis man stopper op for at se på et kunstværk på et museum, har værket allerede styret ens handlinger. Selv hvis man ikke gider stoppe op, styrer værket ens handling. Hvis du lader dig påvirke følelsesmæssigt af værket, vil det påvirke din omgang med andre mennesker og din egen selvforståelse. Hvis værket fx optræder i en kulturkanon eller hænger fremme på et museum, er det med til at opbygge en nations identitet; værket er aktiv medskaber af identiteten, og man må forholde sig til værket og til de ideer, der ligger bag værket og værkets placering i den officielle bevidsthed. De første steder, man opdyrkede feltet, var i engelsktalende lande, hvor performativitetsforskningen får fodfæste i løbet af 1990 erne. Nu er performativitet som begreb godt på vej ind i det danske, akademiske system, 2 og den 14. internationale kongres for medlemmerne af Performance Studies International blev afholdt i København i august Nærværende tekst er en version af et oplæg, afholdt på den efterfølgende 15. internationale kongres i Zagreb i juni Kunstværket som kommunikation Fokus i performativitetsstudier er ikke lagt på studiet af værkets egen kontekst eller på en undersøgelse af kunstnerens intentioner. Performativitet handler i denne forbindelse om, hvordan værker og deres historie får betragteren i en eller anden form for bevægelse. Det er en grundlæggende præmis for performativitetsstudiers greb om materialet, at man ikke opfatter kunstværker som noget, der passivt reflekterer kunstnerens intentioner eller den verden og den tid, de er skabt i. Man opfatter værker som selvstændige, aktivt agerende og intervenerende objekter, der skaber en verden omkring sig. Her er kunstværker ytringer, der gør en forskel i verden, som forandrer den og skaber rammerne for den. Kunstværker foranstalter hele tiden, på tværs af tid og rum, en aktiv (Fig. 2) Den døende slave, afstøbning erhvervet 1896, efter original fra af Michelangelo Buonarroti The Dying Slave Statens Museum for Kunst 17 henrik holm

18 kommunikation. Det kan meget vel være, at denne form for kommunikation ikke forandrer verden grundlæggende eller redder menneskeliv, som en ny medicin kan gøre det. Det kan dog være, at værker faktisk forandrer verden for den enkelte, eller for mange, i et stykke tid eller for altid. Det er almindeligt at blive bevæget af at læse en bog, og det er også almindeligt, at visse hændelser får karakter af ikon for en tid med effekter langt ud over intentionen, som fx billederne fra Abu Ghraib, der står som symbol på USA s mission i Irak, eller Muhammed-tegningerne, der i visse sammenhænge er blevet synonyme med Danmarks forhold til muslimer. Danske guldaldermalerier har i generationer ageret som skabere af, hvad danskhed er, og af, hvad der skal handles i forhold til, hvis man vil markere sin danskhed. Kunstværkets ageren sammenlignes i performativitetsteorien med sprogets måde at virke på, og det er da også af den lange tradition for at analysere sproget som tegndannende og betydningsskabende, at de første teorier om performativitet udspringer. Opfinderen af begrebet performatives, John Langshaw Austin ( ), som senere udvikles til begrebet om performativitet, bemærker, at hans forståelse af sproget, at ord gør noget, står i modsætning til den i hans samtid, 1950 erne, dominerende forståelse af sproget som blot konstaterende, hvor sprog såvel som kunstværk anskues som blotte udsagn. Denne tilgang kalder Austin den deskriptive fejlslutning med direkte adresse til frasen den intentionelle fejlslutning (The Intentional Fallacy), som angreb en udbredt tendens i vurderingen af kunstværker, nemlig den, at betydningen af værket skulle spores tilbage til kunstnerens intentioner. 3 For performativitetsanalysen er hverken kunstnernes intention eller den logiske positivismes beskrivelse af værket tilstrækkelig. At udsige en sætning eller at udføre et kunstværk er at sætte en handling i gang, det er doing, en gøren. Det agerer, og derfor sker der inden for performativitetsstudier en glidning mellem begreberne performance, som det bruges i teatersammenhæng, og performativitet som begreb i en teoretisk sammenhæng. Man analyserer fx publikum til en udstilling eller kunstværkerne selv, som var de aktører i et teaterstykke. Performativitetsstudier bevæger sig ofte i tværgående sammenhænge, hvor teater, film, litteratur, filosofi og kunst mødes. Når vi kommer til at tale om afstøbninger af antikke værker, kan man bemærke, at en sådan grænseoverskridende aktivitet jo ikke er antikken fremmed, for i antikken skelnede man overhovedet ikke mellem, om man agerede som kunstner, filosof eller videnskabsmand. Det hele tjente ånden, erkendelsen, indlevelsen, moralen, og hele hensigten med at beskæftige sig med disse emner var at opnå en renselse, en fornyelse, ved mødet med det ekstraordinære, det ophøjede eller det skønne. Værket som mislykket ytring Hvis værket agerer, som også sproget kan gøre det, så er kunstværker også udsat for de farer, sproglige ytringer kan være udsat for. Derfor udgør studiet af, hvorledes kommunikationen i visse sammenhænge er vellykket og i andre helt mislykket et centralt element i en performativitetsorienteret analyse. Afstøbningssamlingens omskiftelige historie, hvor den går fra at blive etableret, fordi den anses for at være nødvendig og vellykket som kommunikation betragtet, og så til at blive kørt bort i 1960 erne og senere genopstillet uden for Statens Museum for Kunst i Vestindisk Pakhus, er eksemplarisk til en sådan analyse. Eksemplarisk, fordi man her kan følge en succesfuld ytrings forvandling fra etableringen i slutningen af 1800-tallet til at udgøre en temmelig mislykket ytring i løbet af det 20. århundrede. Fremtiden for samlingen kan man også sige noget om i forlængelse af en analyse af dens mere eller mindre vellykkede performance i historien, idet man kunne gøre samlingens turbulente historie til omdrejningspunkt for formidlingen og invitere performere til at agere i forhold til figurerne og til samlingens historie og nye betydninger. At performe samlingens mislykkede evne til at agere meningsfuldt er måske den mest positive måde at forholde sig til samlingens misperformance på. Afstøbningssamlingens performance Så længe vi er medfølende, oplever vi ikke os selv som delagtige i det, der har forårsaget lidelserne. Med medfølelse proklamerer vi såvel vores uskyld som vores afmagt. Susan Sontag 4 Hvad performer Laokoön-gruppen? [Fig. 1] Den performer ikke så lidt endda. Til hver en tid og uanset hvilken epoke man ser det værk i, er man sat ud foran værket som betragter til andres lidelse. Man er vidne til en grufuld scene, hvor Laokoön og hans to sønner kvæles af kæmpeslanger. Enhver beskuer må stå der og forholde sig til sine egne oplevelser af lidelse og død og måske føle en bevægelse i sig, der er sat i gang af mødet med figuren. Det er værkets intention at vække medfølelse, og er man i stand til at føle medlidenhed med ofrene, vil der komme en effekt på beskueren ud af værket, en effekt, der ikke er helt entydig, som Susan Sontag bemærker i citatet ovenfor. henrik holm 18

19 (Fig. 1) Laokoön eller Laoköon og hans to sønner dræbes af slanger (Laokoön-gruppen) afstøbning fra 1898 efter Vatikanets original fra ca. 100 f.kr., der blev fundet i Rom Figurernes arme er (ukorrekte) rekonstruktioner fra The Laocoon Group Statens Museum for Kunst Vores medfølelse garanterer en form for uskyld, for hvis vi føler for andre, kan vi ikke uden videre forvolde smerte og død, men vi er også ude af stand til at gøre noget ved Laokoöns lidelser. Skulpturgruppen performer Laokoöns død, som skuespillere ville kunne gøre det, for det er ikke Laokoön selv, vi ser, men netop en kunstnerisk iscenesættelse, båret frem af nogle figurer. Desuden performer gruppen i forhold til alle de kunstnere, der har været påvirket af synet af den, som fx Michelangelo, der var vidne til, at den blev gravet frem i 1506, og lod den oplevelse få meget stor indflydelse på, hvorledes mange af hans figurer agerer. I Afstøbningssamlingen er gruppen sat i nærheden af afstøbninger efter Michelangelo, for at man 19 henrik holm

20 visuelt skal lade sig rive med til at se, hvordan figurerne omkring den vrider og vender sig og sammen opfører et følelsesfuldt stykke teater over menneskelig lidelse, der peger meget tydeligt på, at figurer agerer og gør det i relation til hinanden på tværs af tid og rum. Når der så er tale om en afstøbning og ikke om en original, kan gruppen nemmere flyttes for at indgå i nye konstella- tioner, end originalen, der har sin urokkeligt faste plads i Vatikanet, kan gøre det. Da Laokoön også spiller en afgørende rolle for kunsthistoriens og arkæologiens fader, J. J. Winckelmann ( ), kan man sige, at Laokoön også opfører disse to fags historie. Men den form for performance kræver selvfølgelig en viden, ud over hvad der bæres igennem af det rent visuelle. At der står en debat fra Winckelmann og frem, om hvorvidt Laokoön og dermed hele antikken sukker stoisk afklaret, selv i sin sidste stund, eller skriger i blind smerte og dermed markerer, at den vestlige civilisations ikke udspringer af harmoni, men af kaos, kræver også en vis viden, en sprogligt fremført kontekst, der er med til at sætte lyd på den ellers tavse figur og dermed giver den endnu mere karakter af at være en agerende hovedrolleindehaver i det skuespil, der skaber et grundlag for vores egen selvforståelse. Afstøbningssamlinger som folkemassens støbeform Massen er en støbeform, hvorfra enhver tilvant holdning til kunstværker i vore dage træder ud som nyfødt. Walter Benjamin 5 Laokoön i gips performer desuden som kopi, ikke som original, hvilket giver mulighed for flere forskellige performative konsekvenser. Den viser, at al kunst er reproducerbar, som Walter Benjamin noterer i sin artikel Kunstværket i dets tekniske reproducerbarheds tidsalder (1936). Det originale kunstværk spillede en rolle i ritualer og religiøse sammenhænge, men en kopi, der oven i købet kan reproduceres mekanisk i moderne tid, bliver for første gang i historien frigjort fra dets parasitære eksistens i ritualet skriver Benjamin. 6 Ritualet var for de indviede, men reproduktioner er i princippet til for alle. Man håbede også i sin tid, da gipserne blev indkøbt til opstilling på Statens Museum for Kunst i 1896, at gipsreproduktioner var til for alle, for de gjorde det trods alt muligt for masserne at se antikke former, selv om de ikke kunne rejse ud at se originalerne, der var spredt over hele Sydeuropa. Benjamin har en interessant formulering, der peger frem mod det punkt, vi skal hen til, når vi skal tale om afstøbningernes performative potentiale, deres evne til at forme betragterens opfattelse af sig selv og sin fundering i forhold til den klassiske, europæiske civilisation. Han skriver som citeret ovenfor, at massen er en støbeform, hvorfra enhver tilvant holdning til kunstværker i vore dage træder ud som nyfødt. Den koncentrerede betragter går ind i historien bag et værk og fordyber sig, men den adspredte masse lader derimod kunstværket synke ned i sig efter en længerevarende og ujævnt forløbende tilvænningsproces. For Benjamin er det filmen, der bedst udnytter mulighederne for at forme masserne, men afstøbningerne var opstillet kronologisk i et forløb, der var filmisk, idet man ved at passere opstillingen fra start til slut kom igennem hele den kunstneriske udviklingshistorie og frem til samtiden. Så afstøbningerne skulle forme masserne, denne åbne og modtagelige støbeform, så de i hvert fald sporadisk antog antikke former, på samme måde som gipserne selv var blevet støbt i forme efter originaler. Kimen til et alvorligt paradoks ligger og lurer her, for afstøbninger efter antikke værker peger måske direkte tilbage på den rituelle binding, som originalerne var skabt til at foranledige, hvis de virkelig kan få et nyt publikum til at opføre en ny tids ritualer for dannelse og katarsis på museet, en moderne tids kultiske rum? Men originalerne er for længst blevet fjernet fra det kultsted, hvor de oprindeligt blev opstillet, og ført ind på museerne og på den måde løsrevet fra det oprindelige ritual. Gipser, der overhovedet ikke forsøger at skjule, at de ikke er andet, er måske yderligere frigjorte fra bindingen til et oprindeligt ritual. De er helt fritaget fra at skulle vække samme benovelse som originalerne, og de kan netop derfor nydes mere frit af de adspredte masser og måske endda nydes her og nu, uden at man behøver at tænke på originalerne og den historiske kontekst. Men så glider de desto bedre ind i et nyt ritual, dannelsesvandringen på museet gennem tiden og historien frem mod stadig større frihed og endnu mere geniale påfund. Men det er først, når man ikke behøver at løbe nøgen og beruset rundt med tyrsosstav i hånden, at det at betragte en figur af Dionysos kan føre til, at et andet ritual - en vellykket, moderne dannelsesperformance - kan finde sted med figurerne. Ideen om masserne som en gigantisk støbeform peger på værkerne som performative og ikke bare som passive beholdere for viden om antikken. De skaber massens form, der er det dannede individ, der kender sin kulturelle baggrund og de politiske, æstetiske og etiske fordringer, traditionen fra antikken leverer. henrik holm 20

21 Hvis afstøbninger skal give masserne form, forudsætter det, at man ved anskaffelsen og opstillingen har haft den opfattelse, at den performance, som afstøbningerne leverede, var succesfuld. Men det nye, Benjamin peger på, er, at det er masserne, der former kunsten og kulturen, ikke omvendt. Afstøbningssamlingen som en Whites Only -performance For at performancen skal være vellykket, skal en række krav være opfyldt. For hvert af disse krav kan der ske afvigelser, som kan føre til, at performancen mislykkes. Men først kravene til den gode performance, som afstøbningerne formodes at kunne performe tilfredsstillende i forhold til: Forud for indkøbet og opstillingen af figurerne skal der være en almindeligt accepteret, konventionel proces, som har en helt forudsigelig og på ingen måde overraskende virkning på publikum. Det sørger selve institutionen for, for den kræver en særlig koreografering af publikum; museet får sit publikum til at performe, som man skal på et museum. Formidlingen og opstillingen af værkerne er tilrettelagt ud fra ideen om, at en bestemt virkning skal opnås hos betragteren. Værkernes fremstilling af den vestlige civilisation som en uovertruffen og på alle måder vellykket udviklingshistorie, der viser denne civilisations naturlige overlegenhed over for alle andre kulturers mere primitive og stillestående historie, var i 1890 erne så udbredt og selvfølgelig, som det kun kunne lade sig gøre i de moderne imperiers tid (ca ) og frem mod 1. Verdenskrigs afslutning, hvor Europas store kolonimagter og fyrstedømmer brød sammen eller måtte afgive suverænitet. Men indtil da var en samling af helt hvide, ideelle og nøgne mandskroppe, en række mere eller mindre afklædte kvindefigurer samt hestestatuer ikke blot acceptabelt, men nødvendigt at eje og fremvise. Ved museets åbning var intet mere selvfølgeligt, end at nationen måtte have et nationalgalleri, der viste sin respekt over for den ikke-nationale verdenskunst med en opstilling i gipskopier. Respekten kunne hverken anfægtes eller blive for overvældende, når der var tale om kopier efter antikke originaler originaler, der oftest selv var romerske kopier efter allerede dengang tabte, græske originaler. I vore dage, og særligt når samlingen af helt tilfældige grunde står opstillet i Vestindisk Pakhus, der blev opført i 1790 ernes florissante tid for at rumme frugten af at udnytte slaver som billig arbejdskraft i plantagerne på De Vestindiske Øer, så skærer hvidheden og idealerne bag samlingen i øjnene i en grad, så antager et begreb, der i nyere tid er kendt fra apartheid-tidens Sydafrika, om at noget er for Whites Only, en ny og særlig betydning her. Afstøbningssamlingen er i min terminologi i den grad en Whites Only -samling, hvor de farvede kopier spiller en inferiør rolle, og hvor figurer som Michelangelos slaver [Fig. 2] ikke blot giver anledning til at tale om Michelangelo, men også om dette nærmest surrealistiske, tilfældige møde på historiens dissektionsbord mellem en hvid gipsfigur af en slave og et rustikt pakhus. Trods det tilfældige kommer til at understrege, hvad der er samlingens ethos, dens helt særlige disposition, dens unikke karakter og helt fundamentale værdier. En sådan samlings reference til den hvide mands suverænitet vil til hver en tid kunne true samlingens eksistensberettigelse, (Fig. 2) Den døende slave, afstøbning erhvervet 1896, efter original fra af Michelangelo Buonarroti The Dying Slave Statens Museum for Kunst 21 henrik holm

22 (Fig. 3) Gipskopi af Kouros, Apollon fra Tenea, arkaisk tid, Græsk, ca. 50 B.C. Apollo from Tenea Statens Museum for Kunst (Fig. 4) Farvet gipskopi efter Polykleitos: Doryphoros (Spydbæreren), Klassisk tid, græsk, ca. 440 B.C. The Doryphoros Statens Museum for Kunst (Fig. 5) Gipskopi af Augustus fra Prima Porta, Romersk, ca. 15 f. Kr. Augustus from Prima Porta Statens Museum for Kunst hvis den bedømmes som værende alt for politisk ukorrekt, eller også kan det politisk ukorrekte komme til igen at give ny meningsfuldhed, efterhånden som nationalfølelsen bliver mere nationalistisk. Dens reference til et europæisk fællesskab er lige så problematisk, og samlingen kan kun finde sin styrke ved at leve dilemmaerne åbent ud, ikke ved at negligere dem. Afstøbningssamlingen som misperformance Men på det tidspunkt i historien, hvor gipserne blev stillet op, må man have haft den opfattelse, at såvel specialister som lægmand var parate til at indoptage og udføre de rituelle handlinger, en kronologisk opstilling af figurerne på landets nye hovedmuseum for kunst ville føre med sig. Alle har sikkert udført det forventede både korrekt og fuldstændigt, så man har haft den opfattelse, at det var en selv, der frivilligt indlod sig på det, og alle gjorde det så perfekt som muligt til eget og til fælles bedste. Figurerne har dermed performet, formet og skabt de borgere, der tog turen med dem, så man i et stykke tid kunne anse afstøbningerne for vellykkede, glædelige performances, som Austin ville kalde det. 7 Men som alle andre performative udsagn er ethvert kunstværk udsat for, at en lykkelig performance kan begynde at gå i forkerte retninger. Hvis værkerne af forskellige grunde ikke længere kan passe ind i en konventionel, moderne, rituel og alment accepteret sammenhæng, så vil deres forsøg på at forme masserne begynde at tage sig ud som et fejlskud. 8 Det kan godt være, figurerne og den sekvens, de er opstillet i, mumler vedvarende om det hvide, vestlige menneskes suverænitet, men hvis tilhørerne ikke går ind på den præmis, at det er den historie, der skal fortælles, kan figurerne stå at tale forgæves. Hvis man ikke længere føler positivt for antikken eller for, at den figurative kunst skal være forudsætningen for den nye kunst, og hvis man i øvrigt ikke længere finder, at museet, med dets intenderede koreografering af beskuerens gang og af beskuerens indlæring, er den måde, man bedst udfolder sin ret til at agere og tænke frit på, så begynder besøget i afstøbningssamlingen (eller på henrik holm 22

23 museer overhovedet) at blive udhulet for værdi og positivt potentiale. Den mister simpelthen effekt over for sit publikum, der måske mere og mere af pligt end af fornøjelse bevæger sig igennem den. Stædigt står samlingen der og kræver sin ret og sit ritual, men færre og færre tager imod den gave. Til sidst vil man miste fornemmelsen for, at afstøbninger og antik kunst overhovedet spiller nogen væsentlig rolle for ens oplevelse af den ægte vare, og hvad der engang blev opfattet som en selvfølgelig og lykkelig performance, vipper over til at blive en negativ og destruktiv performance. Det sker i løbet af 1960 erne, hvor vi kan konstatere, at en række værker i samlingen noteres som defekte, selv om der ingen notits er om, hvorfor skaden er sket. Det var indtil da almindelig praksis at notere alle skader, hvis der opstod nogen, og man anførte også helt usentimentalt, hvis et værk var faldet ned fra sin plads og smadret. Men efterhånden noteres en lang række værker som beskadigede med en pileformet geometri i protokollen uden yderligere forklaring. Det betyder, at figuren kasseres og angiveligt bliver smadret med vilje for at undgå genbrug af delene uden for museets mure. Ved genopstillingen af samlingen i Vestindisk Pakhus konstateres det, at yderligere 206 værker er gået tabt, uden at der er noteret noget som helst i protokollerne. Dette kan kun finde sted, fordi nogen ikke længere besidder de samme følelser over for værkerne, som dem, der var bærende ved anskaffelsen af dem. Alt, hvad der udgjorde elementer i Afstøbningssamlingens positive, performative gyldighed, viste sig efterhånden som noget, der satte samlingen under større og større pres, indtil der kom et fuldstændigt sammenbrud i gipsernes evne til at kommunikere effektivt, hvor det nærvær og den anledning til samtale over for figurerne, der før var til stede, var blevet til noget, der producerede stadig større afstand og til sidst ikke længere befordrede nogen dialog. Antikken afstøbt og afstødt Der er flere årsager til, at reproducerbare gipser af antikke monumenter mister værdi, efterhånden som vi kommer igennem det 20. århundrede, og jeg vil nu pege på dem, jeg finder er de væsentligste. Den vestlige verdens selviscenesættelse af udviklingshistorien frem mod stadig større grader af frihed og suverænitet, der spores tilbage til civilisationens udspring i græsk kunst fra ca. 400 før vor tidsregning, kunne følges i 3D og med illusionen om at have overskredet alle tidens grænser, når man vandrede gennem samlingen og bevidnede den menneskelige krops frigørelse fra stenen fra arkaisk til klassisk tid, lige hen over Kristi fødsel og videre gennem det Romerske Imperiums storhed og fald og frem mod Renæssancens genopdagelse af mennesket, hvor det moderne menneske blev genfødt. [Fig. 3, 4, 5, 6] Den historie voldte kunstnere med kritisk sans noget besvær, traditionen lå som en tung byrde på deres skuldre, og nogle prøvede at kaste den af sig, mens de samtidig tog den til sig, som den altid kæmpende Abildgaard, der med Den sårede Filoktet viste traditionens sande ansigt, som han så det: en martret, skrigende krop, der ikke (Fig. 6) David, bronze-afstøbning efter original i marmor af Michelangelo Buonarroi, Italiensk Renaissance, David Statens Museum for Kunst 23 henrik holm

24 (Fig.7) Nicolaj Abildgaard Den sårede Filoktet 1775 Philoctetes Wounded Statens Museum for Kunst kan gøre sig fri af sin skæbne uden at sprænge (billed) rammen. [Fig. 7] Abildgaards forsøg på oprør blev slået grundigt ned af de kulturkonservative forkæmpere for den nationale samling i tiden efter revolutionerne i Europa i midten af 1800-tallet, der efter at veritabelt fadermord på Abildgaard og hævdelse af C.W. Eckersberg som den danske malerkunsts fader blev henvist til at formulere sig noget mere afdæmpet i forhold til antikken og traditionens byrde. Hvor Abildgaards ven Johann Heinrich Füssli tegner en kunstner i afmagt, nærmest knust under vægten fra den antikke kollosalstatues fod [Fig. 8], så maler Eckersberg-eleven Christen Købke et lille maleri af studiet efter antikken i Kunstakademiets gipssamling, hvor kunstneren nok bøjer sig lidt, men måske bare studerer figuren indgående. [Fig. 9] Holdningen til dette akademiske studium efter antikke proportioner og idealer sker ikke helt uden tvetydighed i holdningen. Hvad kigger han egentlig efter? Figurens manglende køn eller potens? Ser han overhovedet på figuren, eller står han i sine egne tanker og slår blikket ned? Og hvad foretager han med den klud? Støver han antikken af? Støver antikken bare? Er det ikke påfaldende, så lidt Eckersbergs elever arbejder efter antikken? De vil hellere ud i den friske luft og male træerne i vinden, og deres portrætter er fulde af farve, liv og en ikke særlig antik kropsholdning, som det fx kan ses i samme kunstners portræt af landskabsmaleren Frederik Sødring (Den Hirschsprungske Samling). Vi må sige, at holdningen til den gentagelse af antikken, som gipserne repræsenterer, afføder nogle lidt underlige performances allerede omkring Men traditionen reddes af dem, der abstraherer fra alle spørgende tvetydigheder, og man fortsætter fra officielt hold med at hævde menneskets suverænitet og antikkens usvækkede betydning for også de danske kunstnere, helt frem over skiftet fra 1800 til 1900, hvor kunsten ellers i den grad begynder at løsrive sig fra de antikke idealer. henrik holm 24

25 Hvad det egentlig er for en version af antikken, der skal med i det moderne liv, er ikke entydigt. Visse kunstnere bryder igennem med et direkte anti-klassisk formsprog, som Impressionisternes, for ikke at tale om Gauguin og van Goghs helt uforudsigelige livtag med traditionen. [Fig. 10] På dansk jord må den traditionelle dannelse, der bygger på studiet af latin, allerede i 1903 begynde at vige for, at andre fag kan få plads. 9 Måske er det netop derfor, at der opstår et så stærkt behov for at opstille en så massiv samling af gipser efter antikken omkring 1890 erne? Der kommer et stærkt behov for at fastholde en antik, der allerede på det tidspunkt er ved at forsvinde ud af fokus for avantgarden, mens institutionerne og det almindelige publikum lige er nået frem til at ville håndhæve idealerne og traditionen fra antikken. Men afstanden mellem de to parter udgør den afgrund, der kan begrunde opstillingen af gipserne, som et både helhjertet, velment forsøg på at komme til undsætning og dog et ikke helt perfekt plaster på såret. Det er jo bare massefremstillede kopier, men netop massefremstillede kopier uden aura og befriede fra den oprindelige, rituelle tvang, perfekte som performances, massen af individer kan danne sig efter. Som nævnt lider den bagvedliggende ide om de vestlige imperiers ukrænkelige suverænitet nederlag efter 1. Verdenskrig, og hen mod 2. Verdenskrig kommer antikken som dannelsesideal på en alvorlig prøve, som den ikke har overvundet. Nazisterne dyrker antikken som ideal for den kunst, de ønsker, og bruger den til at pege på, hvor degenereret moderne kunst er blevet. Hitlers filmmager, Leni Riefensthal, brugte Diskoskasteren af Myron (ca. 450 f.kr.) som udgangspunkt for indledningssekvensen og som poster til den første af sine to film om Olympiaden i Berlin i 1936, Olympia, Fest der Völker og Olympia, Fest der Schönheit, der havde premiere i 1938, samme år, som det lykkedes Hitler at erhverve skulpturen fra italienerne. Nazismens (og andre totalitære regimers) performance efter antikke idealer, som man ser det i hele deres selviscenesættelse, i deres kunst og arkitektur, har helt sikkert betydet, at det efter 1945 har været vanskeligt at oparbejde en almindelig interesse eller forståelse for antikken som et positivt ideal. Den seneste gymnasiereform fra 2005 følger linjen fra tiden efter 1903, hvor latin og græsk gradvist udfases som hovedlinjer i gymnasiet, til et foreløbigt nulpunkt, hvor latin sammen de kreative (og også klassiske) fag, musik og billedkunst, reduceres meget. Dele af Folketinget så med bekymring på denne udvikling, bl.a. Dansk Folkepartis daværende uddannelsesordfører, Louise Frevert, der måtte spørge til fagenes skæbne, da de efter partiets mening udgjorde kilderne til hele det vestlige kulturfællesskab og bør (Fig. 8) Johann Heinrich Füssli: Kunstneren i afmagt over for antikkens storhed The despair of the artist confronted with the greatness of ancient ruins Grafische Sammlung, Kunsthaus Zürich (Fig. 9) Christian Købke: Parti af afstøbningssamlingen på Charlottenborg Part of the cast collection of The Royal Academy of Art, Charlottenborg Den Hirschsprungske Samling, København 25 henrik holm

26 (Fig.10) Vincent van Gogh Tegning efter gipsafstøbning med høj hat Drawing of a cast with top hat Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam derfor indgå som selvstændige fag i ethvert borgerligt dannelsesprojekt. Frevert tilføjede som begrundelse for at bevare fagene i samme form som før reformen af 2005 med, at enhver snak om afskaffelse eller sammenlægning af disse fag er udtryk for en typisk 68 er holdning, der ikke er forpligtet over for grundlaget i vor egen kultur. Det ville derfor forekomme absurd, såfremt disse bærende og almendannende fag blev afskaffet af en borgerlig regering. 10 På Facebook kan man tilslutte sig en profil med navnet Afskaf Oldtidskundskab i Gymnasiet, gruppen for dig, som også mener, at læren om den græske kultur for år siden er spild af tid. Den nytiltrådte professor for Antikfagene i Århus, Marianne Pade, er tvunget til at udtrykke forsigtig optimisme på fagets vegne ved sin tiltrædelse i 2009, under indtryk af gymnasiereformen mm. 11 Kunstens, om man så må sige, klassiske avantgardebevægelser gjorde en dyd ud af at håne antikken. Det Futuristiske Manifest fra 1909 erklærer, at museer, biblioteker (og feminismen) skal ødelægges, antikkens idealer er allerede overvundet, og man vil se kentaurens (gen-)fødsel efter at have tabt den mytiske kamp til det græske urfolk, Lapitherne. 12 I 1939 udkom Clement Greenbergs artikel imod nazismens og kommunismens brug af antikke idealer, Avant-Garde and Kitsch, som skulle blive manifestet for den modernisme, der fik vind i sejlene i 1960 erne med Colour Field Painting og navne som Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock og Barnett Newman i hovedrollerne. Greenberg talte om Alexandrianisme som det, man skulle forlade, en ubevægelig akademisme, der undviger alle former for kritisk analyse. Det borgerlige samfund har fostret en ny, overlegen historisk bevidsthed, nemlig avantgarde-kulturen, der blev muliggjort af en kritisk indstilling til samfundet og til historien som sådan. Desuden handler essayet om, at moderne kunstnere forholder sig til mediet, malingen og overfladen, de arbejder med. 13 Tanken om mediespecificitet som ideal for avantgarden udtrykkes også i artiklen Towards a Newer Laokoön (1940), hvor Greenberg følger op på Gotthold Ephraim Lessings ( ) Laokoon oder Über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie (1766), når han skriver sig frem til, at det abstrakte maleri nu udgør en referenceramme for kunsten, på samme måde som Laokoöngruppen gjorde det før, når grænserne for maleri, skulptur og poesi skulle findes. Greenbergs holdninger til værkets selvreferentialitet er direkte ødelæggende for gipsafstøbningernes status som værker, idet gipser jo netop ikke lader, som om de er sten eller bronze. De originaler, gipserne er støbt efter, er ofte selv romerske kopier efter tabte, græske originaler. Gipserne er ikke moderne, og de peger væk fra originalens materiale og står således endnu længere væk fra idealet, end Laokoöngruppen selv ville gøre det. På den anden side kan man sige, at gipser måske peger tilbage på de abstrakte kvaliteter bag skulpturen, idet de er til for at vise, at formen i sig selv er det, der egentlig har interesse. Men det synspunkt på gips kommer først frem med postmodernismens opblødning på modernismens hårde idealer, hvor vi fra ca erne finder en række kunstnere som Bjørn Nørgaard og andre, der igen kan tage gipsen til sig og bruge den som udgangspunkt for deres værker, og det er i samme periode, værkerne reddes ind igen. Men det er, da Greenbergs tanker og den abstrakte kunst med ham er på sit højeste niveau som internationalt toneangivende, kunstnerisk udtryksform, og mens det, vi kender som 1968-oprøret imod autoriteterne, er under opsejling, at afstøbningssamlingen får dødsstødet henrik holm 26

27 og sendes ud af Statens Museum for Kunst, officielt på grund af pladsmangel - til de originale værker, vel at mærke. Det originale værks suverænitet er usvækket i dag trods postmoderne strømninger, og hverken kopier eller figurativ skulptur har nogen særlig betydning. For skulpturens vedkommende skete der store forandringer, mens gipserne blev kørt bort og stod opmagasinerede. I 1979 kunne Rosalind Krauss i sit berømte essay Sculpture in the Expanded Field konstatere, at i løbet af de seneste ti år er der mange ret overraskende ting, som er blevet kaldt skulptur, såsom snævre korridorer med tv-monitorer for enden, store fotografier, der dokumenterer landlige lokaliteter, spejle placerede i mærkelige vinkler i almindelige rum, og at skulptur ikke længere er en positiv kategori, men er blevet til sin egen negation, der er resultatet af tilføjelsen af ikke-landskabet til ikke-arkitekturen. 14 I det udvidede rum, hvori skulpturen skal fungere fra 1960 erne og frem, er der ikke meget plads til den klassiske skulpturs performance af antikke dyder, endsige til det, der nu betragtes som en uærlig, kitschet version af originalen, nemlig gipsafstøbningen efter antikken. Det er stadig grundholdningen i dag, hvor man vil høre publikum gå ind ad døren, kigge sig omkring og forlade stedet igen efter at have forsikret sig om, at samlingen kun rummer kopier, ingen originaler. Den førhen så lykkelige performance, som begrundede erhvervelsen af en afstøbningssamling, har nået sit endelige nulpunkt, hvor alt, hvad der før var grundlaget for dens gode evne til at kommunikere, er blevet identisk med det, der gør dens performance mislykket. I moderniteten bliver kærlighed til antikken nærmest umulig, i vide kredse uacceptabel og måske endda upassende. En figur som Apollon Belvedere, der i 400 år havde været anset for et uomgængeligt forbillede for kunstnere at forholde sig til, har overhovedet ingen interesse i det moderne, og det bliver stedse sværere at få mange til at se det fantastiske i den nyklassicistiske kunst, der stod i forhold til antikken, som fx Thorvaldsens skulpturer, eller i en klassicerende bygning som Vilhelm Dahlerups Statens Museum for Kunst, som skulle reddes fra sit eget udtryk og gøres smart med en ny tilbygning i tidens stil. Performance i det postmoderne Afstøbningsamlingen finder sin placering i 1980 erne, i postmodernismens tid, og passende for det postmodernes stilblandinger og afsked med de store fortællinger om historien som et fremskridt mod stadig mere frihed og lykke bliver det i et gammelt pakhus, der egentlig bare var opført til varer, inden de gik ud i detailsalg. Genopstillingen falder sammen med postmodernismens ændrede vurdering af afgrunden mellem finkultur og lavkultur, som var så afgørende i Greenbergs skelnen mellem avantgarde og kitsch. Denne skelnen elimineres i det postmoderne. Historiske bindinger er ikke så væsentlige mere. Et gammelt hus og en gammel samling kan fint passe hinanden, og huset kan uden videre også rumme kostumer til Det Kongelige Teater og en avissamling tilhørende Det Kongelige Bibliotek. Gipserne selv performer ikke længere finkultur for nogen, det publikum er minimeret til at bestå af ikke mange flere end den lille gruppe klassiske arkæologer og andre, der opstiller samlingen, og nu kan gipserne og deres antikke kilder synke ned i lavkulturen og leve et stille liv der, hvor gipsafstøbninger er at finde i almindelige menneskers hjem, hvor antikke referencer bruges med fri hånd i reklamebranchen, ofte af parfume- og tøjfabrikanter, og hvor 1980 ernes vilde maleri sætter alle inspirationskilder lige, mens den postmoderne arkitektur bruger løs af antikke og helt andre kilder med samme glubende appetit. Den store historie, som gipserne engang fortalte, er ikke længere den vigtigste, men den lille historie om en forsømt samling, der reddes i sidste øjeblik fra glemsel og ødelæggelse. Men metafortællingen, den store historie om det hvide, vestlige menneskes suverænitet og rejse gennem verdenshistorien frem mod stadig større frihed, viden og beherskelse af sine omgivelser, er ikke længere mulig at fortælle, for samlingens egen historie modsiger den fortælling. Gentagelser Og hvordan fortælles samlingens historie her og nu i vores tid? Hvor er den krog, som samlingen kan sætte i kødet på samtiden og vise sin aktualitet og historiske betydning i kraft af? Hvis noget er levende, nærværende og betydningsfuldt, er det noget, der tales om, og det, der tales om, kan der blive skrevet om. Men når en samling taber betydning, kan det aflæses, for så tales der ikke længere om emnet. Det er ikke hot på Facebook, og der er ikke mange besøgende eller megen forskning på området. I performativitetsteorien er man bevidst om det skrevnes styrke, om at budskaber kan nå langt omkring, men det skrevne er langt mindre pålideligt end det talte ord, der bæres frem i en bestemt situation af en person. Det skrevne ord har derimod den ulempe, at det skrevne synes at skulle kæmpe for nærværet, og at skribentens mening med udsagnet meget nemt kan misforstås, uden 27 henrik holm

28 at han kan være til stede og korrigere. Men ingen form for kommunikation finder sted uden misfortolkninger. På den anden side er det hverken sprog eller kommunikation, hvis man ikke forestiller sig, at ens ideer og meninger kan overføres til sproget og kommunikeres videre gennem det og blive forstået selv i en anden sammenhæng. Derfor er gentagelse ( iterabilitet ) et nøgleord i performativitetsteorien. Det kan sige os noget om, hvad der er det særlige ved gipsafstøbninger, der jo er bevidste gentagelser af andre værker. De fungerer i højere grad på sprogets præmisser end på det rent æstetiske og visuelles præmisser. En original kan pr. definition ikke gentages, og den beder om at blive modtaget som et æstetisk fænomen; i Immanuel Kants berømte definition som noget, der vækker interesseløst behag, og om hvis hensigt og betydning man ikke kan sige noget entydigt, og som har en unik karakter. En afstøbning derimod beder om at blive modtaget som en gentagelse af en original, som var den allerede oversat til et andet sprog, som om den bare var stikordet til en genopførelse på en teaterscene, en performance af et allerede velkendt hændelsesforløb. Det er så at sige historien om Laokoön, der råber på at blive fortalt, når man står over for gipsafstøbningen, mens det er selve det sublime, lammende og måske direkte talelammende møde med et exceptionelt øjeblik, man skal opleve foran originalen måske ikke øjeblikket for Laokoöns dødskamp, der blot er en fortælling, men øjeblikket, hvor skønheden, uhyggen og styrken i kunstværket rammer én. Det øjeblik er forpasset over for afstøbningen, men desto stærkere står behovet for at fortælle historien mundtligt og levende foran den døde gipsoverflade. Gipsen er skriften, der lægger sig som en palimpsest over originalens nærvær. Gipsen er gentagelsen, der er helt åben for fortolkninger eller manglende interesse i forhold til originalen. Den er fri af originalen, og derfor mulig at arbejde videre med på en helt anden måde end originalen, der er urørlig. Men gipsens kridhvide gentagelse af fortællinger fra historiens mørke står frem som de rene gengangere. De er som spøgelser, der gentager noget, der engang var velkendt og mere nærværende, men som nu virker som en røst fra graven. Afstøbningssamlingen er en gravskrift over antikken og et utidigt verdenssyn, og gipserne er som levende døde, der står stivnede og fanget i dødsøjeblikket, der i pakhuset. Laoköon er bare en af de figurer, der er bevidst om sin dødskamp, de fleste andre ænsede ikke dødens komme, før de blev kolde og tørre. Det positive ved at være et produkt af gentagelsens logik og dermed være i familie med sproget er, at alt, der er gået galt i forhold til afstøbningerne, alle de historiske forhold, som har gjort, at de performer så mislykket, kan vendes til gipsernes fordel. Som gentagelser er de fri af auraens ritualer, de kan frigøres på mange flere måder end nogen original fra bånd til traditioner og hæmninger. Deres historie er måske tragisk, måske gribende, men den er hele den vestlige verdens historie, fra gipserne blev støbt til i dag. Gipserne er langt mere en del af samtiden, end mange originaler kan være det. Originalerne kæmper i langt højere grad en kamp for at komme fri af deres oprindelige kontekst, men hvad er gipsernes oprindelige kontekst andet end historien om deres mislykkede performance i moderne tid? Gipsafstøbningerne er rene produkter af en skiftende kontekst, og de viser tydeligere end med originale værker, at kontekster er afgørende, men de kan ikke fastholdes eller neutraliseres. Afstøbningssamlingens potentiale ligger nu i dens manglende forankring i forhold til fortiden og til museet, for her kan der foregå ting på måder og med perspektiver, som ikke er lige så indlysende nødvendige eller interessante på hovedmuseet over for originalerne. Originalerne skal helst kunne klare sig selv, men gipser er intet uden iscenesættelse, formidling og intervention, hvis deres histories skal genopføres. Det, der yderligere kan ødelægge vores forhold til gipserne, er, hvis alt dette foregår med en form for maskinel repetition af antikkens fortællinger, uden at det særlige ved gipserne diskuteres, eller uden at deres særlige skæbne som gipser tages med i betragtning. Gipser er gentagelser, og gentagelser skal genfortolkes hele tiden, for at det maskinelle går af dem. Måske kan dette gøres ved netop at pege på deres maskinelle karakter, og på at en hel del af dem på det nærmeste er blevet massefremstillede i den periode af historien, hvor industrialisering og håndværk stod i stadig strid om herredømmet over materien og kulturen i den såkaldte Arts and Crafts-bevægelse, der på dansk grund blev kaldt Skønvirke (1880 erne erne), mens Brygger Carl Jacobsen finansierede det massive indkøb af gipser, samlingen består af. Gipserne blev i sin tid anskaffet, fordi man mente, at de i overensstemmelse med en konvention kunne gentage den performance, man ønskede, men efterhånden blev netop det maskinelle ved denne performance og deres manglende evne til at producere ny betydning i en ny historisk kontekst for påfaldende. Jo mere gipserne forfaldt til kun at kunne fortælle historien om en bestemt stilhistorisk fortælleteknik og en bestemt teknik, nemlig afstøbningsteknikken, jo mindre performativ styrke kunne henrik holm 28

29 de oparbejde, og det levende, talte ord kunne ikke finde plads ved deres side. Gipserne kvalte ordene, inden de blev sagt, og det er til den stilhed, de er overladt i dag. Der er ingen spontan, direkte, fri og uhildet dialog med dem. Og det er kravene, der stilles til en vellykket performance. Men den kan opstå, denne frie dialog. Den opstår, når nogen finder samlingen, når nogen undres og måske begejstres. Det sker. Selv mærker jeg det på denne måde: Jeg bliver indimellem ramt af en lille tristhed, når jeg skal gå derfra. For så overlades de igen til tavsheden. Og når lyset slukkes, træder deres unikke, spøgelsesagtige kvaliteter frem af mørket, men da er jeg ude af stand til at sige mere. I det øjeblik er jeg stille, som stod jeg overfor et fantastisk, sublimt og helt originalt værk; samlingen i sin helhed og med sin særlige karakter af gentagelse af en mislykket performance udi stilheden. Hvad skal der til, for at sådan en samling kan vækkes til live? Man skal se den i mørke, efter lukketid, helt alene. Det er ikke en del af den almindelige museumspraksis. Den kan også revitaliseres på mere almindelige vilkår i åbningstiden og via formidling. For at se nærmere på dens potentialer i et samtidigt perspektiv skal vi ind i et af performativitetsteoriens hovedområder, der hvor maskinel gentagelse, konventioner og sprog møder køn, krop og tilblivelse. Samlingen kan komme til at spille en politisk rolle på linje med den, som samlingen engang spillede for dannelsen af det bevidste, borgerlige individ, hvilket ikke er det samme som en partipolitisk veldefineret rolle. I performativitetssammenhæng defineres det politiske som en form for tilblivelse, en bevægelse, ikke en partipolitisk fastholdelse af en bestemt overbevisning. Når nogen eller noget får en plads, hvorfra det er muligt at leve et tåleligt liv, og hvor en sådan mulighed ikke var givet før, så er der tale om en politisk hændelse. 15 Samlingen står lige nu og vipper mellem at få og ikke at få et tåleligt liv, og måske kan den tilkæmpe sig retten til at tale med autoritet igen, måske ikke. Denne mulighed er ikke alene et spørgsmål om penge, men også om hvilken historie vi vil fortælle om vores civilisation. Desuden kan afstøbningssamlingen selv performe ind i en særlig sammenhæng, nemlig i måden vi danner vores kønsidentitet på. Det er måske fra det punkt, samlingen skal få ny relevans, og den spontane tale kan udgå fra? At performe samlingen og kønnet Kønnet burde ikke konstituere sig, som var det en uforanderlig identitet eller et sted at agere igennem, og hvoraf en række handlinger følger, tværtimod er kønnet en identitet, der skrøbeligt skabes i tiden, påført i et udvendigt rum gennem en stiliseret gentagelse af handlinger. Effekten af kønnet produceres gennem stilisering af kroppen, og derfor må det blive forstået som den verdslige måde, hvorpå kropslig gestikuleren, bevægelser, og stilretninger af forskellig slags skaber illusionen om at være et stabilt kønnet selv. (Judith Butler) 16 En af hovedpersonerne i performativitetsteorien, Judith Butler, har indgående og på banebrydende vis diskuteret identitetsdannelse ud fra et kønsperformativt perspektiv, så her tager vi fat. Butler siger, at kønnet ikke burde konstituere sig, som var det en uforanderlig identitet. Illusionen om kønnet som noget uforanderligt konstrueres, skabes og forandrer sig, som tiden går, og rammerne for forståelsen og bedømmelsen af kønnet institutionaliseres gennem en stiliseret gentagelse af handlinger. Lad os tage dette udsagn lidt ad gangen og se på det i forhold til Afstøbningssamlingens performative potentiale før og nu. Den består af fremstillinger af nøgne kroppe, der agerer i overensstemmelse med nogle ganske enkle konventioner om fx maskulin styrke, klogskab, heltemod og renfærdighed, og den behandler feminin skønhed og ansvarlighed efter alle kunstens regler med adskillige versioner af Venus er og Athena er i samlingen. Samlingen peger direkte og uden blusel på kroppen hele tiden. Det er derfra og dertil, dannelsen skal ses og praktiseres ud fra. Det mandlige og det kvindelige defineres direkte og uden videre omsvøb gennem samlingen, hvor dens antal alene har en effekt på beskueren. Så mange veltrænede, selvbevidste mænd, så mange kvinder, der viser ynder frem, mens de forgæves forsøger at dække sig mod de mange blikke med hænderne. Stereotyperne stikker i øjnene. Men det må være netop de konventionelle kønsroller, som samlingen så effektivt performer, der på et eller andet plan har kunnet begrunde dens opstilling i sin tid. Ingen andre samlinger kan mestre en så massiv fremførelse af en stiliseret gentagelse af en ageren, som en sådan samling gør det. Butler skriver, at effekten af at være et køn produceres gennem stilisering af kroppen, og derfor er korporlig gestik, bevægelser, positurer og stilmæssige variationer af forskellig slags med til at danne og fastholde illusionen om et stabilt, vedholdende ensartet kønnet selv. Samlingen blev altså i sin tid angiveligt opstillet, fordi den kunne frembringe nogle kønnede jeg er, der i tanke, handling og på alle andre måder levede op til konventionerne om, hvad der var feminint og maskulint. 29 henrik holm

30 Samlingen skabte ideen om kønnet. De to køn så sig klart som to adskilte og klart definerede køn, og de agerede som Venus er og Adonis er i en heteroseksuel orden. Samlingen fungerede på samme direkte og banale måde, som når man vælger lyseblåt til drenge og lyserødt til piger. Den massive gentagelse af denne differentiering skaber efterhånden en væsentlig del af individets kønnede identitet. Afstøbningssamlingen kunne bidrage til sikringen af den kønnede identitets institutionalisering i en tid, hvor reklamerne, medierne og omgangsformerne i øvrigt ikke helt havde sikret rollefordelingen. Men lige så massivt konventionerne maser sig igennem, når man går gennem samlingen, lige så påfaldende bliver efterhånden alle undtagelserne. I antikken og i samlingen er der et betragteligt frirum til noget uklare meldinger om kønsidentiteten. Apollon performer ikke helt klart et entydigt heteroseksuelt, maskulint ideal. Ikke engang Apollon Belvedere kan sige sig fri af en vis tvetydighed, en måske homoerotisk gestik, en noget feminin hårmode, og som Apollon Musagetes i kvindegevandter, med lyre og meget prangende, krøllet langt hår, ser han mere ud som en drag end som en almindelig, musikalsk inspireret mandsperson. [Fig. 11, 12, 13] Så er der alle de meget unge drenge, der viser antikkens vaner, med at voksne mænd havde et forhold af noget blandet karakter til meget unge mænd, og der er granvoksne mænd, der leger med et barn på armen. Så når Butler siger, at kønnet ikke burde skabes, som var det en stabil identitet, så kan afstøbningerne åbne op for mulighederne for meget flydende identiteter. Hvad var så dens formål i sin tid? At åbne op for et kaos af ustabile kønsperformances? Er der så ikke potentiale for, at samlingen indgår på højeste blus i den aktuelle debat om kønsidentitet og rettigheder? Nogle af kvinderne bærer endda noget, der minder om tørklæder over hovedet. Under alle omstændigheder viser det sig, som Butler også skriver, at for så vidt kønnet er en tilskrivning, er det en tilskrivning, der aldrig helt udføres i overensstemmelse med forventningerne. 17 Således ej heller i en afstøbningssamling. Her kommer gentagelsen ind igen som en nødvendighed og som en form for tvang. Netop fordi idealet ikke helt kan opnås, er det til stadighed nødvendigt at gøre forsøget på at opnå det. For en nation som Danmark, der ikke stod i direkte forbindelse med den antikke kultur, var kopiering i gips efter antikke originaler en simpel nødvendighed. Den åbenhed over for identiteten, det være sig den nationale såvel som den kønsspecifikke, som samlingen tilbyder, er måske bare nødvendig, for at normaliteten skal vise sig som stærk og eftertragtelsesværdig? Eller kan den massive dominans af gentagne forsøg på at fæstne identiteten entydigt give bagslag, så den viser sig i sin forkrampethed, som ikke andet end gipset gentagelse? Konventionernes lovmæssighed er tilkæmpet, den kræver hele tiden at blive genopført. Det er over for denne genopførelsestvang, at der kan interveneres politisk, så der kan blive rum for en varierende og diskutabel identitet, det være sig den nationale eller den kønsspecifikke identitet. Det er et rum for den slags levende diskussioner, en sådan samling kan åbne op for, hvis den får midler og vilkår til at gøre det. Konklusion: Performance i Afstøbningssamlingen Hvis en samling som den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling skal have en fremtid, kunne den bestå i at hævde de pointer og den historiefortælling, som performativitetsstudierne understøtter. Samlingen skal agere sin historie og sin mislykkede performance direkte ind i et politisk rum, hvor der bliver gjort plads til de klassiske discipliner i bredeste forstand, hvor historiebegreber, kunst, filosofi og politik mødes, genopføres og genforhandles. Performancekunsten som genre betragtet kunne få en plads, hvorfra personer eller grupper, der arbejder med denne kunstform, kunne udfolde sig i relation til samlingen eller i andre sammenhænge. Så ville det faktum, at bygningen rummer teaterkostumer for Det Kongelige Teater, få en form for betydning, selv efter at disse kostumer sendes et andet sted hen til opbevaring, så Afstøbningssamlingen kan blive moderniseret, brandsikret og i sidste ende gjort til en værdig satellit til Statens Museum for Kunst. Man kunne fx forestille sig en kunstner som Yoko Ono opføre sit Cut Piece i samlingen Yoko Ono Cut Piece på YouTube. I Cut Piece sidder Ono på en scene iført sort tøj og opfordrer publikum til at klippe stykker af hendes tøj i postkortstørrelse, idet man skal forestille sig at sende tøjstykket som en hilsen til sin elskede hvilket ville være en noget ambivalent kærlighedserklæring, der i sidste ende vil efterlade performeren afklædt i overensstemmelse med klippernes mod og begær. Men opført i afstøbningssamlingen ville en figur som den siddende nymfe få en anden betydning, idet den ville komme til at blive et Cut Piece af en kvinde, der er blevet delvist berøvet sin klædedragt i overensstemmelse med andres begær. En antik figur kan i den forbindelse pludselig deltage i en aktuel, seksualpolitisk diskussion. Yoko Onos performance ville få en måske overraskende og ikke intenderet historisk dimension, hvis det viser henrik holm 30

31 31 henrik holm (Fig. 13) mere logisk at bytte rundt? Apollon Gipsafstøbning efter romersk original fra f.kr. Fundet i Pompei, bemalet. Erhvervet 1896 Apollo Statens Museum for Kunst

32 (Fig. 11) mere logisk at bytte rundt? Apollon Belvedere Gipsafstøbning efter romersk kopi af græsk original fra ca. 330 f.kr. Erhvervet 1897 Apollo Belvedere Statens Museum for Kunst henrik holm 32

33 33 henrik holm (Fig. 12) mere logisk at bytte rundt? Apollon Musagetes Gipsafstøbning efter romersk original fra 2.århundrede e.kr. erhvervet 1898 Apollo Musagetes Statens Museum for Kunst

34 (Fig.15) mere logisk at bytte rundt? Siddende nymfe med venstre ben over højre Gipsafstøbning efter romersk kopi efter græsk, hellenistisk original fra 200 f. Kr. Erhvervet 1993 Seated Nymph Statens Museum for Kunst sig, at hendes værk også kan perspektiveres i forhold til en antik tradition for delvis afklædning af kvindelige figurer. Desuden sker performancen ikke over for andet end kopier, hvis den udføres i Afstøbningssamlingen, så en eventuel fornærmelse på traditionens vegne skulle være til at overse, eftersom figurerne ikke er bundet til originalernes ritualer, men kan blive genstand for nye ritualer hele tiden. Fremtiden for afstøbningssamlinger som denne kunne ligge i at agere i forhold til dens historie, stille det mislykkede frem som et potentiale og pege på, at figurerne agerer i et rum, ikke blot er til for at blive nydt, men at de former en oplevelse af krop og identitet, nationalt, internationalt, politisk og privat. Så vil publikum måske igen lade sig gribe og forme og lade selv afstøbninger træde frem, som var det en ny og relevant kunstform? henrik holm 34

35 1 [ Pure performativity implies the presence of a living being [ ] speaking in a manner that is at once spontaneous, intentional, free, and irreplaceable. ] Forfatterens oversættelse af Jacques Derrida: Without Alibi, Stanford University Press, 2002, 74 in James Loxley: Performativity, Routledge, London og New York, 2007, Den første gennemarbejdede introduktion til begrebet set i relation til kunsthistorien på dansk er Camilla Jalvings: Værk som handling, Museum Tusculanum Press, Monroe Beardsley og J.K. Wimsatt udgav en række essays i 1954, hvor artiklen The Intentional Fallacy indgik. Dermed fik de etableret et nyt paradigme for analyse af kunstværker kaldet New Criticism, hvor man analyserer kunstværkernes formelle opbygning, ikke kunstnerens intentioner. Selv om New Criticism fik stor udbredelse, slog det ikke tendensen til at se tilbage mod kunstnerens intentioner i fortolkningen af kunst ned, så Roland Barthes kunne påpege problemet i den intentionelle fejlslutning igen i 1968 i sit essay Forfatterens død (La mort de l Auteur), hvor det performative aspekt ved oplevelsen af et kunstværk står centralt. Tendensen til at ville forklare kunsten ud fra kunstnerens liv lever dog stadig. Skillelinjen mellem traditionel og ny kunsthistorie trækkes bl.a. her, mellem dem, der stadig dyrker interessen for kunstnerens liv frem for interessen for kunstværkets virkning på beskueren, betydning for samfundet mm. 4 Susan Sontag: At betragte andres lidelser, Tiderne Skifter, København 2003, 99 [Regarding the Pain of Others: * Our sympathy proclaims our innocence as well as our impotence, FSG, New York 2003, 91.] 5 Walter Benjamin: Kunstværket i dets tekniske reproducerbarheds tidsalder, Kulturkritiske essays, Gyldendal 1998, 154. [Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: The mass is a matrix from which all traditional behaviour toward works of art issues today in a new form. ] subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm Walter Benjamin: Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit, Suhrkamp Verlag Frankfurt am Main, 2007: Die Masse ist eine matrix, aus der gegenwärtig alles gewohnte Verhalten Kunstwerken gegenüber neugeboren hervorgeht ibid Ibid: [ for the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. ] reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/ benjamin.htm Benjamin, ibid.: die technische Reproduzierbarkeit des Kunstwerks emanzipiert dieses zum ersten Mal der Weltgeschichte von seinem parasitären Dasein am Ritual Efter James Loxleys gennemgang af Austin i Performativity, Routledge, London og New York, 2007, Ibid., hvor Austin taler om misfire. 9 For en oversigt over latinfagets tilbagegang i det danske uddannelsessystem se: Spm. nr. S til undervisningsministeren (14/3 03) af: Louise Frevert (DF):»Kan ministeren bekræfte eller afkræfte, at gymnasiereformen vil afskaffe fagene oldtidskundskab og/eller religion som selvstændige fag for at introducere et udvandet»kulturfag«og herunder forklare, hvordan dette stemmer overens med en borgerlig samfundsopfattelse og med det forsvar for vort lands grundværdier, som statsministeren formulerede i sin nytårstale?«begrundelse: Oldtidskundskab og religion indeholder kilderne til hele det vestlige kulturfællesskab og bør derfor indgå som selvstændige fag i ethvert borgerligt dannelsesprojekt. Det er spørgerens opfattelse, at enhver snak om afskaffelse eller sammenlægning af disse fag er udtryk for en typisk 68 er holdning, der ikke er forpligtet over for grundlaget i vor egen kultur. Det ville derfor forekomme absurd, såfremt disse bærende og almendannende fag blev afskaffet af en borgerlig regering. Svar (20/3 03) Undervisningsministeren (Ulla Tørnæs): Jeg har endnu ikke taget stilling til, hvordan fagrækken i gymnasiet skal se ud efter reformen. Jeg kan derfor ikke komme nærmere ind på, om fagene religion og oldtidskundskab bliver videreført uændret i det nye gymnasium, eller om de ændrer status. Jeg kan tilføje, at Gymnasieskolernes Rektorforening i sit debatoplæg til reform af det almene gymnasium foreslår indførelse af et nyt fag ved navn»kulturfag«. 11 Marianne Pade, interview: Græsk og latin er ikke just sprog med politisk medvind. Alligevel er Marianne Pade forsigtig optimist på vegne af de klassiske fag, hun nu skal stå i spidsen for som nyudnævnt professor på Aarhus Universitet. Antikken har det ikke frygtelig godt i Danmark, efter at gymnasiereformen beskar dens rolle. Men takket være vores fantastiske kolleger rundt om på gymnasierne er det lykkedes at få latin og faktisk også græsk ind igen på mange gymnasier, så i dag har betydeligt flere gymnasieelever de to fag på skemaet end for tre år siden. Og selv om de ikke har mange timer til at gøre reklame for deres fag, formår lærerne alligevel at fange elevernes interesse, bl.a. fordi der i oldtidskundskab lægges mere vægt på antikkens virkningshistorie, begrunder Marianne Pade sin optimisme, som hun også finder belæg for hos bl.a. Danmarks sydlige nabo. In Campus, Århus Universitet, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti: Det Futuristiske Manifest, engelsk oversættelse: foundingmanifesto/ 13 Clement Greenberg: Avant-Garde and Kitch: html 14 Forfatterens oversættelse efter Rosalind Krauss: Sculpture in the Expanded Field, October Vol. 8, 1979, situations.org.uk/_uploaded_pdfs/krauss. pdf Over the last ten years rather surprising things have come to be called Sculpture: narrow corridors with TV monitors at the ends; large photographs documenting country hikes; mirrors placed at strange angles in ordinary rooms; temporary lines cut into the floor of the desert [ ] Sculpture, it could be said, had ceased being a positivity, and was now the category that resulted from the addition of the not-landscape to the not-architecture. 15 Efter Judith Butler: Undoing Gender, Routledge, London og New York, 2004, 224, in Performativity, 112: What moves me politically, and that for which a subject a person, a collective asserts a right or entitlement to a liveable life when no such authorization exists, when no clearly enabling convention is in place. 16 Forfatterens oversættelse efter Judith Butler: Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge, London og New York, 1999, 179, in Performativity, 119: Gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts follow; rather, gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time, instituted in an exterior space through a stylized repetition of acts. The effect of gender is produced through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and styles of various kinds constitute the illusion of being an abiding gendered self. 17 Forfatterens oversættelse efter Judith Butler: Bodies that Matter, On the Discursive Limits of Sex, Routledge, London og New York, 1993, 231, in Performativity, 124: To the extend that gender is an assignment, it is an assignment which is never quite carried out according to expectation [ ]. 35 henrik holm

36 miriam have watts 36

37 Individ og type? L.A. Rings I høst og Sædemanden m i r i a m hav e wat t s Med afsæt i Laurits Andersen Rings ( ) malerier I høst fra 1885 [fig.1] og Sædemanden fra 1910 [fig.2], undersøger jeg i følgende tekst et lille, koncentreret udsnit af Rings produktion, hvor jeg fokuserer på de to værkers særlige beskrivelse af fundamentale forhold omkring mennesket som krop og bevidsthed i verden. 1 Malerierne indgår i en lang kunsthistorisk tradition for gengivelser af arbejderen på marken, og ikonografisk rækker de længere tilbage end uddrivelsens med møje skal du skaffe dig føden... I dit ansigts sved skal du spise dit brød. 2 Med en nærlæsning af motiv og komposition behandler jeg Rings fremstilling af en velkendt genre og figurtype, der i dette tilfælde samtidig undslår sig netop det traditionelle, det givne og lettilgængelige. Med opmærksomheden rettet mod værkernes dobbelttydigheder omkring genkendelighed og fremmedhed åbner muligheden sig for at blive klogere på, hvordan det fælles kulturelle ophav manifesterer sig, og i hvilken form og udstrækning Ring udvider og overskrider denne baggrund. En eksistentiel realisme Rings tilværelse startede i provinsen, hvis kulturform fortrinsvis hvilede på en tradition for mundtlig formidling. Livet dér havde ikke et egentligt selvstændigt visuelt sprog, og det genremaleri, der fra midten af 1800-tallet havde tematiseret livet på landet, forstås i dag generelt som en projektion af et borgerligt dannelsesindhold til rustikke kulisser. 3 For Ring og de senere realistisk orienterede kunstnere fungerede disse genrebilleder først og fremmest som afsæt for den egentlige motivafsøgning og bearbejdelse: Rings malerier må forstås som formet efter hans egen levede baggrund og personlige virkelighedsbillede. Ud fra denne betragtning bygger min beskæftigelse med Rings realisme ikke på en forventning om at møde eller afdække en tilstræbt streng objektivitet i værkerne. Rettere arbejder jeg med indkredsningen af et ideal om en sandfærdig og oprigtig virkelighedsgengivelse ud fra en mere eksistentialistisk tonet forståelse af begrebet autenticitet. 4 For som bekendt beskriver realismen ikke alene et kunsthistorisk tidsrum, men har også filosofiske spørgsmål omkring forholdet til virkeligheden knyttet ind i sig. Troskaben mod perceptionen af virkeligheden parret med realismens velkendte slagord Il faut être de son temps (man må være af sin tid, red.) kan, ganske bredt set, afgrænse det realistiske maleri fra orienteringen i andre ismer, om end naturalismen bæres af lignende karaktertræk. Betydningsglidningerne mellem realisme og naturalisme og den gerne næsten synonyme anvendelse kan kort forklares med stilbetegnelsernes fælles basis omkring objektiv præcision, der dog udmøntes i forskellige udtryk hvor naturalismen traditionelt set peger mod impressionismen, mens realismen i sit verdensbillede kan indeholde en form for ekspressionisme. Sidstnævnte er en væsentlig pointe for min undersøgelse af Rings karakterfulde figurer og lægger sig parallelt med mit forbehold mod at hæfte et egentligt objektivitetsbegreb på hans arbejder: Det ekspressive forstår jeg i termens bogstavelige betydning udtryk og udtryksfuld, hvor Rings skildring af figurer og omgivelser viser såvel noget kraftfuldt som en særegen sensibilitet eller en symbolistisk inklination. Fundamentale vilkår Som urbillede på mennesket indskrevet i årstidernes forløb transcenderer skildringen af landarbejderen skiftende tider og sæders kulturelle udtryk og hører til i en bredere, almenmenneskelig fortælling, der løber fra oldtidens første visuelle spor til i dag. I historiens forløb optræder typen blandt andet i fabler og i testamentlige fortællinger om den flittige bonde, der udfylder sin plads i en virkelighed, som rækker ud over ham selv og opfyldelsen af basale livsfornødenheder. 5 Således (Fig. 1) L.A. Ring: I høst, Tuehuse 1885 Harvest Olie på lærred 190,2 x 154,2 cm Statens Museum for Kunst 37 miriam have watts

38 (Fig. 2) L.A. Ring: Sædemanden, Baldersbrønde 1910 The Sower Olie på lærred 186,5 x 155,5 cm Deponeret på Statens Museum for Kunst formidler landarbejdermotivet traditionelt en idealopfattelse af mennesket, der lever og handler i afbalancerede cykliske mønstre. Om referencerammen er mytologisk, religiøs eller verdslig, om formidlingen er tekstlig eller visuel, illustreres det enkelte menneskes delagtighed i en større sammenhæng typisk ved, at de personlige træk og egenskaber underordnes en altfavnende, absolut helhed. Ring malede i 1885 I høst og koncentrerede hele høstens arbejde i én markant figur. Efter blyantstudier omarbejdede han virkelighedens høstmand, storebroren Ole Peter Ring, og lod i maleriet de personlige karakteristika forsvinde i det bortvendte ansigts uartikulerede træk. 6 Hovedet er lille, munden står halvt åben, og øjet er utydeligt under hattens skygge. Figurkompositionen er spændt op i en trekant dannet af den store, frontalt stillede krop og dens seje træk med leen. Fornemmelsen af rytmisk, opslugt arbejde er med til at forene den ellers reliefagtige figur med kornmarkens tilsvarende fladepræg. Baggrunden både definerer rummet og åbner det mod horisonten, så omgivelserne synes at vokse over høstmandens hoved, knytte ham til jorden og angive årstidernes cykliske forløb med den traditionelle symbolik omkring høstarbejdet som en evigt tilbagevendende og naturgiven aktivitet. Ring har kondenseret motivet og flyttet sin storebror ud af individualiteten og over i høstmanden som overordnet type. Med Sædemanden fra 1910, malet 25 år efter, skildres den aktivitet, der er en forudsætning for høsten, og den gentagne spredning af korn henviser til, hvordan arbejdet har dikteret menneskets bevægelser siden den første dyrkning af jorden. I et umiddelbart perspektiv sikrer såningen afgrøden, og langt mere vidtfavnende end hensynet til individet og slægtens overlevelse fortælles der om opretholdelsen af en fundamental balance. Som pendant til høstmandens bortvendte ansigt og hans opslugte handling giver figuren i Sædemanden en fornemmelse af fåmælthed, der er med til at fremhæve arbejdets ensartede karakter. Den højtliggende horisont fastholder også sædemanden på marken og definerer rummet omkring ham, hvor en dyster og regnvejrstung himmels særlige belysning fremhæver enkelte gule partier: Kornene, han spreder, står gyldne frem af pløjemarken og lyser i sækkens grove stof. Både høstmanden og sædemanden har en kejtet fysiognomi, hvor armene for høstmandens vedkommende er underligt forvoksede og forkert hæftet på overkroppen, der i sig selv er for stor og bred til det lille hoved. Sædemandens arme er anderledes forkortede og ser akavede ud på smalle, skrånende skuldre, der trækkes op mod det lille hoved. Hans overkrop virker firkantet bag kornsækken og den store, slidte arbejdsjakke, og de stive ben i et par klodsede træsko er overdimensionerede. Hans ansigtstræk er markerede og karakterfulde i tegningen og adskiller sig dermed fra høstmandens mindre synlige og udefinerede ansigt. Hvor sidstnævntes ene arm krydser hen over den frontalt stillede krop og lukker af for betragteren, er sædemandens figur midt i et skridt i en mere åben bevægelse rettet ud af maleriet. Hele hans krop er fri af marken i modsætning til høstmanden, hvis positur virker låst med de samlede ben, dækket af leen og forgrundens detailstudie af aks. Sædemandens frontalitet og betragterorienterede fremtoning supplerer dermed den tidlige figurs tillukkede og mere selvtilstrækkelige fremtrædelse. 7 I modsætning til dette opslugte og introverte opstår der i helheden af Sædemanden en anderledes motiveret spænding i forholdet mellem figur og omgivelser: Hvor det er ud af optagetheden af arbejdet, at narrationen i I høst vokser frem, kan det mere konfronterende element i Sædemanden åbne for en anderledes fortælling om de skildrede fundamentale livsvilkår og om en anderledes bevidsthed herom. Foran og bagved? I høst rummer dog langt mere end en enstrenget historie udsprunget af en gængs formidling af arbejdets karakter opløftet til en større og værdig (men ikke mindre slidsom) gerning. Høstmandens særegne men styrkefulde krop undslår sig en entydig indskrivning i arbejdets rutine, for anstrengtheden er påtrængende skildret i hans bevægelse, som samtidig virker hæmmet af hans grove og kejtede figur. Et skel mellem menneske og omgivelser materialiserer sig ud af den forcerede kraft, han lægger i arbejdet, og understøttes desuden af føromtalte fladeforhold mellem figur og baggrund. Stiliseringen og fladepræget i flere af Rings værker er foruden de oplagte symbolistiske stiltræk i visse malerier af kunstnerens anmeldere ofte forklaret ud fra det forhold, at han typisk udførte omgivelserne først og derefter indsatte én eller flere figurer på en forberedt plads i motivet. 8 Det affødte ophold mellem figur og omgivelser aflæses gerne som et udslag af hans manglende evner med hensyn til motivisk integration eller som resultat af hans anvendelse af fotografiske forlæg. 9 Formelle betragtninger dominerer således behandlingerne af figurernes disponering i relation til billedrummet, og kun sjældent er indgangen til forholdet en egentlig afsøgning af dets mere betydningsskabende potentiale. En tange- miriam have watts 38

39 39 miriam have watts

40 (Fig. 3) Peter Hansen ( ): Høstbillede 1910 Harvest Scene Olie på lærred 103 x 128 cm Faaborg Museum ring af det fortolkende ses dog i Thomas Lederballes Tegningen først efter, der præcist indrammer Rings vanskeligheder omkring den akademiske figurtegnings formelle krav med beskrivelsen af kunstnerens bryderier, der giver sig udslag i ulogisk stærkt optrukne former og skygger i baggrundsmotivet, der nærmest synes at ophæve det motiviske hierarki mellem foran og bagved. Figurernes omrids og skyggelægning får dem til at virke flade, og man lægger mærke til, at Rings fremstilling lægger vægt på personernes plumpe udseende og grove fysiognomier i en slags afstandstagen til den akademiske figurtegning. 10 Til Rings figurbehandling kan desuden knyttes den ofte citerede passage, hvor kunstneren selv beskriver, hvordan han Fotograferede adskillige Ting det vil sige Mennesker. Det er en central formulering, hvis den ikke forbigås som tilfældig, men bliver forstået som en form for erklæring, hvorfra menneskesyn og omverdensforståelse tør udledes. 11 I mit tolkningsarbejde omkring Rings fremstilling af sine figurer i forhold til billedrummet kan udsagnet med varsomhed anspore overvejelser omkring kunstnerens bevidste fremhævelse af netop, hvad er foran og hvad er bagved hvad kommer først, hvad har forrang? Efterlysning af det sympatiske I indkredsningen af de valg, Ring har truffet omkring skildringen af sit umiddelbart traditionelle høstmotiv, kan en sammenligning med det tematisk og motivisk beslægtede Høstbillede fra 1910 [fig.3] af fynboen Peter Hansen ( ) vise sig illustrativ. 12 Peter Hansen har ligesom Ring ladet den høje horisont miriam have watts 40

41 signalere høstarbejdernes samhørighed med naturen, men med repetitionen af billedelementer i kompositionens bløde, rullende bevægelse betoner han også arbejdet som en rolig og harmonisk foreteelse, der bygger på et socialt fællesliv. Mennesker og natur fremhæver hinanden gensidigt ved hjælp af forskellige kompositoriske greb, der understreger den samlede arbejdsrytme, hvor piger og karle samler negene efter høstmanden. Det folkelige og jordbunde tematiseres, hvilket i den såkaldte bondemalerstrid få år forinden netop blev fremhævet af forfatteren Johannes V. Jensen ( ) som fynboernes adelsmærke i modsætning til hovedstadskulturens degeneration. 13 Hos Rings høstmand er ingen medhjælpere i sigte til at binde negene. Og hvor Peter Hansens forgrundsfigur er skildret i udgangspositionen for slåningen, der snarere fordrer balance end kraft, er Rings høstmands bevægelse med den tunge le netop vist i den stilling, hvor mest styrke er påkrævet, for at bladet skærer stråene over. Fællesnævner for de to malerier er vitaliteten i bondelivets fundering i naturen, men Peter Hansens skildring af den højtidsstemte side af arbejdet overblændes i Rings maleri af anstrengelsen tegnet i høstmandens krop, ligesom fynboens skildring af indbyrdes samvirke bliver transponeret over i formidlingen af enligt slid og isolation hos Ring. Det er en forceret vitalitet, der bærer I høst fra 1885 i forhold til Peter Hansens mere rendyrkede vitalisme på den anden side af århundredskiftet: Ring både understøtter og undergraver den traditionelle høstscenes fremstilling af mennesket harmonisk indskrevet i naturens rytme. En kritiker fra venstreavisen Morgenbladet udtrykte således også sin ærgrelse og skuffede forventninger til Rings fremstillingsform: Der er sympathetiske Skikkelser nok blandt Bønder og Landarbejderne; hvorfor da vælge en saa indskrænket, dvask udseende Person, der ikke i mindste Maade er sympathivækkende? 14 Ethvert sådant sympatisk træk og enhver form for vitalitet er for længst drænet bort fra Jean-François Millets ( ) Manden med hakken udført omkring 1863 [fig.4], der indskriver sig i den franske realistiske malers primære motivverden i 1850 erne og 1860 erne. (Fig. 4) Jean-Francois Millet ( ): Manden med hakken (l homme à la houe) ca Man with a Hoe Olie på lærred 80 x 99 cm The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 41 miriam have watts

42 (Fig. 5) Vincent van Gogh ( ): Et par sko 1886 A Pair of Shoes Olie på lærred 37,5 x 45 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Som en forløber til Rings høstmand viser Millet, hvordan den ydre handling arbejdet næsten overblænder en egen identitet, og med Michael Frieds ord anskueliggør maleriet en direkte brutalisering af mennesket, afstedkommet af gentagen, umådelig fysisk belastning. 15 Manden med hakken er ukærligt skildret, med mørkt og forgrovet ansigt og hænder, munden halvåben og blikket ufokuseret og ureflekteret fra de mørke øjenhuler. Kroppen er ranglet og benet inde under det slidte tøj og synes at vokse op og ud af de store, tunge træsko. Leen forbinder ligesom træskoene manden og den knoldede jord og slutter figurtegningen som et solidt støttepunkt, der både stabiliserer hans krop og holder ham fast i arbejdet. Individualiteten synes slidt så langt ned, at kun fysikken og den ydre handling står tilbage som identitetsmarkører, og i et tomt og trøstesløst landskab fremkaldes uddrivelsens Tjørn og tidsel skal jorden lade spire frem til dig. En forestilling om uforanderlighed En sådan indskrivning på godt og ondt af den menneskelige eksistens i en større betydningssammenhæng trækker paralleller til den fænomenologisk orienterede tænkning, hvis analyser grundlæggende angår erfaringen og erkendelsens mulighedsbetingelser. I Martin Heideggers ( ) Kunstværkets oprindelse er hans beskrivelse af et par bondesko i Vincent van Goghs ( ) maleri fra 1886 [fig.5] 16 forankret hos den miriam have watts 42

43 bondekone, der må formodes at have båret fodtøjet: Ud af den dunkle åbning i skotøjets udtrådte indre stirrer arbejdsskridtenes møjsommelighed. I skotøjets grove og robuste tyngde er ophobet udholdenheden fra den langsomme gang gennem de vidtstrakte og altid samme furer på ageren, hvorover en ublid vind blæser. På læderet ligger jordens fugtighed og fedme. Under sålerne glider markvejens ensomhed forbi, mens aftenen falder på. I skotøjet genlyder jordens tavse tilråb, dens stilfærdige skænken af modnende korn og dens uforklarede vægring mod at yde noget på vintermarkens øde brak. Gennem dette tøj drager den klageløse ængstelse for brødets sikkerhed, den ordløse glæde over, at nøden atter er overstået, en bæven ved den forestående fødsel og en skælven for dødens allestedsnærværende trussel. Dette tøj hører til jorden, og det er bevaret i bondekonens verden. Ud af denne bevarede hjemhørighed stiger tøjet selv frem til sin i-sig-hvilen. 17 Tekststykket fortæller om denne tilværelses slidsomhed og naturafhængighed ud fra Heideggers fænomenologisk opfattede samhørighed mellem menneske og verden. Mennesket eksisterer i en helhed, hvor både skotøjets læder og vintermarkens øde brak, klageløs ængstelse og bæven(!) kan føres tilbage til grundlæggende sammenhænge hvoraf den sidste og største betydningshelhed er verden. Udlægningen af bondeskoene understreger fænomenologiens generelle opposition til den metafysiske tænknings essentialisme for i stedet at fastholde fokus på eksistentialiteten. Interessen i at afdække det værendes måde at fremtræde på og en kredsen om forståelsen af en genstands særegne vitalitet kan i en beslægtet form identificeres som en central stræben inden for maleriet hos van Gogh, dog uden at forbinde ham med Heidegger. Van Goghs skildringer af markarbejdet indkredser den jævne, men universelle betragtning, at ved såvel forberedelsen som ved høsten af arbejdets frugt er den fysiske indsats af samme slidsomme art. Flere af hans værkserier formidler et enstrenget handlingsmønster, der fremhæver tilværelsens uforanderlige vilkår, som korresponderer med forbilledet Millet ligesom høstmandens opslugthed hos Ring umiddelbart kan relateres til beskrivelsen af en fundamental og simpel livsform. Målsætningen om i maleriet at visualisere fakticiteten, fornemmelsen af det egentlige arbejde og dets tilbagevendende og ensartede karakter, forbinder desuden Rings bestræbelser med van Goghs, hvoraf sidstnævntes som bekendt også udmøntede sig i adskillige høstscener, mange som gentagelser efter Millet. Rings motiviske valg og stilistiske greb i I høst videregiver netop en stoflighed dels i forgrundens detailstudie, dels i høstarbejdet kondenseret i den enlige og karakteristiske figur. Fladepræget i figur og baggrund underminerer ikke denne taktilitet, men åbner i stedet for en dybde af betydningslag, der bærer I høst videre end en nøgtern realisme og videre end en skildring alene motiveret af fx politisk overbevisning eller baseret på en religiøs tilværelsesforståelse. Distancering fra determinismen Et romantisk-pastoralt blik bærer Heideggers tekst om eksistensen indvævet i en større betydningssammenhæng, hvor landlivet er en simpel, afbalanceret og selvopfyldende værensform med jordens goldhed opvejet af høsten. Ængstelsen beskrives som klageløs og forløses af glæde, der er ordløs. Ordknapheden genkendes i Rings høstmand, umiddelbart opslugt og tilsyneladende hjemme i arbejdet. For Millet var formidlingen af tilhørsforholdet menneske og omgivelser en bevidst strategi, og hans bestræbelser med motiver som Manden med hakken gik på en deterministisk figurskildring. I et brev fra 1862 redegjorde han således for sin indsats omkring ikke alene at samle sine kompositioner efter en indre nødvendigheds princip, men tilsvarende kun at skildre figurer, der fremtræder i overensstemmelse med deres position i livet: Det skulle være umuligt for betragteren at forestille sig, at staffagen kunne være andet, end det maleriet fremstiller. 18 Men som jeg har understreget, indskriver Rings høstmands akavede krop og anstrengte bevægelse ham ikke entydigt i en sådan betydningssammenhæng. Derimod afsløres et misforhold mellem det arbejdende menneske og omgivelserne. Rings høstskildring har fået et vrid bort fra bondekonens bevarede hjemhørighed og fra Heideggers akademiske og gennemarbejdede retorik, hvis billeddannende sammenstillinger opretholder en lyrisk distance til det beskrevne. Skildringen af en fundamental fænomenologisk sammenhængskraft modsiges af de indre spændinger i Rings komposition og figurtegning. I høst både indskriver sig i og udfordrer samhørighedsforestillingen om et ureflekteret og naturligt landliv, der stille tåles, og hvis glæder og sorger cyklisk afløser hinanden. Også sin sædemand distancerer Ring fra omgivelserne, så en traditionel sammenskrivning af menneske og verden tilbageholdes. Sædemandens fysiske fremtræden genkalder Jules Bastien-Lepages ( ) figur i til- 43 miriam have watts

44 (Fig. 6) Jules Bastien-Lepage ( ): Tiggeren (Le mendiant) 1880 The Beggar Olie på lærred 193,5 x 180,5 cm Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, København svarende monumental skala i maleriet Tiggeren fra 1880 [fig.6], som Ring med stor sandsynlighed har skelet til: Sædemanden er ligesom tiggeren fremstillet med en overbevisende rumlighed omkring ansigt og hænder, mens det mere udifferentierede, mørke tøj over en grov krop har et todimensionalt præg, der korresponderer med baggrundens opbygning i flader. 19 En tidligere parallel til Rings figur og den fladeprægede fremstillingsform findes i Gustave Courbets ( ) Stenhuggere fra 1849 [fig.7], som Ring gennem reproduktioner muligvis også har kendt. 20 Hvor karakteristikken af sædemanden er væsentlig mere markeret end hos tiggeren, er Rings fremstilling ikke af så direkte og radikal karakter som Courbets Stenhuggere: Renset for miriam have watts 44

45 klassiske referencer og religiøse analogier lader Courbet kun det faktiske slid stå tilbage i værket. Også Rings sædemandsfigur er stiv og kantet ækvivalerende arbejdet og omgivelserne, men bæres dog samtidig af en vis kraftfuldhed og af den vitalitet, der er bundet op i selve såningen. Courbet derimod har valgt at skildre den mest degraderende beskæftigelse overhovedet; i dansk sammenhæng kendt i den anderledes patosfyldte formulering i Jeppe Aakjærs ( ) tekstlige pendant fra 1905 om Jens Vejmand, der af sin sure Nød / med Ham ren maa forvandle / de haarde Sten til Brød. 21 Courbets stenhuggere står relief-lignende mod baggrundens lukkede flade, der rejser sig som en næsten klaustrofobisk mur og fastholder dem i arbejdsrutinen. Kunstnerens ven, den yderliggående socialist Pierre- Joseph Proudhon ( ), beskrev således den gamle mand: Hans stive arme hæves og sænkes med en løftestangs regelmæssighed. Sandelig er her det mekaniske eller mekaniserede menneske reduceret til en nedbrudt tilstand af vores prægtige civilisation og enestående industri. 22 Disse grundlæggende konsekvenser af den teknologiske udvikling aftegnede sig i løbet af få år i såvel nye industrielle områder og en forskudt demografi, som i den industrielle fremstillingsproces forvandling af en hel ny klasse, fabriksarbejderne, til en stor, anonymiseret masse. Med sin politiske bevidsthed og interesse for disse vilkår observerer T.J. Clark i Image of the People, (Fig. 7) Gustave Courbet ( ): Stenhuggerne (Les casseurs de pierres) 1849 Stone Breakers Olie på lærred 165 x 257 cm Maleriet blev destrueret under 2. verdenskrig. Gengivet er her en malet skitse fra Die Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz i Winterthur, Schweiz 45 miriam have watts

46 hvordan stenhuggernes beklædning bekræfter deres fysiske tilstedeværelse, men hverken artikulerer deres rumlighed eller bevægelse. 23 Rings høstmand og sædemand har samme fysiske fremtrædelse som stenhuggerne, og baggrunden har samme kulissepræg, men hans figurers frontale stilling og karakteristiske fremtræden synes dog mere pointeret at videregive et nuanceret billede af arbejdets art. Disse betydningslag ligger lige under Rings maleriers overflade, idet værkernes udformning netop holder flere forståelsesdimensioner åbne som modvægt til en ellers reduktion af figurerne til ren, bevidstløs arbejdskraft. Vanens betydning og en potentiel eksistensforandring Med min forståelse af kroppen og dens handlingsmønster som den primære bærer af tematiseringen af arbejdet i I høst og Sædemanden, er det relevant kort at pointere det forhold, at Heideggers filosofiske system forunderligt nok forbigår en behandling af en konkret fysikalitet på trods af at hans terminologi forudsætter et kropsligt subjekt. En fænomenologisk tematisering af kroppen kan i stedet søges hos Maurice Merleau-Ponty ( ), der er langt mere specifik vedrørende den fysiske forankring i verden. 24 I forbindelse med sin redegørelse for patologiske tilfælde i Kroppens fænomenologi fra 1945 behandler Merleau-Ponty betydningen af vaner og eksemplificerer dette med en blind mands tilvænning til sin stok. Her sikrer vanen, at stokken overgår til den blindes sanseområde og derved ikke længere perciperes som genstand, for dens spids har forøget omfanget og rækkevidden af følesansen og er blevet analog med blikket hos den seende. Mennesket der har vænnet sig til stokken eller til enhver anden ting som en hat eller en stol har indrettet sig i genstanden og har ladet den blive en del af egenkroppens volumen. Med rod i et langt mere komplekst tankesystem kan forholdet kortfattet opsummeres i følgende udsagn om, at Vanen er udtryk for vor evne til at udvide vor væren-i-verden eller ændre eksistens ved at indlemme nye redskaber. 25 For Merleau-Ponty har kroppen primat og kan efter behov producere genstande, så handlingsfeltet udvides og muligheden for betydningsdannelse øges. Genstanden eller redskabet indoptages med vanen, der er en modus ved kroppens grundlæggende uafhængige eksistens. Kroppen er altså ikke en tingslighed blandt andre ting, men konstituerer subjektets perspektiv på verden og står derfor uden for de objekter, den netop har perspektiv på. Mens subjektet kan fjerne sig fra andre rumlige objekter, er kroppen altid nærværende. Ligesom den blinde sanser med stokken, kan høstmandens arbejde med leen betragtes som udtryk for redskabets indoptagelse i hans krop, idet han som subjekt retter sig mod verden via kroppen: Slåningen er overgået til at være en særlig modulation af hans motorik. Bevægelsen beskriver en viden, der ligger i høstmandens hænder, som dét Merleau-Ponty kalder en kropslig indsats. 26 Ud fra denne vinkel kan man tale om, at høstmanden udvider og ændrer sin eksistens med indlemmelsen af redskabet. Kroppen er den generelle måde at have en verden på, og når kroppens naturlige midler ikke rækker til den ønskede handling og betydningsdannelse, kan en kulturverden med redskaber som leen opbygges omkring kroppen, så grundeksistensen forandres. En form for eksistensmodulation har jeg allerede omtalt i forbindelse med den tilsyneladende glidning fra individ til type ud fra Rings skildring af arbejdets indflydelse på høstmandens fremtrædelse. Som antydet kan perspektivet på arbejdet som en opslugt, repetitiv og tilsyneladende automatisk handling tilføjes flere dimensioner, hvis tolkningerne bredes ud inden for forskellige fænomenologisk inspirerede anskuelsesrammer. Merleau-Pontys vanetilegnelse kan således udvide min værkundersøgelse med sin konkrete beskrivelse af subjektet og dets handlingsform; et individ med egenvilje, der forstås som en konkret kropslighed i udveksling med verden, og ikke en krop reduceret til blot og bar eksistens. Krop-arbejde-redskab Sideløbende med mine betragtninger over vanetilegnelsen fastholder jeg dog også, at Rings skildring af bindingen til arbejdslivet peger på en form for eksistensforandring, der afstedkommes af en reduktion af individualitet og dermed en forøgelse af arbejdertypens dominans. Forholdet materialiserer sig i Millets Manden med hakken, hvor figuren næsten vokser over i redskabet, ligesom overgangen mellem Rings høstmand og leen er glidende formidlet. Denne indfældelse i arbejdet via redskabet kan med en skelen til vanetilegnelsen forskydes ved at stille spørgsmålet, hvor dominansen egentlig placerer sig i relationen krop og redskab: et spørgsmål om primat, der også relaterer sig til de formalistiske uklarheder, om hvad der er foran, og hvad der er bagved. Med et åbent greb vil jeg derfor vende eksistensudvidelsen via vanen om: For hvis fortroligheden med redskabet og udvidelsen af kropsligheden ombyttes i den miriam have watts 46

47 forstand, at det bliver redskabet, der absolut definerer kroppens bevægelse og handlingsmuligheder, så amputeres den kropslige relation til omgivelserne; ved en sådan reduktion af perspektiv på verden indsnævres kroppens råderum for i yderste konsekvens at overgå til en form, der ligner redskabets. En sådan omvending kan også beskrives med afsæt i Hannah Arendt ( ), når hun i Menneskets vilkår fra 1958 fremlægger, hvordan det bedste resultat i arbejdet opnås gennem individuelle bevægelser koordineret i én rytme: Under denne bevægelse mister værktøjet sit instrumentelle præg, og den klare sondring imellem mennesket og dets hjælpemidler og mål går i opløsning. [...] Arbejdets hjælpemidler bliver inddraget i rytmen, således at både krop og redskab ender med at svinge i samme repetitive bevægelse, det vil sige således, at maskinerne [...] nu tvinger kroppen til at bevæge sig, hvor det før var kroppens bevægelser, der bragte hjælpemidlet i bevægelse. 27 Som en udløber af min pointe, om at arbejdet kan overskrive individualiteten, så først og fremmest typen materialiserer sig, kan selve redskabet i det repetitive arbejde transcendere sin status som hjælpemiddel og igennem brugen overgå til at determinere kroppens bevægelser og dens relation til verden. Kroppen er da blevet en form for redskabslighed en tingslighed blandt verdens øvrige ting. Denne omvending undergraver selvsagt den vanetilegnelse, jeg ud fra Merleau-Ponty også finder i skildringen af høstmandens arbejde med leen, hvor en beherskelse af redskabet og en udvidelse af kroppens råderum udtrykkes. Min tilegnelse af vane-begrebet skal således ikke forstås som direkte overført til maleriet, men rettere som inspiration til mit konkrete tolkningsarbejde omkring dobbeltbetydningerne i høstmandens opslugthed og i min anskueliggørelse af forskelligt værdiladede transformationer af kropslighed. Med hensyn til tanken om tingsliggørelse formulerer Finn Terman Frederiksen noget tilsvarende i en analyse af Rings maleri Landevej ved Næstved fra Uddraget kan desuden relateres til Rings citat om at fotografere ting det vil sige Mennesker : Efter Rings opfattelse er tilværelsens mest fundamentale og smertefulde tvedelthed den, der skiller menneske og verden, den, der gør verden fremmed for mennesket, den, der gør mennesket hjemløst på jorden. For Ring er fremmedgørelsen samtidig en tingsliggørelse, et indtryk, der forstærkes, når Ring som her skaber en brunligt jordagtig enhedstone og tvinger sin påklistrede figur ind i et tonefællesskab med omgivelserne, der tingsliggør denne menneskeskikkelse og forstærker fremmedfølelsen ved at se mennesket fremstillet, som var det blot en ting i en verden af ting. 28 I I høst aflæser jeg flere tolkningsniveauer, hvor først og fremmest en dobbelt eksistensforskydning er betydningsbærende. Dels udviskes det enkelte menneskes identitetsmarkører, dels udvides de under udvekslingen med omgivelserne forskydninger, der materialiserer sig som modulationer og omvendinger i forholdet krop-arbejde-redskab. Et splittet perspektiv I Sædemanden identificerer jeg samme mediering krop-arbejde-redskab, hvor arbejdsredskabet dog alene konstitueres af kroppen og defineres af figurens samlede arbejdsmærkede fremtoning. Der er her samme udtalte diskrepans omkring figurens rumlige fornemmelse som helhed og i forhold til omgivelserne, hvilket i dette maleri ledsages af angivelsen af udadrettet bevægelse, som i øvrigt også antydes i Bastien-Lepages tigger. Sædemanden er i sin ambivalente fremtræden fastfrosset midt i et skridt, der strander på maleriets overflade, så dynamikken holdes spændt op inden for maleriets snævre, kulisseagtige rum. Affødt af blandt andet sædemandens dobbelttydige fremtoning af stilstand og udadrettethed er det samlede formelle udtryk mere radikalt end den ellers lignende fladebehandling og stiliserede form i I høst. Dualismen giver en mere tydelig pointering i det sene maleri af det konkret relationelle mellem figur og omgivelser, mellem subjektet og det objektive: Her eksponeres mennesket i en anderledes insisterende distance til omgivelserne, som i mere udtalt form end i I høst kan transponeres over i tolkningen af en afstandtagen fra forestillingen om en større meningsstruktur, hvori mennesket fordringsløst skulle indføje sig. Som en kommentar til en ellers forventelig skildring af sædemanden som hjemmehørende i landlivet, synes Ring at placere ham mindre i og mere over for omgivelserne, og dermed mere entydigt som subjekt over for det objektive som mulighedsvæsen og potentielt selvdannende eksistens i verden. Dette tilløb til en egentlig subjektformulering problematiserer Ring samtidig gennem netop de opretholdte skel og det relationelle, gennem figurens tilsyneladende løsrevethed fra verden. Accentueringen af en grundlæggende afstand både aktualiserer og peger væk fra fænomenologiens primære sammenskrivning af menneske og verden. Sædemanden 47 miriam have watts

48 (Fig. 8) L.A. Ring: Er regnen hørt op? Sankt Jørgensbjerg 1922 Has It Stopped Raining? Olie på lærred 64,5 x 55,5 cm Statens Museum for Kunst kan i den forstand ses som egentlig eksponent for en forståelse af udveksling mellem subjektet og det objektive, som berørt ud fra Merleau-Ponty, idet figurens postulerede tilhørsforhold i omgivelserne netop fremviser en potentiel og forventelig sammenhæng. En sammenhæng, der dog negeres i den stærkere formulering af ophold og brudte perspektiver inden for selve billedrummet. Denne tematisering af afstand inden for det enkelte værk kan tydeliggøres med inddragelsen af Rings senere maleri, Er regnen hørt op?, fra 1922 [fig.8], hvor en stor, udtryksfuld figur i en bred døråbning tøver på tærsklen. Tilsvarende sædemanden trækker figuren en parallel til Bastien-Lepages Tiggeren. Rings skildring af manden i forhold til det omgivende interiør fortæller, at han har hjemme her, mens gengivelsen af verden udenfor formidler en anderledes virkelighed, fremmed i forhold til huset, han befinder sig i: Rings minutiøse detaljegengivelse i uderummet skaber en særegen selvstændighed i forhold til det resterende motiv, ligesom han i Sædemanden har ignoreret illusionen om afstand og genstandes formindskelse i sin skildring af baggrundens enkeltheder. Med præcisionen og de skarpt definerede konturer fremstår disse to værkers billedrum elastiske i den forstand, at baggrundens formindskede indhold tildeles næsten samme status som forgrundens forstørrede figurationer. Rent teknisk og kompositionelt anskueliggøres en konkret forskel mellem her og der, mellem menneske og verden. Spørgsmålet om hierarki inden for værkets eget rum, om foran og bagved, bliver igen nærværende. Den tidligere behandlede afstand i Sædemanden underbygges således af den klare definition af baggrunden, der forstærker de allerede svært bestemmelige afstandsangivelser og vanskeliggør fastholdelsen af perspektiv og narration. Foruden sædemandens udadrettede fremtoning og placering nær rammens kant presser også gården og træernes detaljeringsgrad i baggrunden sig på. I Sædemanden finder entydighed og enkelhed aldrig ro, og skildringens enhedspræg bliver paradoksalt nok fastholdt som splittet. Det uhyggelige Den negation af sammenhængskraft, der er til stede i I høst og i særdeleshed i Sædemanden, kan yderligere belyses ud fra elementer fra Sigmund Freuds ( ) Det uhyggelige fra 1919, hvis hovedtese tager udgangspunkt i en etymologisk undersøgelse af de modsigelsesfulde betydninger, der ligger i det uhyggelige som begreb. 29 I min inddragelse heraf vægter jeg ikke psykoanalytiske spørgsmål, men vil alene udvide mit tolkningsperspektiv omkring en umiddelbar helhedsforståelse og et ellers velkendt virkelighedsbillede, der antyder og åbner for erfaringen af noget anderledes og opbrudt. Det verdensbillede, Ring bygger op inden for maleriernes ambivalente rum, er hverken ligetil eller lettilgængeligt, idet ikonografien lader betragteren føle sig hjemme i betydningsdannelsen, men samtidig introducerer noget andet i forhold til en forventelig fremstillingsform. Man kan tale om, at noget ukendt og, især ud fra sædemandens gestaltning, noget foruroligende trænger sig på inden for det ellers velkendte og trygge. En sådan destabilitet og uhygge transponeres af Henrik Wivel over i en fundamental dødsviethed, der skulle drive Rings værk, lige fra kunstnerens konkrete skildringer af dødens triumf til hans figurmaleri, der lodder noget sygt og ubehageligt i sindet, i mennesket. Wivels fraser om maleriernes forgrovede brutalitet og latente aggressivitet bliver først og fremmest interessante igennem hans perspektiveringer, særligt i hans sammenligninger med Johannes V. Jensens forståelse af menneskenaturen, der fx i den tidlige Himmerlandshistorie Oktobernat konkretiserer et frit og åbent gennemtræk til menneskets mest primitive instinkter i fremstillingen af en skænkestues uhjemlighed og skæbnerne omkring den indrammet af det manende Døren stod aaben til Mørket. 30 Et veritabelt mørke karakteriserer også det sædemandsbillede fra 1850 af Millet, hvor en aggressiv figur i halvløb traverserer marken [fig.9]. Kroppen er bagoverbøjet og skulderen spændt opad med armene tydeligt definerede og forkortede, næven ved kornsækken fast knyttet. Hans kontur tegner sig mod den dystre himmel, hvor flokke af krager synes at sprede sig med sædekornene fra den bagudrettede hånd. En kraftig lys- og skyggevirkning dramatiserer hans fremtoning og mørkner ansigtet, hvis grove træk med den åbentstående mund forbinder ham med samme kunstners skildring af manden med hakken omtrent tretten år senere. Også Rings høstmand relaterer sig til denne sædemands manglende ansigtsartikulation, ligesom elementer af voldsomheden kan iagttages i høstmandens altid underliggende reference til manden med leen. Foruden det direkte motiviske slægtskab vækker Rings egen sædemands markante og tvetydigt både indesluttede og konfronterende fremtoning også mindelser om Millets figur, uanset værkernes udprægede stilistiske forskelligheder. De grove kroppe og den potentielle, men underligt indestængte, kraftfuldhed hos både Rings høstmand og sædemand tangerer desuden Millets figurs ominøse fremtoning. miriam have watts 48

49 49 miriam have watts

50 (Fig. 9) Jean-Francois Millet: Sædemanden (Le semeur)1850 The Sower Olie på lærred 101,6 cx 82,6 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Opmærksomheden på det uheldsvangre kan med en kort ekskurs til Freuds sproghistoriske sporing af det uhyggeliges etymologi af indbyrdes modsigelsesfuldhed bidrage til en mere nuanceret læsning af spændingsfeltet omkring Rings figurer i min optik særligt givtigt omkring kunstnerens konfronterende sædemand, når læsningen af Millets tilsvarende figur holdes in mente. En omskrivning til noget latent aggressivt i Rings sædemand relaterer jeg således til Das Heimliche, der i Freuds artikel vinkles over i Das Unheimliche : Hvor det hjemlige er både kendt og hyggeligt, indeholder det også noget privat eller hemmeligt noget skjult eller ukendt, noget der er utilgængeligt for den fremmedes blik. Derfra slår betydningen over i sin egentlige modsætning og falder sammen med det uhyggelige. Med en henvisning til Schelling fastslår Freud, at Uhyggeligt er alt det, der burde være forblevet hemmeligt, skjult, men som er trådt frem. 31 Med en fri transponering af dette hjemlige ser jeg altså i både Rings høstmand og sædemand det velkendte i kraft af den motiviske indskrivning i en tradition, der fastsætter figurerne som genkendelige typer. Samtidig betyder figurernes egenartede forankring og fastlåsthed i billedrummet, at en umiddelbar tilgængelighed vanskeliggøres, så betragteren efterlades med fornemmelsen af, at noget i værkerne forbliver tilbageholdt eller måske skjult. En yderligere nuance dertil er netop sædemandens også udadrettede, konfronterende karakter, der bærer hans figur videre end høstmandens gestaltning, så en mere nuanceret såvel som dramatisk dobbeltbinding mellem velkendt og ukendt træder frem. Endnu en dimension af det uhyggelige som begreb kan da komme i spil, i en egentlig vildrede om hvad det er for en figur, Ring fremstiller i Sædemanden. Tvivl om besjæling Den manglende entydighed bliver i Freuds artikel behandlet ud fra E.T.A. Hoffmanns ( ) Sandmanden fra 1815, hvori den mekaniske trædukke Olympia er kilde til en tvivl om besjæling og giver en intellektuel usikkerhed med hensyn til, om noget er levende eller livløst, hvor det livløse driver ligheden med det levende for langt. 32 En sådan usikkerhed kan også opstå ud af Rings dobbelte skildring af høstmanden og sædemanden som både individer og typer, opslugt af arbejdets rutine og automatiske handlingsmønster, der nuanceres af den samtidige ambivalens og negation. Deres tilhørsforhold som både naturligt og forceret afdækker det både hjemlige og fremmede, og fordi opslugtheden er mindre entydigt formidlet hos sædemanden end hos høstmanden forstår jeg forholdet som særligt uafklaret i hans tilfælde. Hans ansigtstræk og udadrettethed accentuerer et større potentielt nærvær, som åbner for betragterens indlæsning af besjæling i hans samtidig hæmmede og fastlåste figur. Den projektion af det levende og tilsyneladende velkendte over på en død ting, som Freud beskriver omkring dukken eller automaten, virker ikke kun uhyggelig, idet den døde ting udadtil kan synes perfekt, men intet indre liv har. Projektionen er særlig ubehagelig, fordi den peger på det mekaniske, som mennesket også kan opleve i sig selv, når en del af selvet synes at leve sit eget liv uden om bevidsthedens kontrollerende instans. 33 En sådan ikke-bevidstgjort mekanisk handling aflæser jeg i såvel høstmanden som sædemandens repetitive arbejde. Dette knytter sig blandt andet til min fremskrivning af opslugthed og den form for automatik, hvormed Proudhon karakteriserede Courbets miriam have watts 50

51 Stenhuggere. Beskrivelsen af individets nedbrydning, der kan være affødt af samtidens teknologiske udvikling, peger på erfaringen af fremmedgjorthed og formuleres af Hannah Arendt blandt andet således: I et arbejdssamfund erstatter maskinernes verden den virkelige verden, til trods for at denne pseudoverden ikke kan leve op til det vigtigste krav til menneskets frembringelser, nemlig at give de dødelige et hjem, der er mere bestandigt og stabilt end de selv. 34 Med I høst og Sædemanden indrammer Ring en lignende tvivl om det hjemmehørende, om end han ikke som i citatet ovenfor og kun sjældent i sine værker generelt direkte skildrede det samtidige industrisamfund. Særligt i Sædemanden kan destabiliteten vokse eksponentielt med formidlingen af løsrevethed, og tilsvarende den urovækkende glidning mellem menneske, arbejde og redskab, jeg primært har fremskrevet omkring I høst, afstedkommer fornemmelsen af noget egentligt uhyggeligt i sædemandens fremtoning: Kommende imod betragteren og dog alligevel indelukket i sin gestaltning anskueliggør figuren dobbelttydigheden omkring det genkendelige og det fremmede, omkring det tilgængelige og det indestængtes underliggende aggressivitet. Rings praksis omkring figurskildringen i I høst og Sædemanden peger i min undersøgelse altså på en fundamental erfaring af fremmedgjorthed, der i lyset af automatens træk netop har tingsligheden som klangbund, hvor over maleriernes udsagn fluktuerer mellem nærvær og ikke-nærvær, mellem det bevidste og det ubevidste, det levende og det livløse relationer, der i min fremskrivning netop udspringer af de grundlæggende modulationer i forholdet menneske-redskab-arbejde. Individ og type Med det 25-årige spænd mellem I høst og Sædemanden kan værkerne ikke alene afstikke en ramme for en bredere forståelse af Rings kunstneriske praksis i sin kredsen om landarbejderskildringer og dertil knyttede arbejdstematikker: De to malerier står som egentlige monumentaliseringer af dette motivfelt. Dobbelttydighederne, jeg ser som bærer af udsagnet i begge værker, transcenderer en traditionel pastoral, tilbageskuende tilgang til motiverne og modsiger ahistoriske billeddannelser rettet mod noget svundent og ophørt. I stedet fastholder ekspressiviteten det uafsluttede og også opbrudte, og fremstillingen af virkeligheden står ikke som en stilistisk konstruktion ved siden af erfaringen, men formidles i stedet som noget indenfor og i selve denne personlige horisont. Forankret i det faktisk foreliggende, i materialiteten, befæster malerierne åbningen mod en konkret og historisk samtidighed, og tvivlsspørgsmålet om en bredere forankret stabilitet tematiseres. Idet kardinalpunktet i I høst ligger i mødet mellem den selvstændige identitets vitalistiske formulering og en anderledes vitalisme bundet i arbejdets overblænding af individualiteten, anskueliggøres en eksistensforskydning først og fremmest inden for høstmanden selv. Perspektivet udvides i Sædemanden, hvis umiddelbart lignende vitalistiske udsagn får en anderledes pågående karakter og aggressiv drejning gennem figurfremtoningen, der kan siges at aktivere omgivelserne, så forskydningerne i højere grad udfælder sig mellem figur og billedrum. Det verdensvendte og objektiverende sætter både subjektformuleringen og stækkelsen heraf i spil, og en andethed materialiserer sig i lakunen mellem det fortrolige og fremmede. Med resonansbund i værkernes tematisering af den samtidige tilstedeværelse af både individ og type i hver figur lægger et bredt favnende både-og sig således over de forskellige og ambivalente fortællinger, jeg identificerer i de to malerier. Samhørigheden og det forbundne, der i analysen af I høst kommer til syne som moduleret og modsagt, formuleres i Sædemanden i en mere akut form omkring fragmentering og negation. Hvor høstmanden kan pege på en potentiel samklang med omgivelserne, hvis der kan findes hvile i en nuanceret og flerstrenget opfattelse af kroppen som bærer af tilværelsen, indsætter den pågående detaljerealisme anderledes afstand og ophold inden for billedrummet i Sædemanden. Det forbundne optræder her i brudstykker, der skyder sig ind bag og omkring sædemandsfiguren, så motivet bliver svært at gribe uden om tvetydighederne, og der dannes betydninger, som uvægerligt også kommer til at pege tilbage på og influere læsningen af I høst. Der er intet samlet perspektiv eller nogen egentlig ro inden for de to maleriers billedrum kun omkring sammenhængskraften er formidlingen entydig: Sammenhængen er brudt. 51 miriam have watts

52 1 artiklen baserer sig på mit konferensspeciale L.A. Ring, Figur og billedrum menneske og verden fra januar Uddrag af Bibelen, 1. Mosebog 3,17-19, Det Danske Bibelselskab, København 2004: Fordi du lyttede til din kvinde / og spiste af det træ, / jeg forbød dig at spise af, / skal agerjorden være forbandet for din skyld; / med møje skal du skaffe dig føden / alle dine dage. / Tjørn og tidsel skal jorden lade spire frem til dig, / og du skal leve af markens planter. / I dit ansigts sved / skal du spise dit brød, / indtil du vender tilbage til jorden, / for af den er du taget. / Ja, jord er du, / og til jord skal du blive. 3 I sammenligning med billedkunsten var den skønlitterære formidlingsform bedre stillet, idet forfatterne kunne bruge elementer af landarbejdere og bønders tankesæt og udtryksmåde ved fx tekstligt at indarbejde konkrete træk fra den mundtlige fortælletradition. Dette pointerer Lis Barnkop i Bøndernes billeder billedernes bønder, i Drift og socialitet, Analyser af fortællinger og malerier om hverdagslivet på landet i det 19. århundredes slutning samt kulturhistorik bibliografi (Dansk kulturhistorie og bevidsthedsdannelse , bind 15), Odense Universitetsforlag 1983, I sammenhæng med det realistiske maleri bliver begrebet autenticitet fx indkredset i den lidt ældre, men ganske anvendelige indføring i perioden af Linda Nochlin i Realismen, Stil og samfund fra 1971, på dansk ved Else Mogensen, 1978, 31. Oprindeligt Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, New Jersey Fx kan henvises til Matthæus 13:24-43, der fortæller om ukrudtet sået af djævelen på marken. Den gode sæd er netop de retfærdige i verden, som i høsten (verdens ende) sorteres fra ukrudtet, der kastes i den store ovn med ild. 6 De omtalte forstudier til høstmanden, der er koncentreret om overkroppens positur og bevægelsesmønster, findes i Den Kgl. Kobberstiksamling, Statens Museum for Kunst: En høstmand, Blyant, 186 x 109 mm., samt dennes verso: Del af studie til samme maleri som recto, Blyant, 186 x 109 mm. 7 I denne artikel må jeg desværre udelade det ellers væsentlige afsæt, som Michael Frieds absorptionsbegreb og hans teatrikalitetsdefinition danner for mit speciales grundlæggende og mere formelle undersøgelser af Rings motivkomposition og anvendelse af stilistiske virkemidler. Frieds formidling af sin teori gennem udvalgte landarbejderskildringer af Jean-François Millet har været central for min analyse af I høst, mens jeg i arbejdet med Sædemanden har grebet tilbage til ét af Frieds andre illustrative eksempler i form af et maleri af Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. Det teoretiske fundament for min brug af Fried er Absorption and Theatricality: Painting and Beholder in the Age of Diderot, Californien Denne praksis fremgår for eksempel helt konkret af Rings Ved det gamle hus, Sankt Jørgensbjerg, der bærer årstallene 1919 for omgivelserne, mens maleriets egentlige færdiggørelse med en vinterklædt, piberygende mand dateres Olie på lærred, 81 x 102 cm, Nationalmuseum Stockholm. 9 Figurernes todimensionale fremtoning kobles fx af Gertrud With med Rings forkærlighed for overraskende motivudsnit og abrupte afskæringer inspireret af fotografiet som medie. With: Fotografiets betydning for modernitetens billeddannelse, i Fischer Jonge og With (red.): Verden set på ny, Fotografi og Malerkunst i Danmark , København 2002, thomas Lederballe nuancerer forståelsen af Rings stilistiske særtræk med sin undersøgelse af tegningens rolle i kunstnerens værker og hans tilsyneladende accept af udførelsens ufuldkommenhed og uforløste karakter. Lederballe: Tegningen først efter, i Nørgaard Larsen (red.): L.A. Ring, På kanten af verden, København 2006, , citat ring, udateret brev til Johanne Wilde, skrevet i Næstved, forsommeren Det Kgl. Bibliotek, NKS 4437, VII,3,4. 12 For en sammenstilling af disse to malerier kan desuden henvises til Barnkop, Odense 1983, Bondemalerstriden udspillede sig i 1907 i først og fremmest Politikens spalter mellem naturalistisk og symbolistisk orienterede modparter. For en uddybning af konflikten kan henvises til Laursen og Thestrup Andersen: Naturen og kunsten: Bondemalerstriden 1907, Faaborg Museum Peter Nørgaard Larsen kommer desuden ind på forbindelsen mellem Fynboerne og Johannes V. Jensen i sin artikel Solbilleder, Vitalismen i dansk billedkunst , Stjernfelt og Winkel Holm (red.), Kritik, nr. 171, 37. årgang 2004, Usigneret udstillingsomtale, Morgenbladet, Fried: Courbet s Realism, Chicago 1990, For en nuancering af denne gængse aflæsning af Manden med hakken kan henvises til udstillingskataloget Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet: I hovedartiklen af samme navn beskrives figuren som et individ, der kultiverer sin egen lille jordlod, rettere end et symbol på arbejdet som umenneskeligt slid - mens selve værkteksten i samme publikation lægger sig nært op ad Frieds udlægning. Se Murphy: Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet, i Murphy, m.fl. (red.): Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet, Williamstown, Massachusetts 1999, 22-24, Van Gogh arbejdede med motivet af et og flere par gamle sko i midten af 1880 erne. Maleriet, Heidegger omtaler, er efter al sandsynlighed den velkendte version gengivet [fig.5], som også er reproduceret i Bjørn Holgernes artikel Kult og livsverden, i Kunst og filosofi i det 20. århundrede, København 2002, 119. Min omtale af bondesko hidrører fra oversættelsen af Heideggers tekst, mens jeg i øvrigt er bevidst om de ellers væsentlige klasse- og standsskel mellem netop bonde og landarbejder. 17 Heidegger: Kunstværkets oprindelse, citat Kunstværkets oprindelse er på dansk ved Malling Lambert, København Oprindeligt Heidegger: Der Ursprung des Kunstwerks, foredrag holdt første gang i 1935, trykt af Vittorio Klostermann For en selvstændig behandling af Heideggers kunstforståelse, samt bibliografi over andre publikationer herom, kan henvises til Joseph J. Knockelmans: Heidegger on Art and Art Works (Phenomenologica 99), Dordrecht 1985, der specifikt behandler Heideggers brug af van Goghs maleri, Millet forklarer sine bestræbelser i et brev dateret Barbizon den til kritikeren Théophile Thoré ( ). Brevet er omtalt og oversat til engelsk i Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, Nochlin kommenterer i øvrigt brevets datering. Desuden er brevet omtalt og oversat i uddrag i Fried, Chicago 1990, 237. Nochlin og Fried citerer begge efter Etienne Moreau-Nélaton: Millet raconté par lui-même, Paris, Henri Laurens 1921, II, Følgende er uddraget bragt i Fried i den originale franske ordlyd i note 20, 348: [Je] désire, dans ce que je fais, que les choses n aient point l air d être amalgamées au hasard et par l occasion, mais qu elles aient entre elles une liaison indispensable et forcée; que les êtres que je représente aient l air voués à leur position, et qu il soit impossible d imaginer qu ils pourraient être autre chose; somme toute, que gens ou choses sont toujours là pour une fine. Je désire mettre pleinement et fortement ce qui est nécessaire [...]. 19 Tiggeren blev indkøbt af Carl Jacobsen på Den Franske Udstilling afholdt i København i 1888, og hvor Ring i sit arbejde med I høst kan have skelet til Bastien-Lepages Den modne hvede (Les Blés Murs), 1880, olie miriam have watts 52

53 på lærred, 79 x 104 cm, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Californien, har han med stor sandsynlighed hentet inspiration hos samme kunstner til sit sædemandsmaleri. Udstillingen i 1888 må betragtes som banebrydende for særligt de danske, realistisk orienterede kunstnere, der ligesom Ring endnu ikke havde været i udlandet og på første hånd havde stiftet bekendtskab med denne retning i international sammenhæng. 20 Hvor Tiggerens eksponering og store omtale på udstillingen i 1888 og den efterfølgende placering i en fremtrædende samling i København ikke kan have undgået de danske realistiske maleres opmærksomhed, er Rings kendskab til Courbets maleri mindre sikker. Be- eller afkræftelsen af dette kendskab er dog i min sammenhæng af mindre interesse end perspektiveringens fortolkningspotentiale. Maleriet, der har fået status som et af realismens ikoner, blev destrueret i Dresden under 2. Verdenskrig, men en malet skitse eksisterer i Die Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz i Winterthur, Schweiz. Dette er maleriet afbilledet som [fig.7]. 21 Jeppe Aakjær: Jens Vejmand, dateret Jebjerg den , trykt første gang i Politiken Jf. også Rings ven og kollega H.A. Brendekildes ( ) monumentale maleri En landevej, 1893, olie på lærred, 200 x 263 cm, Statens Museum for Kunst. 22 Citat Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: Du Principe de l art et de sa destination sociale, Paris Her citeret fra Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, 52, efter Oeuvres complètes de P.-J. Proudhon, red. C. Bouglé og H. Moysset, Paris 1939: His stiff arms rise and fall with the regularity of a lever. Here indeed is the mechanical or mechanized man, in the state of ruin to which our splendid civilization and our incomparable industry have reduced him. 23 Clark: Image of the People, London 1973, 80. Clarks formelle betragtninger kan desuden gentages omkring Tiggerens manglende rumlige artikulering. 24 Som fremhævet af Dan Zahavi i Heidegger og rummet, i Rum og fænomenologi, filosofi, æstetik, arkitektur, historie, Hellerup 2000, 75-76, er kroppen betingelsen for Heideggers bestemmelse af genstande som henholdsvis forhåndenværende og vedhåndenværende, for distinktionen af begreberne spiller bestandigt på et fysisk tilstedeværende subjekt med hænder. 25 Merleau-Ponty: Kroppens fænomenologi, på dansk ved Bjørn Nake, Frederiksberg 1994, citat 99. Oprindeligt Merleau-Ponty: Le Corps, Phénoménologie de la perception, 1. del, , Paris De forskellige eksempler, som Merleau-Ponty bruger til at beskrive vanen og indlemmelsen af genstande i kroppens volumen, fremgår af kapitlet Vanen som motorisk tilegnelse af ny betydning, Kroppens fænomenologi, Som Zahavi redegør for i kapitlet Rummet og kroppen, Fænomenologi, Roskilde 2003, understreger særligt Husserl, Sartre og Merleau-Ponty, at kroppen ikke blot er et objekt blandt andre. Deres tematisering af dette forhold bruger Zahavi til netop at fremhæve det problematiske i Heideggers manglende redegørelse for kropsligheden. Min inddragelse af den fænomenologiske forståelse af kroppen som egentlig fysisk tilstedeværelse er dog begrænset til blot få nedslag til Merleau-Pontys perspektiv, om end Husserl og Sartre formulerer sig i lignende vendinger. Jf. evt. Thomas Schwarz Wentzers efterskrift til Heidegger: Væren og tid, på dansk ved Christian Rud Skovgaard, Århus 2007, Merleau-Ponty: Frederiksberg 1994, Hannah Arendt: Menneskets vilkår, på dansk ved Christian Dahl, introduktion af Dahl og Rune Lykkeberg, København 2005,152. Oprindeligt Arendt: The Human Condition, The University of Chicago Finn Terman Frederiksen: Den bevingede knokkelmand, L.A. Ring imellem realisme og symbolisme, Randers 2007, citat Den sproghistoriske analyse af det uhyggelige fjerner sig i Freuds behandling fra den almindelige opfattelse ved artiklens udgivelse af, at uhyggen opstår i mødet med det ukendte. I stedet fremhæver Freud, at kilden til følelsen af uhygge oftere ligger i det fortrængtes genkomst. Freud: Det uhyggelige, på dansk ved Hans Christian Fink, forord og efterskrift af Steen og Visholm, København 1998, Oprindeligt Freud: Das Unheimliche, artikel trykt i Siden publiceret i Gesammelte Werke, bind XII samt Studienausgabe, bind IV, Psychologische Schriften, London 1947, der er grundlag for den danske oversættelse. 30 Wivel: Den realistiske uhygge. Vilh. Hammershøis og L.A. Rings motivverden, Kritik, nr. 59, København 1982, citater henholdsvis 45 og 48, samt Johannes V. Jensen: Oktobernat, Himmerlandshistorier, København 2005, 22. Første gang trykt i Illustreret Tidende, , optrykt i Himmerlandsfolk, november Freud, København 1998, 23. Das Unheimliche er som modstykke det, der er offentligt, åbent og frit tilgængeligt, og således også det fremmede og det uhyggelige, der mangler et hjem. Visholm kommenterer i sit efterskrift s. 84, at Schellings forståelse af det uhyggelige er relationel eller interpersonel den, der skjuler noget, kender selv hemmeligheden, og holder den skjult for andre mens Freud i løbet af sin argumentation drejer denne interpersonelle forståelse over på det intrapsykiske, hvor det uhyggelige altså slås fast som det fortrængtes genkomst. 32 Hoffmann: Sandmanden, på dansk ved Johannes Wulff, 10 fantastiske fortællinger, udvalg og efterskrift ved Bo Hakon Jørgensen, Odense 1990, 25. Originalt Hoffmann: Der Sandmann, 1815, trykt i Nachtstücke. Herausgegeben von dem Verfasser der Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier, Erster Teil, Berlin Se desuden Freud, København 1998, 33. Med Sandmandens langt stærkere eksempler på det uhyggelige udfolder Freud i den forbindelse ikke særligt tvivlen på det besjælede. Dog kobles dukken til det infantile og en gammel barneangsts opvækkelse, der udspringer af barnets ønske om, at dukken skal blive levende. Dette kan så returnere i den voksne som uhygge omkring den svært bestemmelige besjæling af en figur. 33 Som Steen og Visholm fremhæver s. 10 i forordet til oversættelsen, er Det uhyggelige skrevet af Freud før hans færdigudvikling af den strukturelle personlighedsmodel med det, jeg og overjeg, hvorfor han ikke inddrager overjegets rolle i uhyggeoplevelsen. 34 arendt, København 2005, miriam have watts

54 rasmus kjærboe 54

55 Stilen Det klassiske, det moderne og den moderne klassicisme i tre gennembrudsskulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg og Einar Utzon-Frank i sig selv r a s m u s k j æ r b o e Årene 1914 til 1915 markerede et bemærkelsesværdigt samtidigt gennembrud for tre danske billedhuggere og deres bud på en tidssvarende skulptur, der skulle vise et fornyet kunstnerisk engagement i traditionen. Svend Rathsacks Adam nyskabt ( ), Johannes C. Bjergs Abessinier (1914) og Einar Utzon-Franks Afrodite (1914) [fig. 1-3] er som statuer i legemsstørrelse ressourcekrævende, helt bevidste kunstneriske satsninger og kan beskrives som de tidligste, danske eksempler på en engang populær og udbredt international klassicisme. 1 De tre kunstnere skabte i årene efter en række værker i den nye stil, der i kunstnernes levetid blev anset for at være blandt det vigtigste, kunsten her i landet kunne præstere, 2 men som i dag er næsten ukendte for både kunsthistorikere og lægfolk. Noget i skulpturernes udtryksløse stivnen samt deres mangel på både drama og genkendelig fortælling synes at forhindre en nutidig tilskuer i at se dem som engagerende og meningsfulde. Sådan har det ikke altid været. En betydelig mængde skulpturer af Utzon-Frank, Bjerg og Rathsack kan i dag ses på offentlige steder, pladser og museer rundt omkring i Danmark. Som kunstnere blev de anset for væsentlige; to af dem fungerede som professorer ved Kunstakademiet, den sidste lavede mellemkrigstidens største mindesmærke, Søfartsmonumentet ved Langelinie, og de skabte alle tre en anselig mængde offentlige monumenter og udsmykninger. 3 Denne artikel forsøger at tolke og udlægge deres tre gennembrudsskulpturer på Statens Museum for Kunst og ARoS ved samtidig at forklare og perspektivere begyndelsen på en mindre epoke i dansk skulpturhistorie, hvor klassicisme og modernisme stod i et gensidigt spændingsforhold. 4 At beskrive og definere kunstneriske udtryk er altid i fare for at fremtræde unødigt reduktivt i forklaringsmæssige sammenhænge, og forsøg på stilistisk at sammenkæde kunstværker på baggrund af rent formelle træk har gentagne gange været udsat for berettiget kritik. 5 Følgende gennemgang forsøger at undgå nogle almindelige faldgruber ved at afstå fra at fastlægge et rigidt katalog over væsentlige former eller give brede samfundsmæssige årsagsforklaringer. I stedet flyttes fokus til en undersøgelse af en række forestillinger om det klassiske og moderne, og hvordan disse begrebers skiftende anskuelse både har haft betydning for en hel Detalje af (Fig 3) Einar Utzon-Frank: Afrodite 1914 Aphrodite Bronze 157,5 x 52 x 40,5 cm Statens Museum for Kunst 55 rasmus kjærboe

56 periodes mere traditionelle skulpturproduktion og for dennes senere glemsel. En sådan længere, indledende afdækning af begreber om det klassiske og moderne kan synes nærmest pedantisk, men er en nødvendig øvelse for at skabe en tolkningsramme om undersøgelsens skulpturer. Efter dette analyseres, hvordan de tre enkeltværker først og fremmest skaber deres betydning gennem en række associationer og henvisninger til fortiden og det klassiske, og endeligt afrundes med en kort diskussion omkring det konventionelle kropsbilledes betydning, og den klassiske modernisme i dansk skulptur opsummeres som en kunstnerisk strategi. Målet med artiklen er altså vise, hvordan man kan karakterisere den moderne klassicisme og se den som en bevidst genformulering af det klassiske projekt på nye præmisser. Som kunstnerisk strategi bliver dette identificeret i blot tre værker, der grundet undfangelsestidspunkt, størrelse og ambitionsniveau kan anskues som eksemplariske, men i et videre perspektiv er det mit håb, at dette kan åbne for en ny forståelse af et langt større og rigere felt af næsten glemte skulpturer. Kunsthistorisk glemsel Bortset fra enkelte, mindre omtaler, 6 har de tre tidligere så anerkendte kunstneres produktion ikke været genstand for nogen større fortolkning eller analyse i de seneste fem årtier. 7 Spørgsmålet, om hvordan denne udelukkelse er kommet i stand, kan kun besvares ved at erkende, at historien som bearbejdet produkt ikke er noget givet, men altid skabes og skrives fra et bagudskuende perspektiv og med bestemte, måske uerkendte, mål for øje. 8 Selektion, tilvalg og fravalg er det helt grundlæggende problem for al fremstillende historieskrivning, og den danske kunsthistorie er ikke nogen undtagelse fra dette. 9 Gennem valg og fravalg gøres fortiden meningsfuld. Skulptur, og særligt den delvist naturalistiske og traditionsbårne skulptur, der fuldstændig dominerede i første halvdel af 1900-tallet, er langt hen ad vejen blevet valgt fra i den nyere kunsthistoriske bevidsthed. Godt nok står de fleste af værkerne stadig rundt omkring, men uden at være en del af nogen hovedfortælling, der kan give dem en forståelsesramme. 10 Bortset fra værker af særlige helte, såsom J.F. Willumsen og Kai Nielsen, glimrer skulpturen fra første halvdel af 1900-tallet næsten helt ved sit fravær fra både forskning og bredt fremstillende historiebøger. 11 Med et litterært begreb kan en hel generation af skulptører karakteriseres som udskrevne af kunsthistorien. En nærliggende forklaring på denne udskrivning gennem glemsel kan findes i en særlig værdiladet grundfortælling, der har domineret vestlig kunsthistorie siden efterkrigstiden. Forestillingen om kunstens ensporede udvikling båret af modernismens og avantgardens fremskridt har skubbet alt til side, der ikke har kunnet indpasses i en forestilling om radikale eksperimenter, opgør med traditionen og stadig tilnærmelse til det abstrakte. 12 Modernismen er i dag opløftet til en ideologi, som ikke nødvendigvis følges af en eksplicit viden om dens ophav, 13 men er trængt helt ned i selve kernedefinitionen af, hvad god kunst er: en kunst i konstant udvikling, der er kendetegnet ved fortsat kritik, opgør og anti-repræsentation. For en nutidig betragter, der erkendt eller uerkendt er indfoldet i en modernistisk kunstforståelse, må et mytologisk motiv som Afrodite af Utzon-Frank eller en atletisk nøgenskulptur som Rathsacks Adam nyskabt synes underligt utidssvarende. Omtrent samtidig med disse skulpturers første fremvisninger kunne man opleve international avantgardekunst på enkelte udstillinger i København, 14 og i Paris havde kubisme og futurisme fået et mindre gennembrud. Den modernistiske kunstforståelses værdier er i dag blevet institutionaliserede til en grad, hvor kunsthistorikere og -kritikere nøjes med at forbigå det, der ikke passer ind i en særlig udviklingslogik, i tavshed. Af samme årsag er en meget stor gruppe traditionshenvisende kunstværker, særligt fra 1910 erne og 1920 erne, i dag hovedsageligt ufortolkede og ukommenterede. Den internationale, moderne klassicisme I årene fra lige før 1. Verdenskrig til langt op i mellemkrigstiden oplevede europæisk og særligt fransk kunst en opblomstring af en mangesidig, heterogen bevægelse, man kan kalde moderne klassicisme. 15 Dette manifesteredes blandt andet som en fornyet interesse for gengivelser af den unge, idealiserede krop i mere eller mindre naturalistisk stil og forudsatte en i dag tabt evne til skarpt at kunne skelne imellem, tolke og tyde næsten ens fremstillinger af kroppen i maleri og skulptur. 16 I samtiden blev den moderne klassicisme opfattet som en positiv genoptagelse af traditionen vendt mod det, man så som de værste modernistiske overdrivelser og formeksperimenter, og en fornyet, tidssvarende udvikling hen mod noget kunstnerisk mere essentielt. 17 En række fremtrædende kritikere og kunstnere, der tidligere havde været associerede med avantgarde og modernisme, tog i den forbindelse fat på at diskutere og bearbejde et mere figurativt formsprog end i de umiddelbart foregående rasmus kjærboe 56

57 (Fig 1) Svend Rathsack: Adam nyskabt Adam Newly Created Bronze 178 x 65 x 75 cm ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (Fig 2) Johannes C. Bjerg: Abessinier 1914 Abyssinia Bronze 199 cm Fuglsang Kunstmuseum, Toreby Lolland år. Den nye strømning, som eksempelvis talte tidligere prominente avantgardister som Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque og Gino Severini, kombinerede motiviske henvisninger til fortiden med en genoptagelse af mere traditionel, akademisk, mimetisk og naturalistisk teknik, som af mange kritikere blev set som forsøg på at genformulere en moderne klassicisme på basis af evige værdier. 18 Den betydningsfulde bannerfører for kubismen, forfatteren og kritikeren Guillaume Apollinaire, skrev eksempelvis i et essay fra 1916 om avantgardekunstneren André Derain, at det nu var hans nyfundne evne til at modstå fristelsen fra de nye kunstretninger og i stedet placere sin kunst inden for Den store tradition, der markerede hans geni. 19 Året efter skrev Georges Braque en række refleksioner, hvor han forbandt sine tidligere kubistiske eksperimenter med en ny klassicisme, og fremstod dermed som en del af en generel rappel à l ordre blandt flere af førkrigstidens avantgardister. 20 Andre kunstnere, som eksempelvis de figurative, franske skulptører Charles Despiau, Emile Bourdelle og Aristide Maillol, havde hele tiden arbejdet inden for en motivisk og kunstnerisk påberåbelse af en klassisk fortid og opnåede nu større og større anerkendelse i hele Europa med et udtryk centreret om et behersket figurativt formsprog oftest uden store, ekspressive fortællinger. Selv om det i nyere tid er blevet argumenteret, at denne klassicisme var en melankolsk og reaktionær bevægelse, 21 kan den også anskues som i bund og grund mangefacetteret og uden et forenet ideologisk eller politisk fokus. 22 Fortiden, der skulle fremhæves som eksempel for nutiden, bar på nogle evige, klassiske værdier, men det klassiske og klassicismen blev dog hurtigt utroligt rummelige begreber, der i praksis kunne henvise til både antikken, middelalderen og renæssancen, Grækenlands, Italiens eller selve det mediterranes ånd, og kun havde en vag ramme i form af forestillinger om enhed og sandhedssøgen og den naturalistiske repræsentations nødvendighed. I sit mere konkrete udtryk blev resultatet, at det nøgne figurstudie kom til at få en ny prægnans, og at det historiefortællende, socialrealistiske og anekdotiske blev forvist fra den kunstneriske motivverden. 23 Den moderne klassicisme i dansk kunst I en dansk sammenhæng var en moderne klassicisme ved at finde fodfæste inden for skulpturen, da den i Paris bosatte kunstner Adam Fischer i slutningen af 1918, i lighed med eksempelvis Georges Braque året før, præsenterede en række tanker om det klassiske i kunsten i en artikel i det eksperimenterende, danske kunsttids- 57 rasmus kjærboe

58 skrift Klingen. 24 Fischer havde kort forinden skrevet om primitivisme og sin inspiration fra kubismen og udstillet kubistiske og avantgardeorienterede værker, 25 men lagde sig nu i slipstrømmen af den samtidige franske klassicisme. Tilbage i Danmark havde situationen paralleller inden for maleriet, hvor en række kunstnere som William Scharff og Vilhelm Lundstrøm også efterhånden begyndte at skabe kunstværker inden for en klassicerende ramme. 26 I en større sammenhæng havde kunstscenen i Danmark oplevet en overvejende negativ offentlig debat om Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling i 1917 og 1918, hvor en række kunstværker viste forsøg på at eksperimentere med kubisme, futurisme og opløsningen af det naturalistiske, repræsenterende kunstværk. 27 Umiddelbart efter, i starten af 1919, udvikledes den såkaldte dysmorfismedebat om sindslidelse som forudsætningen for visse moderne kunstretninger. 28 Ligeledes argumenterede den ansete kunsthistoriker Vilhelm Wanscher gentagne gange for Den store Stil og afslutningen på tidligere eksperimenter til fordel for en tilbagevenden til en klassicisme i kunsten. 29 Enhver sammenligning mellem fremkomsten af en klassicerende strømning i dansk kunst under og umiddelbart efter 1. Verdenskrig og lignende idéer og forestillinger i resten af Europa må dog ske analogisk. Kildematerialet er sparsomt og i de fleste tilfælde er det svært at påvise en direkte dansk reception af en europæisk kunstdebat, der foregik på andre forudsætninger end den lokale. En forklaringsmodel, der eksempelvis lægger vægt på klassicismens succes som en reaktion på verdenskrigens meningsløshed, 30 kan heller ikke anvendes direkte på et land, der holdt sig uden for og profiterede af sin neutralitet. Alligevel kan det hævdes, at den nye internationale, moderne klassicisme i maleri og især skulptur i det mindste dannede et positivt forbillede og afstak nogle rammer for, hvordan yngre kunstnere kunne markere sig selv ved at skabe en klassisk kunst under danske forhold. Adam Fischer forblev en forholdsvis marginal figur på den danske kunstscene, hvorimod Svend Rathsack, Einar Utzon-Frank og Johannes C. Bjerg var på vej til at blive deres generations synligste danske skulptører, særligt efter Kai Nielsens død i Svend Rathsack nåede at udstille sit klassicerende gennembrudsværk, Adam nyskabt, som den første i 1914, og året efter præsenterede Einar Utzon-Frank og Johannes C. Bjerg hver deres: Afrodite og Abessinier. Ingen af de tre var uddannede på billedhuggerskolerne på Kunstakademiet; Rathsack havde dog fulgt uddannelsen som maler, hvorimod Bjerg ikke havde søgt optagelse, og Utzon-Frank havde meldt sig ud efter et semester i protest mod undervisningens konformitet. 31 Bjerg og Rathsack havde længere ophold i Paris, hvor de færdedes i yderkredsen af tidens mere eksperimenterende, unge kunstnere, mens Utzon-Frank tidligt havde associeret sig med gruppen omkring det socialt bevidste tidsskrift Gnisten. 32 Under 1. Verdenskrig fik de deres egentlige gennembrud, både kommercielt og blandt kritikerne, hvor en medvirkende faktor til deres popularitet kan have været de gode økonomiske vilkår, der muliggjorde et stort salg af statuetter fra bl.a. Dansk Kunsthandel. 33 Efter krigens afslutning konsolideredes deres position; Utzon-Frank blev udnævnt til professor ved Kunstakademiet i 1918, Rathsack vandt i 1924 konkurrencen om at levere et af tidens største monumenter, Søfartsmonumentet på Langelinie, og Bjerg begyndte en stribe af bestillinger, der gjorde ham til mellemkrigstidens mest anvendte kunstner til offentlige udsmykninger. Fra at have været uden for den anerkendte kreds af skulptører med officiel uddannelse blev de tre op gennem 1920 erne til tidens mest anerkendte kunstnere med talrige værker i det offentlige rum og på de danske museer. De tre skulptører blev dermed de fremmeste producenter af en række værker, der beskæftigede sig med at udspille, undersøge og afprøve en moderne klassicisme. At disse skulle forstås i relation til en forbilledlig fortid, understregedes i artikler og interviews med kunstnerne, hvor det græske, det klassiske og det ideelle flettedes sammen i omtalen af deres kunst. De tre skulpturer på Statens Museum for Kunst og ARoS er alle fra tidligt i deres karriere og viser rammerne for det spændingsfelt, som en ny type dansk skulptur arbejdede inden for. Klassisk og moderne som modstillede begreber 34 I The Oxford Companion to Western Art er klassicisme generelt: [en] henvisning eller sværgen troskab til en kanonisk ( klassisk ) fortidig kunst eller dens værdier, 35 og i A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art beskrives det 20. århundredes internationale, nye klassicisme som: [ ] en tilbagevenden til mådehold efter en periode med uhørte eksperimenter. 36 Som antydet i det andet citat optrådte den moderne klassicisme uløseligt i forbindelse med og forsøgte måske at overvinde den historiske modernisme. I forlængelse af dette findes en særligt betydningsfuld modstilling mellem idéen om det klassiske og det rasmus kjærboe 58

59 moderne, mellem fortidens genfødsel og nutidens prægnans, også selv om de to grundbegreber optræder under forskellige navne og i mange forskellige sammenhænge. Begrebernes specifikke indhold varierer med sammenhængen, men i en konventionel forståelsesramme er det klassiske en bagudskuen mod fortiden, det moderne derimod en beskæftigen sig med det, der er lige nu, eller en fremadskuen mod det, som skal komme. I lighed med andre modstillinger har denne opereret som en arketypisk forskelssætten, der i strukturalistisk forstand først og fremmest har udtrykt sig gennem negationen: Det moderne er, modsat det klassiske, ikke konservativt, ikke antik, ikke bevarende, ikke stillestående. Det klassiske er på sin side, modsat det moderne, ikke modebetonet, ikke tidsbunden, ikke flygtig, ikke forvrænget. Mange flere træk og definitioner kunne fyldes på, men som begreber er det klassiske og det moderne uden en kerne, deres egentlige indhold defineres altid i forhold til modstillingen, og som oftest i en negativ relation. Der er noget, de ikke er. Klassisk og moderne indgår, med en semiotisk betegnelse hentet fra lingvisten Ferdinand Saussure, i et sprog (langue), hvor det er ordenes indbyrdes relationer, der bestemmer det egentlige indhold. 37 I lighed med andre begreber udviskes og usynliggøres det relationelle forhold som klassisk og moderne har til hinanden og til andre ord dog ofte i praksis, og det processuelle og omskiftelige i deres indbyrdes forhold overses. Kunsthistoriske beskrivelser af det klassiske har næsten konsekvent taget form som lange årsags- og virkningskæder af værker og kunstnere, men litteraturen har derimod ikke beskæftiget sig meget med at historisere rammerne for selve forståelsen af, hvad klassisk er og betyder som begreb. Snarere er dette blevet opfattet som en meningsfuld konstans, der har kunnet identificeres og uddrages fra utroligt divergerende æstetiske sfærer. 38 Det moderne indtager strukturelt set på mange måder den samme rolle som det klassiske, hvor det i forskellige sammenhænge besidder vidt forskellige meninger. I en kunstteoretisk sammenhæng er de begge diskursive metabegreber, der ikke i sig selv har en stabil betydning, men som altid henviser til et nyt indhold, der konstant forskydes til at være noget anderledes i hver enkelt sammenhæng. Klassisk og moderne har som ord interessante etymologiske forbindelser tilbage til senantik og middelalderlig latin. 39 I æstetiske anliggender defineredes begge begreber dog først i det sene 1600-tal, hvor der blandt europæiske lærde postuleredes en opposition mellem fortidens og nutidens relevans for kunstnerisk produktion. Kendt som La Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes (fejden mellem de antikke og de moderne, red.) konstituerede debatten en stadig aktuel idé om det klassiske som en modsætning til det moderne, enten som forbillede eller hæmsko, men særligt som noget, der var afskåret fra nutiden af en uoverskridelig diakroni. 40 Idéen om det kunstnerisk klassiske som forbundet med fortiden og det kunstnerisk moderne som forbundet med nutiden fødtes simpelthen sammen. Med udgivelsen af arkæologen J.J. Winckelmanns umådeligt indflydelsesrige skrifter i midten af 1700-tallet fremkom idéen om den klassiske fortid som specifikt afgrænset til den græske antik. 41 Denne tildeltes en afgørende, normativ rolle for produktionen af nye værker, og det nutidige og modernes mangel blev til et ofte gentaget tema. 42 Senere kunsthistorie har efterfølgende samlet den tids forskellige, antik-inspirerede forestillinger og kunstværker under betegnelsen nyklassicisme. 43 Fra 1800-tallets midte begyndte dikotomien mellem klassisk og moderne dog at blive mere og mere kompliceret. For dens fortalere blev det klassiske i stigende grad set som en bredt defineret fond af viden og sandhed, som ikke stod i evig modsætning til det nutidige, men som det ægte moderne værk skulle tage ved lære af for at være kunst. På den ene side plæderede kunstkritikeren Charles Baudelaire, der traditionelt ses som udtalt modernist, i sin kendte artikel om Det moderne livs maler (1863) for en kunst, der både er klassisk og moderne, og som baseres på et ekvilibrium mellem kunstens evige, klassiske regler og det nutidiges fluks. 44 På den anden side filtreredes den æstetiske veneration for antikken gennem den moderne positivisme; skulpturerne fra Parthenon beundredes for deres anatomiske korrekthed og deres naturstudium, og den antagede induktive viden om den perfekte menneskekrop beundredes som underbyggelse af den gryende racelære. 45 Den diskursive og praktisk kunstneriske udveksling imellem de to metabegreber moderne og klassisk fortsatte op igennem 1800-tallet og ind i det 20. århundrede. Som komplicerede spil imellem reaktion og modreaktion fik denne sin sidste kulmination med den moderne klassicisme i årene omkring og efter 1. Verdenskrig. En ny kunstnerisk strategi: Adam nyskabt I 1913 modellerede den danske kunstner, Svend Rathsack, sin første større skulptur, Adam nyskabt [fig. 1]. Værket vandt straks anerkendelse og præmieredes af Kunstakademiet, selv om det til at starte med afvistes til Charlottenborg-udstillingen i Med Adam nyskabt 59 rasmus kjærboe

60 transformeredes Svend Rathsack fra maler til skulptør og fik med det samme adgang til kunstlivet og senere bestillinger. 46 Værket markerede samtidig ankomsten af en moderne klassicisme som en ny billedkunstnerisk strategi i en dansk sammenhæng. 47 Opfattes Adam nyskabt som et uproblematisk billede, er der tale om en naturalistisk fremvisning af en ideelt bygget og formet mandskrop i legemsstørrelse: en traditionel statue. Værket sammenføjer en række henvisninger til skulptur fra den græske oldtid, som de typisk kunne blive opsummeret i gængse fremstillinger af kunstens historie i starten af det 20. århundrede. 48 Modelleringen af torso, arme, hals og hoved peger på den klassiske periode i græsk skulptur (ca f.kr.) og er i et formsprog, der kan siges at signalere dette: naturalistisk med kun afdæmpede, lokale lys- og skyggevirkninger. Den smalle lyske, de stive ben og den markante stilling peger derimod direkte på noget ældre skulpturer fra den græske, arkaiske periode (ca f.kr.), hvilket yderligere ses i de stiliserede kønsorganer, føddernes placering og de udbulende lårs samlede omkreds, der er større end hoftens. 49 Tegnene på klassisk og arkaisk kunst sættes sammen med nyere skulpturelle tegn, der bryder med billedet af græsk oldtid, såsom de fremadrakte arme og det mere ugræske ansigt. 50 Værket ligner et forsøg på at lave en moderne kouros-statue; en stilistisk sammenstykket og generaliseret fremstilling af den unge mands krop på højdepunktet af hans fysik. 51 Gennem fysik og stilhenvisninger trækker Adam nyskabt i tegnmæssig forstand afgørende på forskellige uudtalte konnotationer af fortidig idealitet, som kobles med samtidige forestillinger om den sunde, muskuløse krop. Dermed er skulpturen også i dialog med det forhold, at veltrænethed for første gang blev formuleret som et individuelt, personligt mål i slutningen af 1800-tallet og starten af det 20. århundrede, direkte på baggrund af den antikke kunst. 52 Endelig kan værket også ses som en diskret bearbejdning af et moderne, symbolistisk motiv i forlængelse af Rathsacks tidligere underviser, maleren Joakim Skovgaard, og den schweiziske maler Ferdinand Hodlers billeder af det nøgne, isolerede menneske. Set i forhold til andre samtidige kunstretningers ønske om et demonstrativt opgør med traditionen synes denne manøvre med genbrug og sammenblanding af forskellige stilarter nærmest regressiv: 53 Adam nyskabt hævder stolt en forestilling om de klassiske, ideelle, græske forbilleder. Den kunstneriske tradition vises dermed også som en slags tematisk blanding af distinkte perioder fra den græske oldtids kunst med en nyere symbolisme. I stedet for at anvende eksplicitte symboler og attributter sker disse henvisninger dog igennem diskrete stiltegn, hvilket får værket til at fremtræde mindre litterært og mere umiddelbart og direkte end andre, tydeligt narrative skulpturer. Deraf følger, hvad den franske kulturteoretiker Roland Barthes har kaldt en myte eller ideologi; et forsøg på at skjule en retorisk konstruerethed bag et skin af noget naturligt: 54 Adam nyskabt er blot den almenmenneskelige krop i sin fineste fremtræden og et billede af det moderne menneske, der hviler på et fundament af historisk stabilitet, eksemplificeret ved kunstens højeste ophav i den græske fortid. Konnotationerne af ungdom, stabilitet, idealititet og arkaisk ro lader værket fortælle en historie om ur-menneskelighed og en slags åndelig begyndelse og iboen i det kropslige selv. 55 Kunsthistorikeren Erik Zahle skriver i 1943 om Adam nyskabt, at [..] den stærke Virkning er ikke fremkommet ved Trods, men i Lydighed overfor den gamle Kunst; og paa den anden Side kan Figuren opfattes som et Vidnesbyrd om ikke ringe Selvstændighed, ikke blot i valget af forbilleder; der er en egen karsk og stærk Naturanskuelse udtrykt i den ranke Mand [..]. 56 Ifølge Zahle er statuen altså mulig at tolke som både en hyldest til den skulpturelle tradition og som et originalt og selvstændigt værk. Set fra et nutidigt synspunkt er originaliteten dog først og fremmest betinget af den sømløse kobling mellem forskellige henvisninger til arkaisk og klassisk kunst og moderne symbolisme. Adam nyskabt fremviser altså i bund og grund et stilistisk flertydigt formsprog, hvor kunstværket diskret inkorporerer fragmenter af forskellige antikke stilperioder og fra samtiden. Det samme er, i forskellige variationer, tilfældet med flere af Einar Utzon-Franks og Johannes C. Bjergs værker, der i årene fra 1914 til starten af 1920 erne markerer de to andre kunstneres medvirken til at skabe en moderne klassicisme i dansk sammenhæng. Disse værker udmærker sig ved en slags stiliseret naturalisme med forskellige historiske henvisninger, hvor enkeltdetaljer simplificeres, og med den hele, ufragmenterede, nøgne menneskekrop som hovedmotiv. I valget af den afklædte krop adskiller de sig ikke fuldstændig fra tidligere danske skulpturer, det nye er snarere, at værkerne indpakkes i et formsprog, hvor der implicit og eksplicit plæderes for en moderne kontinuitet med en idealiseret fortid gennem en bortfjernelse af både fortællende og mere ekspressive elementer. rasmus kjærboe 60

61 61 rasmus kjærboe (Fig 1) Svend Rathsack Adam nyskabt Adam Newly Created Bronze 178 x 65 x 75 cm ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum

62 (Fig 2) Johannes C. Bjerg Abessinier 1914 Abyssinian Bronze 199 cm Fuglsang Kunstmuseum, Toreby Lolland rasmus kjærboe 62

63 Mødet mellem to modsætninger: Abessinier Johannes C. Bjerg fremstillede omkring 1914 tre versioner af Abessinier [fig. 2] i form af to statuetter og en statue. Den store statue kan, ligesom Rathsacks Adam nyskabt, anskues som en ung kunstners ambitiøse ansøgning om optagelse i det danske kunstliv og blev følgelig Bjergs gennembrudsværk. 57 Værket kan dog også ses som en form for formidlende møde mellem de to metadiskurser, moderne og klassisk, 58 der er svær at indpasse i en udviklingsfikseret, modernistisk orienteret kunsthistorie. I sammenligning med statuetternes noget abstrakte og generaliserede form ligger den store Abessinier inden for en mere traditionel, figurativ statuetradition, og som udgangspunkt anvendes hele det klassiske vokabular i form af en idealiseret kropsgengivelse med en naturalistisk, svagt abstraheret anatomi og klar kontur. I dette tilfælde indeholder den klassiske ramme dog tydelige henvisninger til sin egen modsætning, hvor forskellige tegn på det moderne eksisterer side om side med de traditionshenvisende greb. Abessiniers motiv, den sorte krop, er i sig selv antiklassisk, og moderniteten selv, i form af kolonialismen, er den grundlæggende betingelse for at kunne opleve billedet af en sort mand i en vestlig kontekst. 59 Den afrikanske diaspora i Europa og USA kan dertil anskues som billedet på det første moderne folk overhovedet, da de tidligt gennemlever en tilstand af voldsom forandring og opbrud i traditioner og kontinuitet. 60 Henvisningerne til det moderne konkretiseres formmæssigt i figurens hoved, hvis forsimplede og stiliserede træk fremtræder, som var de indeholdt i en aflang kugle og dermed underlagt et modernistisk formeksperiment. Kuglens form understreges videre af de mandelformede øjne, der buler ud for at møde kuglens usynlige grænse, men også, nok så væsentligt, gentager endnu andre, samtidige modernismers primitivistiske inspiration fra afrikansk skulptur. Ved siden af de moderne og modernistiske tegn underbygger Abessinier yderligere sin henvisning til fortid og tradition ved en harmonisk og dynamisk kontrapost, der i spiralbevægelse og svaj eksempelvis findes i tidlig florentinsk skulptur, og i sin aflange form, der bringer mindelser om fransk-tyske skulpturer fra gotikken. Det er oplagt ligeledes at se henvisninger til fransk og italiensk manierisme i dette, sådan som senere kommentatorer finder det hos både Bjerg og Utzon-Frank, 61 men dette kan kun ske tentativt, da manierisme endnu ikke er udviklet som et definerbart og positivt anskuet stilbegreb før tidligst omkring Som i Adam nyskabt er det klassiske hos Abessinier at forstå som en fond af forskellige fortidige greb, snarere end en fast defineret kanon, men her fremstilles de mere direkte i konfrontation med tegn, der kan opfattes som moderne og anti-klassiske. Motivet og de abstraktreduktive former i Abessinier signalerer det moderne, men underneden er værket stadig afhængigt af et snævert mimetisk-repræsentativt rum, hvor identifikationen af menneskekroppens former er omdrejningspunkt for værkets effekt og den oprejste nøgne krop er bærer af budskabet i sig selv. Som konsekvens vises, at både klassisk og moderne kan genkendes som elementer inden for rammerne af den samme skulptur. Bjergs værk kan betragtes som en syntese af forskelligartede henvisninger, hvor den klassiske arv er opretholdt og genformuleret til noget mere rummeligt, som en beholder for flere distinkte udtryk, herunder det moderne. Værket er hverken gammeldags skulptur eller rendyrket modernisme, men i stedet en slags mellemstation. Værkets henvisninger til begge diskurser foregår dog ikke som deciderede citater, snarere analogisk, som noget der minder om, hvilket problematiserer en simpel deskriptiv identifikation af værkets stil. Hvis Abessinier kan indeholde henvisninger til flere stilarter, hvilken betydning har stilen så tilbage? Klassisk og moderne stil: Afrodite som moderne klassicisme Den konventionelle stilanalyse synes at sige, at et kunstværks stil og form entydigt placerer det inden for den ene eller anden periode og den ene eller anden horisont. 63 Den nye danske klassicismes tredje gennembrudsværk, Einar Utzon-Franks Afrodite [fig. 3], kan i denne sammenhæng illustrere, hvordan et kunstværk i praksis kan arbejde med stil for at komplicere begrebet. I 1914 blev skulpturen udstillet på Efterårsudstillingen og markerede et decideret brud med kunstnerens tidligere ekspressive og socialrealistiske værker, 64 der mest af alt syntes inspirerede af Rodin og Constantin Meuniers arbejder på Glyptoteket. 65 Med det nye formsprog blev han, ligesom Svend Rathsack og Johannes C. Bjerg på samme tidspunkt, en del af en større offentlighed og fik efterfølgende Afrodite solgt til bl.a. norske, svenske og tyske museer. 66 I en kort, illustreret artikel af kulturkritikeren Poul Henningsen fra 1918 karakteriseredes Utzon-Frank som både en Elsker af Klassicismen og som [ ] Kender og elsker af den klassiske Kunst. 67 I PH s skudsmål blev kunstner og oeuvre reduceret til at være identiske med følgende konklusion: Ogsaa han tror paa den 63 rasmus kjærboe

64 Renæssance, som Tiden taler om, og han arbejder ud fra sine egne Synspunkter og Forudsætninger imod bedre Tider. At han virker moderne, er fordi det bedste i Tiden falder sammen med hans Syn. 68 Artiklen er bemærkelsesværdig for sin fordring om en positiv udvikling imod en kunstnerisk renæssance, der tager udgangspunkt i fortiden, men samtidig er moderne. Det dobbelte krav, klassisk og moderne, som er blevet diskuteret ovenfor som en forudsætning for den internationale klassicisme, indebærer en udfordring af en enstrenget stilforståelse. På den ene side vil en ren gentagelse af en fortidig, klassisk stil hverken være moderne eller original, på den anden side vil for megen modernisme eller originalitet undsige de klassiske forbilleders formmæssige autoritet. En skulptur som Afrodite viser en løsning på problemet ved direkte, men diskret, at manipulere med dette forhold. Som udgangspunkt signalerer Afrodite øjeblikkelig fortid og tradition: En mimetisk og repræsentativ, nøgen kvindefigur i en stillestående kontrapost med langt, opsat hår og blanke øjne uden pupiller er stærke tegn, der skaber en række associationer til en opfattet klassisk tradition for fremstillinger af kærlighedsgudinden fra oldtiden til i dag. 69 Forlægget synes eksempelvis at kunne findes i så tidsmæssigt forskudte værker som den antikke Venus Medici og Thorvaldsens Venus med æblet [fig. 4], der begge viser en lignende glat og blødt rundet anatomi. De motiviske henvisninger nærmest overtager værket og ville, uden modforanstaltninger, betyde, at det som selvstændigt udsagn nærmest blev usynliggjort af en lang tradition af forgængere. I bogen Tradition and Desire. From David to Delacroix har den britiske kunsthistoriker Norman Bryson beskæftiget sig med, hvordan nye kunstværker skabes i forhold til traditionen. 70 I vestlig kunst har det været almindeligt at bygge på fortidige præstationer, og ingen steder er det sværere for et værk at fremtræde selvstændigt, som når det klassiske er målestokken: Nyklassicisme er en dræbende stil; den har en dødbringende kvalitet [ ], for der er en særlig lammelse, der sætter ind, når traditionen får meget plads i den kunstneriske agenda, og alt allerede synes gjort til perfektion. 71 I en dansk sammenhæng ligger Utzon-Franks Afrodite altså i spændingsfeltet mellem de utallige antikke kvindeskulpturer, der kunne ses på Den kgl. Afstøbningssamling og Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, og de nyere, antikhenvisende skulpturer af Bertel Thorvaldsen. Det dødbringende, lammende element i en påberåbelse af det klassiske betød som konsekvens, at flere generationer af danske skulptører forud for Utzon-Frank så at sige arbejdede i afmagt i skyggen af Thorvaldsen og antikken. 72 Utzon-Franks Afrodite modarbejder forvekslingen med fortiden, Thorvaldsen og antikken ved diskret at modernisere sig selv. Dette sker som en rensning i forhold til forbillederne, hvor figuren slankes og afsensualiseres, alle ansatser til fortælling fjernes, og anatomiske detaljer reduceres med det resultat, at kroppens konturer og lemmernes linjer bliver fremhævet som det vigtige. Både Venus Medici og Thorvaldsens Venus har en anekdotisk ramme; den ene dækker sig til for vores blikke, den anden betragter det gyldne æble uden at anerkende tilskueren. Dette er væk i det nyere værk, ligesom det dramatiske modspil mellem bøjet-udstrakt, højre-venstre og den spiralformede, opadstigende bevægelse fra sokkel til top i Thorvaldsens figur er væk. I stedet synes skulpturen, ligesom Rathsacks Adam nyskabt, at være mere almen, mere moderne, fordi den synes mindre retorisk og uden et ekspressivt psykologisk rum. Heri ligger værkets nye stil; inden for rammerne af traditionen, det mimetiske og repræsentative, søger Afrodite ned til en grundfigur, der fremtræder mere stillestående og mere generaliseret end sine forgængere. Utzon-Franks værk kan gå i dialog med kunstens fortid i stedet for at blive opslugt af den, fordi det fremtræder som en destillering af både antikken og Thorvaldsen. Afrodite viser sig selv som bedre end sin tradition, fordi værket synes at vise det væsentligste. Muligvis er det reduktionen og destilleringen, som PH i sin artikel karakteriserer som Utzon-Franks klarhed, ro og kølighed, 73 altså kvaliteter, der forbindes med det særligt moderne. Afrodite forudsætter evnen til stilistisk sammenligning for både at fungere som tegn på det fortidige og på dets genformulering og rensning. Statuen synes at potensere et udtryk, at fremhæve en række elementer som den rene stil. Værket handler ikke om noget og har ingen anekdote eller historie; Afrodite som titel er i sig selv så brugt, at det bliver tomt. Iagttagelsen af Naturen har føjet sig efter Kravene til Stilen, og vi har en følelse af, at netop den Stilen i sig selv har været Kunstnerens egentlige Maal, 74 skriver Aksel Rode om Afrodite i Det, værket handler om, når der ingen narration og ingen formmæssige spændinger er til stede, er stilen selv. Stilen er værkets indhold, synes det at sige. 75 Skulpturkroppen Adam nyskabt, Abessinier og Afrodite er skulpturer uden eksplicit narration eller definerende attributter, hvilket placerer dem i dialog med en kernemodernistisk tradition rasmus kjærboe 64

65 65 rasmus kjærboe (Fig 3) Einar Utzon-Frank Afrodite 1914 Aphrodite Bronze 157,5 x 52 x 40,5 cm Statens Museum for Kunst

66 (Fig 4) Bertel Thorvaldsen Venus med æblet 1809 Venus with an Apple Marmor 109,6 x 48 x 41 cm Statens Museum for Kunst rasmus kjærboe 66

67 for at eliminere alle ansatser til det fortællende: På trods af påberåbelsen af fortiden er det også moderne udstillingsstykker, skabt til museets tid. Skulpturerne er, ligesom dele af den samtidige avantgardes værker, optaget af at undersøge Stilen i sig selv, men tager i modsætning til de sidstnævntes opgør med traditionen direkte udgangspunkt i forestillingen om det klassiskes relevans. Afhængigheden af en klassisk motivverden og et naturalistisk formsprog får som konsekvens, at skulpturkroppen samtidig får en væsentlig betydning som bærer af en række traditionelle forestillinger om sjæl og legeme. I en vestlig sammenhæng har kroppen i mindst et par århundreder været forbundet med spørgsmål om etisk og essentiel forståelse. Billedet af kroppen er blevet anskuet som en ideel repræsentation af et helt menneske gennem en fast og veldefineret form, hvor det ydre læses som en afspejling af det indre. 76 Den amerikanske kunsthistoriker Rosalind Krauss har i forhold til kunsten beskrevet dette som en forståelse af skulpturens overflade som henvisning til både kroppens indre struktur, tanker og iboende ånd. 77 På denne måde kan eksempelvis billeder af den ideelle krop i balance læses symptomatisk og henvise til et sind og en væren i balance. Kropslige udtryk i billedlige repræsentationer bliver et spørgsmål om rigtige og forkerte måder for kroppen at være og udtrykke sig på, 78 og fremtræder dermed som forbilleder og anvisninger for tilskueren. Forestillingen om den klassiske kunst har siden renæssancen været forbundet med det almene, det konventionelle og korrekte. 79 Dermed kunne stærke følelser og ekspressive former heller ikke være et passende emne for et værk, da disse på en og samme tid kan opfattes som alt for kontingente og specifikke. De tre omtalte skulpturer af Rathsack, Utzon-Frank og Bjerg markerer i denne sammenhæng en moderne accelerering af den etiske kropsforståelse med klassisk fortegn: Ro, balance og perfektion gøres i fraværet af fortælling til værkernes eneste tydelige budskab. Følger man Roland Barthes logik, så denoterer skulpturerne nok kroppe, men som deres egentlige betydning konnoteres til en række traditionsbundne, allerede eksisterende forestillinger om, hvordan den sunde krop afslører den sunde sjæl. 80 Denotationen, den blotte fremvisning af en krop, skjuler altid, at der tilskrives en merbetydning ud over den blotte konstatering: Her er tale om statuen, der i omtrentlig legemsstørrelse ikke synes at fortælle historier med ydre handling, men i stedet lader kulturelle forestillinger om kroppen være selve historien. De tre værker af Rathsack, Utzon-Frank og Bjerg, der her er omtalt, mobiliserer og nytolker en klassisk tradition, der som kunstnerisk undersøgelse af stilen markerer et nybrud, men motivisk set trækker de på traditionelle forestillinger om den forbilledlige krop som kønnet og essentiel. Adam nyskabt viser den ideelle, hvide mand som en sammenføjning af krop og ånd, uafhængig af modernitetens krav og påvirkninger; Abessinier gør det samme ved den etniske krop og indskriver den paradoksalt hermed i en klassisk tradition, men fratager den dermed også enhver reelt historisk og moderne kontekst. Afrodite fremstår ligeledes som et billede på den essentielle kvindekrop i ro og løfter dermed idealbilledet af kvinden ud af enhver samtidig polemik om kvinders stilling i samfundet. En kunstnerisk strategi De tidlige skulpturer af Rathsack, Bjerg og Utzon-Frank, der her er blevet omtalt, er involverede i flere, samtidige manøvrer, der også kan siges at udstikke rammerne for den moderne klassicisme som en selvstændig stil og mulig kunstnerisk strategi. For det første sker en forenkling af skulpturens udtryk i en stilisering af anatomiske detaljer og stillingsmotiver samt en bortfjernelse af ekspressive og narrative træk. Modsat de endnu voldsommere forenklinger og den hurtige tilnærmelse til abstraktionen, som sker i andre af samtidens kunstværker, bevares forbindelsen til et naturalistisk formsprog, og skulpturerne kan stadig anskues og opfattes som ideelle repræsentationer af en konkret, fysisk virkelighed. Forenklingen finder altså sted inden for rammerne af traditionel skulpturel praksis, hvor konventionelle virkemidler, såsom soklen, den opretstående, sammenhængende krop, det mimetiske og det eksemplariske, ikke overskrides. I forhold til tidligere klassicismer kan denne forenkling, stilisering og mangel på narration dog hævdes at være radikal og sikrer dermed skulpturernes status som originale og selvstændige værker, ikke blot gentagelser af traditionen. For det andet bliver stilen selv til et undersøgelsesområde, hvor divergerende tegn for arkaisk eller klassisk græsk kunst, middelalder, renæssance og modernisme inkorporeres i det samme kunstværk. Denne stilbevidsthed kan tilnærmelsesvist ses som en konsekvens af en voksende, moderne opmærksomhed over for fortidens og samtidens mange forskellige kunstneriske udtryk, og den tilstræbte sammenblanding af henvisninger markerer en afgørende forskel fra tidligere skulptur. De mange lån og henvisninger til forskellige forestillinger om det klassiske sikrer værkerne legitimitet og giver mulighed for at vise 67 rasmus kjærboe

68 en ny kunstnerisk begyndelse på baggrund af det bedste fra fortiden og moderniteten. For det tredje bliver disse træk den naturalistiske forms forenkling, de fortællende elementers bortfald samt den komplekse stilbevidsthed forbundet med et konventionelt budskab om kønnets og kroppens essentielle mening og betydning. Hvor skulpturernes naturalistiske stilisering og sammensatte stilhenvisninger til fortid og nutid fremtræder som noget nyt omkring , virker repræsentationen af det nøgne legeme som bærer af et budskab om essentielle værdier ganske konventionelt, hvilket sandsynligvis har bidraget til den moderne klassicismes hurtige og brede anerkendelse. Som tidligere beskrevet betyder den i dag skarpt optrukne opposition mellem klassisk og moderne kunst, at både kunsthistorikere, kritikere og gængs kunstforståelse finder motiviske eller formelle henvisninger til fortiden uforenelige med det progressivt moderne. 81 Rathsacks, Bjergs og Utzon-Franks skulpturer stammer fra en anden tid, hvor selve det moderne og modernismen stadig var ved at blive defineret, og hvor der ikke fandtes en enkelt, dominerende opfattelse af, hvordan den rigtige kunst skulle udformes. Den svenske kunsthistoriker Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe har i sin ph.d.-afhandling, Skulptur i folkhemmet, skrevet om, hvordan en lignende situation kan konstateres i forhold til en lidt senere offentlig skulptur i Sverige. I sin afhandling betegner hun en række skulpturer som hybridformer, der ligger et sted imellem det traditionelle skulpturværk og det selvreferentielle, modernistiske værk, 82 som på nogle punkter ligner situationen for den moderne klassicismes værker. Rathsacks, Bjergs og Utzon-Franks moderne klassicisme, som formuleret i deres tre gennembrudsværker, viser forsøget på en balancegang mellem forestillingen om det klassiske og moderne, mellem rensede og abstraherede former og den samtidige henvisning til traditionen. Selve stilen bliver nok en bærer af et budskab om kroppens prægnans, men samtidig er arbejdet med at formulere en ny stil også et forsøg på at afgrænse et eget rum, der kan tillade deres kunstværker at blive set som fornyende, originale og i samklang med tidens krav. Hvis man godtager Norman Brysons forestilling om, at enhver kunstner må reagere imod sine forgængere, 83 så er den moderne klassicisme et oprør vendt mod den type skulptur, som umiddelbart satte dagsordenen i perioden omkring deres gennembrud: Willumsens ekspressive og symbolladede kunst eller Kunstakademiets professorer Carl Aarsleffs og Vilhelm Bissens hyperrealistiske naturalisme. Den danske moderne klassicisme i skulpturen befæster sin egen position ved at forbigå de lidt ældre skulptørers værk for at gribe tilbage i tiden og hævde det klassiskes autoritet som understøttelse for en ny, kunstnerisk strategi, der diskret inkorporerer modernistiske elementer. Dette markante arbejde med at definere og fremvise en ny, klassisk og moderne stil blev i videre forstand til en undersøgelse af, hvordan det er muligt at lave et kunstværk, der skaber og udtrykker mening på en ny og tidssvarende måde uden at følge i den radikale modernismes slipstrøm. Noget i Rathsacks, Bjergs og Utzon-Franks kunst vandt genklang; en række af deres værker blev i årene efter 1. Verdenskrig til som udsmykninger af nye bygninger i København 84 og som offentlige monumenter og mindesmærker, og deres egen succes fik indflydelse på en hel generation af yngre skulptører, 85 der helt frem til årene efter 2. Verdenskrig forsøgte at vinde deres eget fodfæste gennem variationer og gentagelser over det samme motiv: den ideelle, velformede menneskekrop i et abstraheret, ikke-fortællende formsprog. Denne artikel tager udgangspunkt i nogle af argumenterne i min magisterkonferensafhandling fra 2008, Det klassiske som figur. Mening og nærvær i skulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg og Einar Utzon- Frank. Tak skyldes i den forbindelse endnu en gang til min kyndige vejleder, lektor, Ph.d. Gunhild Ravn Borggreen. En stor tak gives også til museumsinspektør, mag.art. Ernst Jonas Bencard, hvis kritiske kommentarer har hjulpet til at skærpe artiklens pointer. rasmus kjærboe 68

69 1 Der findes ingen publicerede, komplette og gennemarbejdede fortegnelser over kunstnernes værker med sikre dateringer. Dateringerne er i denne sammenhæng baseret på mit bedste skøn over, hvornår originalmodellen i gips stod færdig på baggrund af den forhåndenværende litteratur og arkivstudier på Danmarks Kunstbibliotek. Nogle ukomplette fortegnelser findes i det følgende: For Svend Rathsack se: Erik Zahle: Svend Rathsack II: , Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XXXI-XXXII, For Johannes C. Bjerg se: Minna Bjerg: Billedhuggeren Johannes C. Bjerg, upubliceret manuskript, tilgængelig på For Einar Utzon-Frank se: Utzon-Frank og hans elever : Udstilling i Udstillingsbygningen ved Charlottenborg, Kunstakademiet, København Se eksempelvis Sigurd Schultz: Nyere dansk Billedhuggerkunst. Fra Niels Skovgaard til Jais Nielsen, København 1929; serien Vor Tids Kunst, udgivet fra i 76 hæfter, først fra forlaget Rasmus Naver, senere fra Gyldendal; Haavard Rostrup: Fra Kai Nielsen til de yngste, i Viggo Thorlacius- Ussing (red.): Danmarks billedhuggerkunst. Fra oldtid til nutid, København 1950; eller Aksel Rode: Billedhuggerkunsten, i Frithiof Brandt, Haakon Shetelig og Alf Nyman (red.): Vor tids kunst og digtning i Skandinavien, København Utzon-Frank var professor på Kunstakademiet fra 1918 til sin død i 1955, Bjerg fra 1945 til sin død i I perioden var Bjerg også direktør sammesteds. Da der ingen oversigter findes over kunstnernes produktion, kan udbredelsen af deres værker og deres popularitet kun skønnes gennem læsning af en række ukomplette opgørelser, dagbladskritik og de hovedsageligt samtidige artikler og småhæfter, der omhandler kunstnerne. 4 Den relative ubemærkethed, som de tre kunstnere og deres værker har været underlagt, er heller ikke gået let hen over skulpturerne på Statens Museum for Kunst. Efter at have været placeret foran museet i årtier, blev en række skulpturer i starten af 2000-årene hårdhændet restaureret i Italien uden hensyntagen til oprindelig patinering. Dette gik særligt ud over Bjergs Abessinier, som nu fremtræder med en mat gylden overflade, der ligger langt fra de oprindelige intentioner. Udgaven af Abessinier, der befinder sig på Fuglsang Kunstmuseum, var indtil 2004 i familiens eje og har bevaret den oprindelige overflade. Af samme årsag er det denne skulptur, der er afbilledet i artiklen. Se Birger Thøgersen, Kunsten på helsetur, Politiken, Stilanalysen er kontinuerligt blevet udfordret og kritiseret igennem de seneste 30 år, men består stadig som en ofte ureflekteret og alligevel grundlæggende manøvre i hjertet af en kunsthistorisk praksis. Se eksempelvis Willibald Sauerländer: From Stilus to Style: Reflections on the Fate of a Notion, Art History 6 nr. 3, 1983; Svetlana Alpers: Style is What You Make It. The Visual Arts Once Again, i Berel Lang (red.): The Concept of Style, Ithaca 1987, 2. udg.; Jas Elsner: Style, i Robert S. Nelson og Richard Shiff (red): Critical Terms for Art History, Chicago og London 2003, 2. udg. 6 Se især Teresa Nielsen: Johannes C. Bjerg. De tidlige år , Kunstmuseet Køge Skitsesamling, Køge 1990 og kortere omtaler i Hanne Abildgaard: Modernitet og menneske, i Jens Erik Sørensen (red.): Dansk skulptur i 125 år, København 1996; Hanne Abildgaard: Tidlig dansk modernisme, Ny dansk kunsthistorie, bd. 6, København 1994, 161ff; Gertrud Oelsner og Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen (red.): Livslyst. Sundhed Skønhed Styrke i dansk kunst , Fuglsang Kunstmuseum og Fyns Kunstmuseum, Toreby L. og Odense abildgaard, 1994, 219. Min magisterkonferensafhandling fra 2008, indleveret ved Institut for Kunst- og Kulturvidenskab, Københavns Universitet, Det klassiske som figur. Mening og nærvær i skulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Einar Utzon-Frank og Johannes C. Bjerg, som denne artikel tager udgangspunkt i, er det første teoretisk ambitiøse studium af de tre skulptørers værk i nyere tid. Der eksisterer ligeledes et upubliceret speciale fra 2002 om Einar Utzon-Frank, der desværre lider af teoretiske og metodiske mangler. 8 Michel Foucault: Nietzsche genealogien, historien, i Søren Gosvig Olesen (red.): Epistemologi, København 1983, Se eksempelvis Hans Dam Christensen: Forskydningens kunst. Kritiske bidrag til kunsthistoriens historie, København Det eneste nogenlunde integrerede forsøg i nyere tid på at konstruere en decideret fortælling om kunsten fra tiden før 2. Verdenskrig, som inkluderer den traditionshenvisende, figurative skulptur, kom med udstillingen Livslyst på Fuglsang Kunstmuseum og Fyns Kunstmuseum i Udstillingens tema, vitalismen i dansk kunst, dækker over mange slags kunstneriske udtryk og er i denne sammenhæng for bredt til at belyse specifikke kunstneriske formvalg hos Rathsack, Bjerg og Utzon-Frank. Se Oelsner og Hvidberg-Hansen, Ganske sigende får Rathsack, Bjerg og Utzon-Frank et par sider sammen med andre skulptører i Hans Edvard Nørregaard- Nielsens 672 sider lange, meget solgte bog om dansk kunsthistorie under overskriften: Og de andre, hvor Rathsacks efternavn i øvrigt staves forkert. Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen: Dansk kunst. Tusind års kunsthistorie, København 2003, 6. udg., 478ff. Den mest gennemgribende formidling af tidens skulptur, der dog er ganske overordnet, findes i Abildgaard, Det hidtil største og mest sammenhængende studie af modernismen som hovedfortælling findes i Hans Hayden: Modernismen som institution.om etableringen av ett estetisk och historiografiskt paradigm, Stockholm og Stehag Ibid., 8ff; James Elkins: Master Narratives and Their Discontents, New York og London 2005, 30-31, Se Dorthe Aagesen (red.): Avantgarde i dansk og europæisk kunst , Statens Museum for Kunst, København Begrebet moderne klassicisme, klassicerende modernisme eller ny klassicisme er forskellige betegnelser for et fænomen, der stadig er underbelyst og kontroversielt, og de fleste diskussioner af dette findes indlejret i oversigtsværker, monografier og udstillingskataloger om avantgardekunstnere. En række nyere udstillinger med tilhørende kataloger har dog forsøgt at tackle problematikken, heriblandt: Elizabeth Cowling og Jennifer Mundy (red.): On Classic Ground, udstillingskatalog Tate Gallery, , London 1990; Gottfried Boehm, Ulrich Mosch og Katharina Schmidt (red.): Canto d Amore. Classicism in Modern Art and Music , udstillingskatalog Kunstmuseum Basel, , London 1996; Robert Storr: Modern Art despite Modernism, udstillingskatalog The Museum of Modern Art, New York, , New York Det eneste nyere oversigtsværk over skulptur, der konsekvent medtager den moderne klassicisme, synes at være: Penelope Curtis: Sculpture After Rodin, Oxford Et inspirerende studie af sammenkoblingen mellem nationalisme, politik og kunst i mellemkrigstidens Frankrig findes i: Romy Golan: Modernity and Nostalgia. Art and politics in France between the war, New Haven og London Dertil har en række værker om primært fransk (avantgarde)kunst ligeledes taget vigtige aspekter af problematikken op: David Cottington: Cubism in the Shadow of War. The Avant-Garde and Politics in Paris , New Haven og London 1998; Christopher Green: Cubism and its Enemies. Modern Movements and Reaction in French Art, , New Haven og London 1987; Christopher Green: Art in France , New Haven og London 2000; Kenneth E. Silver: Esprit de Corps. The Art of the Parisian Avant-Garde and the First World War, , London Curtis, 1999, Elizabeth Cowling: Introduction, i 69 rasmus kjærboe

70 Elizabeth Cowling og Jennifer Mundy (red.): On Classic Ground, Tate Gallery, London 1990, Ibid. 19 Guillaume Apollinaire: André Derain, i Apollinaire on Art, redigeret af Leroy C. Breuning, London 1972, Green, 2000, Se Golan, Se særligt Christopher Green, Part Five. History, Tradition and the French Nation, Art in France , New Haven og London Befriet for anekdoter og som et værdigt udtryk for det evige og sande i en nations sjæl blev landskabet det andet store motiv for periodens billedkunstnere. Se Green, 2000; Golan, adam Fischer: Moderne klassisk kunst i Paris, Klingen 2. årg. nr. 3, adam Fischer: Negersculptur og moderne kunst, Klingen 1. årg. nr. 6, abildgaard, 1994, 153ff. 27 abildgaard, 1994, 121ff. 28 abildgaard, 1994, 139ff. 29 Se eksempelvis Vilhelm Wanscher: Moderne Kunst, Politiken En forklaringsmodel, der anvendes bl.a. i Golan, Leo Swane: Svend Rathsack. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 17, København 1934, 9; Leo Swane: Johannes C. Bjerg. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 9, København 1932, 13; Sigurd Schultz: Utzon Frank. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 10, København 1932, Schultz, 1932, Maria Fabricius Hansen: The Great Age of Statuettes. Danish Decorative Sculpture, , Scandinavian Journal of Design History vol. 3, I denne sammenhæng ses klassicisme som en reference til, eller et ønske om, at være inden for et felt, der betegnes klassisk, og modernisme som en reference til, eller et ønske om, at være inden for et felt, der bærer i hvert fald medbetydninger af moderne. Med fare for reduktionen optræder klassisk og klassicisme delvist som synonymer, ligesom moderne og modernisme, igennem teksten. For en mere udviklet distinktion omkring det klassiske og klassicisme, se Gottfried Boehm: An Alternative Modern. On the Concept and Basis of the Exhibition, i Gottfried Boehm, Ulrich Mosch og Katharina Schmidt (red.): Canto d Amore. Classicism in Modern Art and Music , Kunstmuseum Basel, London 1996, 24. Begrebet modernisme er en abstraktion, der som oftest vil blive forstået som en reaktion på en oplevelse af en modernitetserfaring. Yderligere afgrænsninger af, hvad der skal til for at udgøre en modernisme, er dog lige så omdiskuterede som definitionen på, hvad det moderne er. For nogle i dag udbredte definitioner på modernisme som en erfaring, se Marshall Berman: All That is Solid Melts into Air. The Experience of Modernity [1982], London og New York, Paul Holberton: Classicism, i Hugh Brigstocke (red.): Oxford Companion to Western Art, Oxford Neoclassicism, i Ian Chilvers (red.): A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art, Oxford Ferdinand de Saussure: Lingvistikkens objekt [1916], i Peter Madsen (red.): Strukturalisme. En antologi, København Det er selvsagt umuligt at give en oversigt over alt, der er skrevet om den klassiske tradition, endsige give en meningsfuld gennemgang af værker og kunstnere, der er blevet kaldt klassiske. Se eksempelvis litteraturlisten og overvejelserne over den i Michael Greenhalgh, The Classical Tradition in Art, London 1978, 9, 235ff. Her opregnes omtrent 1000 artikler og bøger om klassisk billedkunst og arkitektur. 39 Calinescu, 1987, 13-14; Johan Fornäs: Cultural Theory and Late Modernity, London 1995, 19; Boehm, 1996, Calinescu, 1987, 26ff. 41 to af Winckelmanns bøger kom til at stå i centrum for forestillingen om den klassiske antiks forbilledlige, kunstneriske status: Johann Joachim Winckelmann: Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in Malerey und Bildhauerkunst, Dresden og Leipzig 1756; Johann Joachim Winckelmann: Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums, Dresden alex Potts: Flesh and the Ideal. Winckelmann and the Origins of Art History, New Haven og London 2000, Hugh Honour: Neo-Classicism, i The Age of Neo-Classicism, The Arts Council of Great Britain, London 1972, xxii. 44 Moderniteten, det er det forbigående, det flygtige, det ikke-nødvendige, kunstens ene halvdel, hvis anden halvdel er det evige og urokkelige. Charles Baudelaire: Det moderne livs maler [1863], Århus 2001, 33; Kunsthistorikeren Craig Owens citerer Jules Lemaîtres udlægning af Baudelaires kunstsyn som: [a] constant combination of two opposite modes of reaction a past and a present mode. Craig Owens: The Allegorical Impulse, i Brian Wallis (red.): Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation, New York 1984, athena S. Leoussi: Nationalism and Classicism. The Classical Body as National Symbol in Nineteenth-Century England and France, London 1998, 25ff. 46 Erik Zahle, Svend Rathsacks Ungdom, Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XXX, 1943, ; Abildgaard, 1996, En samtidig moderne klassicisme kan konstateres i dansk arkitektur med Carl Petersens Faaborg Museum som et tidligt eksempel, men at diskutere arkitektur som en decideret analogi til billedkunsten ligger langt uden for artiklens område. 48 For et overblik over tidens forestillinger om den antikke kunsts periodeinddelinger og karaktertræk se eksempelvis en populær håndbog, der blev trykt i talrige oplag og udgaver: J.M. Secher: Græsk-romersk Kunsthistorie til Skolebrug, København 1926, 6. udg. 49 Jf. Zahle, 1943, I kunsthistorisk og arkæologisk litteratur er der enighed om, at fremadrakte eller løftede arme i friskulpturen er træk, der tidligst ses i den senklassiske skulptur, men som først virkelig udfoldes i renæssancens bronzeskulpturer. Se Robin Osborne: Archaic and Classical Greek Art, Oxford 1998, Synet på kourosstatuen som i hvert fald til tider ideel og almen er generelt vedtaget. Robin Osborne: Men Without Clothes: Heroic Nakedness and Greek Art, Gender & History vol. 9 nr.3, 1997, 512; Nanette Salomon: The Venus Pudica: uncovering art history s hidden agendas and pernicious pedigrees, i Griselda Pollock (red.): Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts, London og New York 1996, 71ff. 52 Om tidens kropskultur og dens klassiske forbilleder se Tamar Garb: Bodies of Modernity. Figure and Flesh in Fin-de-Siècle France, London 1998, 54-79; En dansk kontekst beskrives i Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen: Hellas under nordlig himmel, i Gertrud Oelsner og Gertrud Hvidbeg-Hansen (red.): Livslyst. Sundhed Skønhed Styrke i dansk kunst , Toreby L. og Odense traditionsopgøret ses i den meste litteratur som et afgørende, fremadrettet grundlag fælles for både modernismen og avantgarden. Se eksempelvis de indflydelsesrige studier: Peter Bürger: Theory of the Avant-Garde, Minneapolis 1994, 3. udg., 22, 49, 60-63; Matei Calinescu: Five Faces of Modernity, Durham, 1987, 2. udg., 5, 10; Renato Poggioli: The Theory of the Avant-Garde Cambridge MA og London 1968, 30ff, 52ff. 54 roland Barthes: Myten i dag, Mytologier [1957/70], København Den bogstavelige, hebraiske betydning af Adam er menneske, og i almen, vestlig og kristen influeret forståelse er Adam et billede på alle mennesker igennem sin rolle som det første menneske, den første synder og den første agerbruger. James F. Driscoll: Adam, i The Catholic Encyclopedia, New York 1907), tilgængelig på cathen/ 56 Zahle, 1943, 110. rasmus kjærboe 70

71 57 aksel Rode: To danske billedhuggere, Konstspegeln 6/7, 1955/56, Kunsthistorikeren Anne Højer Petersen giver en meget lignende analyse: Bjerg har i den store Abessinier forenet det klassiske (menneskefiguren, materialet) med det moderne (det motivløse, ikke-fortællende indhold, det etniske) i en helstøbt enhed og tilmed skabt en sjældent fuldgyldig rundskulptur i det monumentale format. Anne Højer Petersen: Johannes C. Bjerg, Abessinier ( ), i Tine Nielsen Fabienke og Gertrud Oelsner (red.): Vores bedste stykker, Toreby L. 2008, Skulpturen er lavet over samme mandlige model som Georg Kolbes to år ældre Torso eines Somalinegers, så motivet kan polemisk set også være Kolbes statue, snarere end den levende model. Se To Arbejder efter samme Model, Dagens Nyheder, Fornäs, 1995, 30. Til dette kan bemærkes, at forskellige folkeslag tidligere har oplevet at blive revet op med rode ; de jødiske folkeslag og forskellige historiske folkevandringer er gode eksempler. De afrikanske folk i vesten er dog de første, som på en massiv skala både oplever at blive fysisk flyttet og få deres kultur systematisk udsat for udryddelse, nedgørelse og glemsel. 61 Haavard Rostrup, 1950, 438, 442; Rode, 1955/56, Sigurd Schultz karakteriserede allerede i 1929 Utzon-Franks kunst som havende en tilbøjelighed til det Maniererede, hvilket skal ses som en traditionel, kvalitativ kritik og ikke som en bestemmelse af kunstneren som inspireret af manierismen. I samme tekst fremhæves Utzon-Franks inspiration som stammende fra antikken og florentinsk renæssance. Schultz, 1929, Ernst Jonas Bencard har i forbindelse med denne artikel gjort opmærksom på, at manierisme og manieret er begreber, der findes flere steder i omtalen af Bjerg og Utzon-Frank og derfor kunne medtages som del af en analyse af deres tidlige kunst. Til dette er at bemærke, at manierisme er en både forkætret og meget løs definition, og at karakteristikken af Bjergs og Utzon-Franks kunst sker noget senere end værkernes produktionstidspunkt, og først efter de to absolut grundlæggende bestemmelser af manierismen som stilart af de østrigske kunsthistorikere Max Dvořák og Walter Friedländer udkommer i henholdsvis 1922 og Særligt Friedländers karakteristisk af det anti-klassiske og Dvořáks åndshistoriske bestemmelse af krisefornemmelser i manierismen er absolut mulige at diskutere i sammenhæng med den moderne klassicisme, men det er usandsynligt at sætte Bjergs og Utzon-Franks værker i forbindelse med denne type tolkninger, før de var mere udbredte. Selv om enkelte kunstnere såsom El Greco, Giambologna og Cellini, der senere skulle blive anskuet som inkarnerede manierister, var beundrede før 1920 erne, er det langt overvejende sandsynligt, at det er de proto-manieristiske karaktertræk i de allerede anerkendte gotiske og florentinske 1400-tals skulpturer, det først og fremmest har været målet at associere til. Max Dvořák: Über Greco und den Manierismus, Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschicthe, XV, 1921/1922; Walter Friedländer: Die Entstehung des antiklassischen Stiles in der italienischen Malerei um 1520, Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XLVI, Jf. note Flere af disse værker er i dag forsvundet og findes kun dokumenteret fotografisk i Danmarks Kunstbibliotek, Kunsthistorisk Billedarkiv. Se også Chr. Engelstoft: Einar Utzon Frank, Skønvirke V, 1919, rodin og Meunier synes at være bredt accepterede som Utzon-Franks forbilleder i forsøget på at frasige sig den form for naturalistisk skulptur, der undervistes i på Kunstakademiet af Carl Aarsleff, og som var den dominerende type skulptur i Danmark i de første årtier af det 20. århundrede. Se eksempelvis Rode, 1955/56, 15; Schultz, 1932, Schultz, Utzon Frank, 10, Poul Henningsen: Einar Utzon Frank, Vor Tid II, 1918, 140, Henningsen, 1918, Caroline Arscott og Katie Scott: Introducing Venus, i Caroline Arscott og Katie Scott (red.): Manifestations of Venus. Art and Sexuality, Manchester Norman Bryson: Tradition and Desire. From David to Delacroix, Cambridge Bryson, 1984, Ernst Jonas Bencard: Generationen uden egenskaber, i Ernst Jonas Bencard og Stig Miss: Afmagt. Dansk billedhuggerkunst , København 2002); Aksel Rode: 1880 ernes og 90 ernes billedhuggere. Fra klassicismens efterklange til 90 ernes stilsøgen, i Viggo Thorlacius-Ussing (red.): Danmarks billedhuggerkunst. Fra oldtid til nutid, København 1950, Henningsen, 1918, 140, rode, 1948, Samme funktion, det moderne klassiske værk som selvbevidst fremviser af stilen selv, identificerer kunsthistorikerne Jens Toft og Gottfried Boehm uafhængigt af hinanden som en central strategi hos andre af tidens kunstnere. Jens Toft: Nogle betragtninger over tegnet i maleriet, Periskop. Forum for kunsthistorisk debat nr. 4, 1995; Boehm, In other words, the notion of unified form is integrally bound up with the perception of self, and the construction of individual identity. Lynda Nead: The Female Nude. Art, Obscenity and Sexuality, New York og London 2004, 7; Se også George L. Mosse: The Image of Man. The Creation of Modern Masculinity, Oxford og New York 1996, 24ff. 77 rosalind Krauss: Passages in Modern Sculpture, Cambridge MA og London 1981, 23ff. 78 Denne læsning går stik imod en tradition for at opfatte det kunstneriske kropsbillede som primært et æstetisk anliggende, som eksempelvis argumenteret i kunsthistorikeren Kenneth Clarks indflydelsesrige bog: The Nude. A Study in Ideal Form [1956], London En væsentlig kritik af Clark og hans position ses i Nead, 2004, 12ff. 79 Se eksempelvis Richard Shiff: Phototropism (Figuring the Proper), i Kathleen Preciardo (red.): Retaining the Original. Multiple Originals, Copies, and Reproductions, Washington 1989, 164, Barthes, Se eksempelvis angrebet på postmoderne, traditionshenvisende kunst i Benjamin H.D. Buchloh: Figures of Authority, Ciphers of Regression: Notes on the Return of Representation in European Painting, October 16, Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe: Skulptur i folkhemmet. Den offentlige skulpturens institutionalisering, referentialitet och rumsliga situationer , Göteborg 2007, Bryson, 1984, 15ff. 84 rathsack og Bjerg skabte i 1920 erne en del forlæg til relieffer på nye boligblokke bygget i dansk klassicisme og funktionalisme i bl.a. Vanløse, København NV og på Østerbro. Utzon-Frank skabte bl.a. forlæg til figurerne på facaden af Det kongelige Teaters tilbygning, Stærekassen, omkring , og relieffet Tyr i det moderne slagterikompleks i Kødbyen i Værker af kunstnerne opstilledes ligeledes i forbindelse med Aarhus Stadion og Østerbro Stadion, i offentlige parker og i mange andre arkitektoniske sammenhænge. 85 Bjergs og Utzon-Franks virke som professorer formede en generation af danske billedhuggere på godt og ondt og blev i stigende grad set som hæmmende. Se Ernst Jonas Bencard: Den bundne varme, BKF. Billedkunstnernes Forbund, nr ; Rasmus Kjærboe: Billedhuggerskole med vægt på traditionen. Johannes C. Bjerg, professor , i Henrik B. Andersen og Carsten Jarlov (red.): Billedhuggerskolen i Frederiksholms Kanal, København rasmus kjærboe

72 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 72

73 Henri Matisse Le Luxe II k at h r i n e segel og ole nørrega a r d jensen Maleriet Le Luxe II 1 [fig. 1] af Henri Matisse ( ) blev i 2009 restaureret på Statens Museum for Kunsts (SMK) Bevaringsafdeling. I forbindelse med behandlingen blev der foretaget en række undersøgelser for at opnå en større viden om maleriets tilblivelse og for generelt at udvide kendskabet til Matisses maleteknik. Man var bl.a. interesseret i at afdække, hvordan kunstneren havde overført motivet til lærredet. Endvidere ønskede man at finde svar på, i hvilket medium Matisse havde udført Le Luxe II, eftersom den eksisterende information pegede i forskellige retninger. I forbindelse med den omfattende undersøgelse blev der etableret et samarbejde med proteinforskere fra Institut for Biokemi og Molekylær Biologi på Syddansk Universitet (SDU) i Odense. Tre gange Le Luxe Som maleriets titel indikerer, malede Matisse to udgaver af Le Luxe. Den ældste version, Le Luxe I, udførte Matisse i starten af 1907 i Collioure i Sydfrankrig. Maleriet blev udført i olie og måler 210 cm x 138 cm. Det blev udstillet senere samme år på Salon d Automne i Paris under titlen Luxe (esquisse). Det faktum, at Matisse dengang tilføjede ordet skitse til maleriets titel, kan opfattes som en antydning af, at maleriet enten var uafsluttet, eller at det udgjorde en del af en længere proces. Maleriet, som i dag kendes under navnet Le Luxe I, forblev i kunstnerens eje helt frem til 1945, hvor det blev solgt til Musée National d Art Moderne i Paris (i dag Centre George Pompidou). Modsat den oven for beskrevne ældre version herskede der i en lang årrække en del uklarhed om tilblivelsen og dateringen af det efterfølgende arbejde, Le Luxe II. 2 I dag er man dog overbevist om, at Matisse malede værket i sit atelier i Couvert des Oiseaux i Paris enten i slutningen af 1907 eller begyndelsen af Le Luxe II måler 209,5 cm x 139 cm. Ud over den størrelsesmæssige lighed med Le Luxe I er kompositionen i de to malerier næsten identisk. I modsætning til den ældre udgave er Le Luxe II tydeligvis ikke udført i olie, hvilket bl.a. er baggrunden for denne artikel. Le Luxe II blev udstillet i Køln og London i 1912, og maleriet var desuden med på Armory Show i New York året efter. I 1917 købte den danske ingeniør, politiker og boligspekulant Johannes Rump maleriet. Han donerede i januar 1928 sin kunstsamling til SMK, heriblandt Le Luxe II. Trods ligheder i kompositionen mellem de to versioner af Le Luxe adskiller malerierne sig stilmæssigt fra hinanden. Le Luxe I er malet med brede, uregelmæssige penselstrøg, hvilket skaber en form for volumen, mens landskab og figurer i Le Luxe II er forenklede og reducerede til næsten flade monokrome farvefelter. Maleriet viser tre nøgne kvindefigurer på en strand. I forgrunden ses en mørkhåret kvinde, som står på et hvidt klæde. Ved kvindens fødder ses en knælende, blond kvinde, der (Fig. 1) Henri Matisse: Le Luxe II Limfarve på lærred Statens Museum for Kunst 73 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

74 enten forsøger at tørre den opretstående kvindes fødder eller befri hende for klædet. Maleriets tredje kvindefigur er på vej hen imod de to andre. Hun har en buket blomster i hånden, og hendes positur antyder, at hun ønsker at overbringe buketten til den stående kvinde. Nogle mener, at maleriet giver associationer til Venus fødsel. 4 Andre tolker motivet som en allegori over tre tilstande: aktivitet, passivitet og kontemplation. 5 Ud over de to ovennævnte malerier findes der en udateret fortegning af motivet, som tilhører Centre George Pompidou i Paris. Tegningen måler i dag 225 cm x 137 cm og er derfor en anelse højere i forhold til de to malerier. I hver ende af tegningen er der lagt 7,5 cm til som to tomme horisontale bånd. Disse horisontale bånd er formentlig en del af tegningens ombukningskant, som man i forbindelse med en tidligere doublering har foldet ud og således føjet til værket. 6 Hvis dette er tilfældet, har tegningen oprindeligt målt 210 cm x 137 cm, hvilket stemmer overens med størrelsen af de to malerier. Fortegningen er udført på papir, som er blevet inddelt i kvadrater af cirka 20 x 20 cm med en rødlig streg. Oven på kvadreringen har Matisse tegnet motivet med kul. Matisse har undladt at datere fortegningen, men forskning har vist, at Matisse kan have udført den i perioden mellem Le Luxe I og Le Luxe II. 7 I så fald har fortegningen fungeret som et redskab, så Matisse kunne fastholde motivet i sin erindring, fordi Le Luxe I skulle på udstilling umiddelbart efter dets færdiggørelse. Denne tese underbygges af det faktum, at Le Luxe I blev udstillet på Salon d Automne som Luxe (esquisse), hvilket kan opfattes som en indikation på, at et endeligt værk var under udarbejdelse. Endvidere har kunsthistoriker Yve-Alain Bois registreret, at Matisse foretog en række kompositionelle ændringer i den senere version af maleriet. 8 Den opretstående kvinde på Le Luxe I har front mod beskueren, hvorimod hun på Le Luxe II drejer sig en anelse mere mod heraldisk venstre. Ligeså flytter denne kvindefigur foden fra heraldisk højre mod heraldisk venstre. Sammenlignes malerierne med fortegningen, er det, som om at fortegningen kompositorisk placerer sig mellem de to versioner af Le Luxe. Justeringerne på fortegningen kan tolkes, som om Matisse på idéniveau var ved at foretage en rotation af maleriets centrale figur. Konserveringen af Le Luxe II i 1966 I 1966 foretog konservatorer på SMK en gennemgribende konservering af Le Luxe II. Maleriets overflade var allerede på dette tidspunkt stærkt medtaget grundet en større vandskade i øverste halvdel samt skjolddannelser og løbere fra mindre vandstænk. Et fotografi af Le Luxe II fra 1919 afslørede, at denne vandskade ikke var original [fig. 2]. 9 Det matte farvelag var dækket af talrige opskalninger og revnedannelser. Endvidere var lærredet stærkt medtaget. Derfor valgte man at doublere maleriet med limklister på varmebord. Limklisteren, som anvendtes til behandlingen, blev fremstillet af hvedemel, gelatine, benzosyre og vand. 10 Lokalt blev opskalninger fastlagt med gelatine. Desuden retoucherede man de mest beskadigede områder af Le Luxe II med en blanding af tørpigment og gelatine, som matchede farvelagets matte udseende. Udgangspunkt for de maletekniske undersøgelser i 2009 I begyndelsen af 2009 blev Le Luxe II af æstetiske årsager igen taget ind til behandling på SMK s Bevaringsafdeling. De gamle retoucher var misfarvede og virkede forstyrrende på oplevelsen af maleriet. Samtidig var man interesseret i at foretage en række undersøgelser af Le Luxe II for at udbygge allerede eksisterende viden om Matisses maleteknik samt at af- eller bekræfte nogle modstridende oplysninger om værket. For det første herskede der ved undersøgelsens start tvivl om, hvordan Matisse havde overført motivet til lærred. Pga. overordnede ligheder i kompositionen mellem henholdsvis Le Luxe II og fortegningen gættede man på, at Matisse formentlig havde benyttet sig af en eller anden form for overførselsteknik. Dog kunne man med det blotte øje ikke umiddelbart se indikationer på en undertegning under farvelaget. For det andet søgte man svar på, hvilket medium Le Luxe II var malet med. Eksisterende litteratur beskrev farvelaget som enten kasein eller limfarve, hvilket kemisk set er to vidt forskellige farvetyper. Den tidligste danske kilde, som omtaler maleriet, er et udstillingskatalog over J. Rumps Samling af moderne fransk kunst. Kataloget udkom i 1929, og her blev det angivet, at maleriet var udført i limfarve. 11 Men i en spørgeskemaundersøgelse fra 1951, som blev foretaget i forbindelse med en retrospektiv udstilling på MoMA i New York, skulle Matisse efter sigende have udtalt, at Le Luxe II var udført i détrempe. 12 Begrebet détrempe har på fransk to betydninger, 13 og ordet kan således oversættes til både limfarve (eng: distemper) og emulsionsmaling/ tempera. I A.H. Barrs publikation om Matisse fra 1951, der bl.a. tager udgangspunkt i spørgeskemaundersøgelsen, er détrempe oversat til engelsk med casein (da: kaseinmaling). 14 Sidenhen har man i diverse internationale publikationer kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 74

75 kunnet se begge begreber anvendt i beskrivelsen af farvelaget på Le Luxe II. Endvidere findes der oplysninger om, at Matisse skulle have fået malingsopskriften fra den relativt ukendte, catalanske maler Etienne Terrus, 15 men trods ihærdig efterforskning er det ikke lykkedes at fremskaffe den originale opskrift. 16 Visuelt forekom farvelaget på Le Luxe II at være ekstremt mat, nærmest pastelagtig. Desuden viste en forundersøgelse, at farvelaget var vandopløseligt. Disse to registreringer af farvelaget pegede umiddelbart i retning af limfarve. Omvendt kunne det også være en indikation på et farvelag i en meget nedbrudt tilstand. Uafhængigt af hvilket medium Matisse skulle vise sig at have brugt, adskiller Le Luxe II sig fra kunstnerens øvrige værker ved ikke at være udført i olie. Så vidt vides findes der kun tre lignende tilfælde, hvoraf de to malerier eksisterer i dag. På kunstmuseet i Grenoble i Frankrig har man foretaget en bindemiddelsanalyse af maleriet Intérieur aux Aubergines (da: Interiør med auberginer) fra Undersøgelsen afslørede, at farvelaget indeholdt animalsk lim. 17 Ifølge konservatorerne på Eremitagen i Skt. Petersborg er Le café Arabe/ Café marocain (da: Marokkansk/ Arabisk café) fra 1913 formentlig også udført i limfarveteknik. 18 Denne oplysning beroede dog udelukkende på konservatorernes empiriske materialekendskab. Her forelå igen tekniske resultater. Det tredje maleri La Nuit/ Grand Nu à la colle (da: Stor nøgen kvinde) fra 1911 er desværre ødelagt, formentlig af kunstneren selv, men var ifølge litteraturen ligeledes udført i limfarve. 19 Kvadrering Da prydrammen til Le Luxe II blev afmonteret i forbindelse med restaureringen, kunne man langs maleriets horisontale sider se en cirka 1 cm lang streg for hver 20 cm. Nogle steder havde stregen form som et smalt v. De korte streger var afsat vinkelret i forhold til siden af male- (Fig. 1) Henri Matisse: Le Luxe II Limfarve på lærred Statens Museum for Kunst (Fig. 2) Fotografi af Le Luxe II fra 1919 Photograph of Le Luxe II 75 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

76 (Fig. 3) Afstandsmarkering langs maleriets horisontale sider Distance marks along the painting s horizontal sides (Fig. 4) Infrarød optagelse af afstandsmarkeringen langs maleriets vertikale sider Infrared photograph of distance marks along the vertical sides riet [fig. 3]. I alt kunne man se seks streger i henholdsvis top og bund. De små afmærkninger var lavet med blyant. Stregerne var afsat med cirka samme afstand og kunne iagttages parvis over for hinanden langs top og bund. Dette indikerede, at Matisse formentlig havde benyttet sig af en eller anden form for inddeling af lærredet. Med det blotte øje kunne man dog ikke umiddelbart se lignende streger langs maleriets vertikale sider. Herefter blev maleriet studeret med infrarødt lys. Til undersøgelsen blev brugt Artist PRO kamera fra Art Innovation. 20 De infrarøde optagelser afslørede, at der langs maleriets to vertikale sider fandtes samme type afstandsmarkering. De 1 cm lange streger var ligeledes sat med en afstand på cirka 20 cm, og markeringen var vinkelret på malerisiden [fig. 4]. I hver side kunne man iagttage i alt 10 streger. Den øverste markering var afsat 20 cm fra maleriets overkant, og som følge af maleriets længde (209,5 cm) befandt den sidste markering sig ca. 10 cm fra bunden. Grunden, til at man med det blotte øje ikke kunne se afmærkningerne langs maleriets vertikale sider, var, at Matisse i disse områder malede helt ud til kanten (i modsætning til top og bund). Der var nu klare indikationer på, at Matisse havde haft inddelt lærredet i felter. I det infrarøde lys kunne man dog ikke umiddelbart se, at punkterne havde været forbundet med henholdsvis vandrette og lodrette linjer og således afsløret en kvadrering af malefladen. En kvadrering er en velkendt overførselsteknik, som bruges, når man skal overføre et motiv fra en flade til en anden (fx fra skitse kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 76

77 til lærred). Kvadreringen tillader kunstneren at tegne motivet op med frihånd ved at bruge kvadreringens gitter som hjælpelinjer. 21 Ved en nærmere visuel analyse blev det dog afsløret, at lærredet havde været inddelt i kvadrater. I områder, hvor grunderingen stod blottet, eller hvor farvelaget var transparent påført, kunne man enkelte steder iagttage brudstykker af enten en horisontal eller en vertikal linje. Placeringen af disse linjefragmenter korresponderede med afmærkningerne langs maleriets kanter. I alt kunne man på Le Luxe II observere spor efter kvadreringen tolv forskellige steder [fig. 5]. Malefladen havde oprindeligt været inddelt i 10,5 x 7 felter. Denne inddeling er identisk med den kvadrering, som ses på fortegningen, hvis man ser bort fra de to horisontale bånd, der er stykket til tegningen. Kvadreringen på Le Luxe II var udført med kridt i en svagt rødlig farve, hvilket var grunden til, at man ikke kunne se den i infrarødt lys. Endvidere viste kridtstregen sig at være vandopløselig, og kvadreringen blev derfor formodentlig malet væk, da Matisse påførte det vandige farvelag. Kvadreringens vandopløselighed forklarer desuden, hvorfor maleriets lyse farvelag (særligt karnationen) lokalt har et rødligt skær. I disse områder har den røde farve fra kvadreringen blandet sig med farvelaget. Undertegning Efter at have inddelt lærredet i kvadrater trak Matisse motivet op med en tynd, mørkegrå kulstreg. Ligesom den rødlige kvadrering viste konturstregen sig at være vandopløselig, og stregen blev derfor formodentlig opløst, da Matisse påførte farvelaget. Det forklarer, hvorfor man ikke kan se undertegningen på de infrarøde optagelser. Undertegningen kan derfor kun iagttages i de ganske få områder, hvor farvelaget ikke er dækkende. Ét sted, hvor stregen er tydelig, er ved overgangen mellem hals og skulder på maleriets centrale figur, den opretstående kvinde [fig. 6]. Lokalt har undertegningen (ligesom kvadreringen) medført en skyggeagtig misfarvning af farvelaget rundt om motivets konturer pga. stregens vandopløselighed. Det er ikke klart, i hvor stort et omfang Matisse udførte kompositionelle rettelser i undertegningen (som dem, man ser på den eksisterende fortegning). Eftersom den skyggeagtige misfarvning kun kan iagttages lokalt omkring motivets konturlinjer, må man gå ud fra, at omfanget af eventuelle rettelser var begrænset. Matisse har formentlig kun trukket motivet op med en tynd streg. Fig.7 viser en skitsering af kvadreringen og den formodentlige undertegning til Le Luxe II. (Fig. 5) Detaljefoto, som viser et fragment af kvadreringen Detail photograph showing fragment of the grid (Fig. 6) Detaljefoto, som viser et fragment af den oprindelige skitse Detail photograph showing fragment of original underdrawing 77 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

78 (Fig. 7) Skitsering af kvadreringen og den formodentlige undertegning til Le Luxe II Sketch showing grid and possible underdrawing of Le Luxe II Bindemiddelsanalyse Som en del af undersøgelsen blev der foretaget en bindemiddelsanalyse for at fastslå, i hvilket medium Matisse havde udført Le Luxe II. Resultatet ville bl.a. have betydning for forståelsen af Matisses maleteknik og kunstneriske udvikling. Yderligere ville en identifikation af bindemidlet have betydning for den forestående restaurering af maleriet, idet man ønskede at anvende retoucheringsmaterialer, der var reversible i forhold til de originale materialer anvendt af Matisse. Som udgangspunkt havde man en formodning om, at Le Luxe II var udført i enten kasein eller limfarve. Kasein er et andet navn for en gruppe proteinmolekyler, som findes i mælk. Det tørrede kaseinpulver er i sig selv uopløseligt i vand, men kan gøres opløseligt og klæbende ved tilsætning af en basisk (alkalisk) væske, fx ammoniumhydrogenkarbonat. 22 Da kaseinet efter den alkaliske behandling både kan opløses i vand og olie, kaldes farven også for emulsionsmaling eller tempera (det latinske ord for at blande ). Efter tørring er kaseinfarven atter uopløselig i vand, fordi dens bestanddele, herunder proteinmolekylerne, krydsbindes under hærdningsprocessen. Limfarve er en malingstype bestående af tørpigmenter oprørt i en vandig lim. Inden for malerkunsten er der som regel tale om en animalsk lim fremstillet af afkog fra enten knogler eller skind. 23 I dyreknogler og -skind findes bl.a. et protein, som kaldes kollagen. I forsøget på at afklare, i hvilket medium Matisse udførte Le Luxe II, gav det derfor god mening at foretage en proteinanalyse, eftersom begge de formodede typer bindemidler er proteinholdige og adskiller sig fra hinanden ved bestemte proteinkomponenter. Proteinmolekyler er linære kæder af aminosyrer, som er bundet sammen af peptidbindinger. Det enkelte proteins opbygning kan inddeles i fire niveauer. Det laveste niveau kaldes molekylets primære struktur, og dette beskriver aminosyrernes rækkefølge i den linære kæde, analogt med perler på en snor. Herefter følger den sekundære struktur, som beskriver de lokale foldningsdomæner i aminosyrekæden. Proteinmolekylets tertiære struktur beskriver hele aminosyrekædens struktur i tre dimensioner, dvs. den rumlige struktur af proteinet. Det højeste niveau, den kvarternære struktur, beskriver bl.a. proteiners vekselvirkning med hinanden. Eftersom det ikke var muligt at foretage proteinanalyser på SMK, blev der taget kontakt til proteinforsker Ole Nørregaard Jensen, professor ved Institut for Biokemi og Molekylær Biologi på SDU. Proteinanalysen blev udført ved at ekstrahere og analysere en meget lille mængde afskrab fra maleriet Le Luxe II. Prøvematerialet blev udtaget mekanisk med en steril skalpel. I alt blev der udtaget seks prøver, hvoraf de tre var fra farvelaget, og én var fra grunderingen. Der blev udtaget prøvemateriale fra det blå, røde og grønne farvelag. De resterende to prøver var fra retoucheringsfarven. Hver enkelt prøve blev overført til en steril beholder og bragt til proteinforskningslaboratoriet på SDU. I de følgende afsnit vil der blive fokuseret på resultatet af prøverne fra henholdsvis farvelag og grundering. SDS-PAGE Materialet blev først analyseret ved gelelektroforese (SDS-PAGE). 24 I denne teknik anvendes et elektrisk felt til at separere proteiner ud fra deres molekylevægt (størrelse). De enkelte prøver fra Le Luxe II blev opløst i natriumdodecylsulfat (eng: SDS), hvilket medfører en ef- kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 78

79 MV SDS-PAGE separation of protein SDS PAGE separation of protein Sample no fektiv opløsning og udfoldning af de proteiner, der måtte være til stede i materialet. Efter den elektroforetiske separation fremkaldes og visualiseres proteinmønsteret ved hjælp af sølvfarvning [fig. 8], analogt til fotografiske fremkaldelsesteknikker. Til forsøget anvendtes en gradient-polyakylamidgel med en koncentration på 4-20%. Proteinerne vandrer igennem gelen ud fra deres størrelse, dvs. de små proteiner bevæger sig hurtigere end de større proteiner, hvorved der opnås en adskillelse af komponenterne i en given proteinblanding. MW 170 kda Ved SDS-PAGE separation anvendes måleenheden kilodalton (kda) 25 til at beskrive proteinernes størrelse. Analysen viste, at alle prøverne indeholdt protein i intervallet kda, og at flere af prøverne også indeholdt mindre proteiner i området kda [fig. 8]. Farvningsmønsteret tyder på, at proteinerne er blevet nedbrudt, idet der ikke fremstår tydelige individuelle proteinbånd, men snarere et udtværet spor af protein for hver af prøverne. Dette indikerede, at prøverne fra farvelaget på Le Luxe II indeholdt nedbrudt proteinmateriale, og at de oprindelige intakte proteiner var relativt store, dvs. større end 50 kda. Her skal bemærkes, at kaseinproteiner er små (mindre end 50 kda), mens kollagen-protein er større end 100 kda. LC-MS/MS For at komme nærmere en eksakt identifikation af komponenterne i de proteinholdige farvelag fra Le Luxe II blev prøvematerialet herefter analyseret ved hjælp af LC-MS/MS. 26 Dette er en teknik, som er udbredt til proteinkarakterisering inden for cellebiologisk forskning, proteinkemi og proteomanalyse. LC-MS/MS kombinerer højtryks-væskekromatografi (HPLC) med avanceret massespektrometri (MS/MS). Sidstnævnte er en højfølsom teknik, som gør det muligt at sekventere proteiner, dvs. at bestemme rækkefølgen af aminosyrer i proteinkæden. Rækkefølgen af aminosyrer (sekvensen) er unik for de (Fig. 8) Fotografi af de afsatte markører på polyakrylamidgelen Photograph of the markers left on the polyacrylamide gel ESI MS/MS analysis: Collagen Protein fragment: GAAGLIGPK ( ) (Fig. 9) Identifikation af kollagen v.h.a. LC-MS/MS. Dette tandem massespektrum af et peptid gør det muligt at udlede peptidets aminosyresekvens v.h.a. søgning i en proteinsekvens-database. Derved identificeres proteinets kollagen som værende en komponent i prøven. Identification of collagen using LC-MS/MS. This tandem mass spectrum of the peptide makes it possible to determine the peptide sequence of animo acid by searching in a protein sequence database. The protein collagen was thereby identified as one of the components in the sample 79 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

80 (Fig. 10) Farvesnit af det røde farvelag med konturlinje øverst Cross section of red paint layer with contour line on top (Fig. 11) Farvesnit af det lyserøde farvelag Cross section of pink paint layer enkelte proteiner og tillader derved identifikation af de enkelte proteinkomponenter i en blanding ud fra en søgning i en protein-sekvensdatabase. Metoden svarer til at tage et fingeraftryk eller et tandaftryk af en person og anvende dette til at identificere vedkommende ved at søge i en database over mulige kandidater. Massespektrometri anvendes bl.a. til strukturopklaring af organiske molekyler såsom proteiner, nukleinsyrer, fedtstoffer og metabolitter. I det her omtalte studie anvendte vi elektrospray-ionisering massespektrometri, hvor molekylerne overføres fra væskefasen til gasfasen, hvor de ioniseres, dvs. de påføres en ladning. Gasfase molekyle-ionerne kan manipuleres i elektriske og magnetiske felter, og ud fra deres bevægelse og energi kan deres masse-til-ladning-forhold (m/z), og derved deres molekylevægt, bestemmes. Desuden kan molekyle-ionerne fragmenteres, hvorved den kemiske sammensætning bestemmes. Massespektrometri baseret på fragmentering af proteiner giver som nævnt ovenfor mulighed for at bestemme aminosyresekvensen af proteinerne. Man kan således identificere det specifikke protein ved at sammenligne analysens resultater med information fra en proteindatabase. Når man arbejder med malerier af ældre dato, kan det ofte være svært at identificere bindemidlet, fordi materialet allerede er delvist nedbrudt. Endvidere betyder genstandens funktion og værdi, at man kun kan udtage prøvemateriale i meget begrænsede mængder. Massespektrometrisk proteinanalyse af prøvematerialet, der blev udtaget fra Le Luxe II, viste et stort indhold af specielt én stor proteinkomponent, nemlig bovint kollagen alfa-1 [fig. 9]. Kollagen er et protein, som findes i dyreknogler, og analysen viste endvidere, at det identificerede kollagen stammede fra en ko! Desuden blev der fundet spor af keratin, hvilket ligeledes er et pattedyr-protein. Keratin findes bl.a. i hud, hår og horn. Resultatet var identisk for både farvelag og grundering. Det skal understreges, at der ud fra LC-MS/MS analysen var stor overensstemmelse mellem prøverne, hvilket er med til at underbygge analysens resultater. Endvidere var der ingen spor af proteiner fra kasein i prøvematerialet. 27 Kontrolforsøg udført ved LCMS/MSanalyse af friske lim- og kaseinfarver viste de forventede resultater, dvs. identifikation af henholdsvis kollagen- og kaseinprotein. Desuden viste GC-MS-analyser udført på Nationalmuseets laboratorium et stort indhold af hydroxyprolin i prøverne fra Le Luxe II. Denne aminosyre er hyppigt forekommende i kollagenproteiner. Undersøgelsens resultater peger altså i retning af, at Matisse udførte Le Luxe II i limfarveteknik. Bindemidlet i henholdsvis grundering og farvelag har været baseret på knogleafkog, hvilket det store indhold af kollagen i prøvematerialet viste. Tilstedeværelsen af keratin kan enten forklares med, at der har været rester af dyreskind til stede under kogningen af limen, eller at det stammer fra den gelatine, som blev anvendt i forbindelse med konserveringen i Konklusionen, at Le Luxe II er malet med limfarve, stemmer overens med det faktum, at maleriets farvelag er yderst vandopløseligt, hvilket forundersøgelsen havde vist. Havde Le Luxe II været malet med kaseintempera, havde man formodentlig ikke kunnet kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 80

81 opløse farven med vand. Endvidere stemmer konklusionen overens med oplysningen fra Rump-kataloget fra 1929, hvor det som nævnt står beskrevet, at Le Luxe II var udført i limfarveteknik. Den misvisende information, om at maleriet var udført i kasein, er formentlig opstået efter spørgeskemaundersøgelsen i 1951, hvor begrebet détrempe efterfølgende blev forkert oversat fra fransk til engelsk. Maletekniske undersøgelser I forbindelse med undersøgelsen blev der udtaget en række farvesnit fra forskellige områder i maleriet. De enkelte farvesnit blev udtaget med skalpel og indstøbt i Serifix, 29 som er en tokomponent polyesterresin. Farvesnittene viste, at maleriet generelt bestod af en grundering, hvorpå der var blevet påført ét tyndt farvelag. Efterfølgende var motivets konturlinjer blevet trukket op oven på farvelaget [fig. 10]. Dette resultat understøttede den visuelle analyse af Le Luxe II. I nogle områder kunne grunderingen iagttages gennem limfarvelaget, og lokalt var grunderingen stadigvæk synlig. Da limfarveteknikken kræver en vis effektivitet fra kunstnerens side, er det mange steder muligt at betragte penselstrøgene. De synlige penselstrøg skal formentlig ses som en kombination af, at farvefelterne er blevet udfyldt forholdsvist hurtigt, og/eller fordi den pågældende limfarveblanding ikke var dækkende. Penselstrøgene kan fx iagttages på det lilla bjerg i baggrunden. Her er limfarven tydeligvis lagt på med vandrette strøg, og farvelaget i højre side er slet ikke dækkende, hvilket indikerer, at det er gået stærkt. Den lyserøde sky Lokalt var der dog afvigelser fra denne opbygning. Et farvesnit af den store lyserøde sky, som ses i maleriets højre side, afslører, at der under det lyserøde farvelag findes et grønligt farvelag bestående af hvide og grønne pigmentkorn [fig. 11]. Det grønlige farvelag kan stadig iagttages langs kanten af maleriet samt de steder, hvor det lyserøde farvelag er beskadiget [fig. 12]. I den sammenhæng er det interessant at bemærke, at skyen på Le Luxe I er malet med en lys grøn. Måske har Matisse haft som udgangspunkt, at farveholdningen i de to versioner af maleriet skulle stemme mere overens? Det faktum, at Matisse kun i dette område af Le Luxe II malede to farvelag oven på hinanden, kan være med til at forklare de skrab, der ses i farvelag og grundering netop i dette område. I skyens nederste, venstre halvdel er grunderingen og det underliggende grønne farvelag blevet skrabet af ned til lærredet. Skrabene er dog at betragte som originale, i og med det øverste lyserøde farvelag er blevet påført hen over det blottede lærred. Endvidere kan de fleste af skrabene anes på et fotografi, som Rump sendte til Matisses kunsthandler, Charles Vildrac, d. 27. september 1920 [fig. 2]. 30 Pga. limfarvens egenskaber viste det sig måske, at det var sværere end som så at påføre et farvelag oven på det originale. Limfarveteknikken kræver nemlig, at man arbejder i et hurtigt og jævnt tempo for at få et ensartet farvelag. Endvidere er limfarvelaget fortsat vandopløseligt efter tørring, og det er derfor svært at påføre et øvre farvelag uden at opløse det nedenunder. Matisse kan derfor på baggrund af dårlige erfaringer have valgt at begrænse rettelserne til dette område af maleriet. Som beskrevet udførte Matisse hovedparten af sine malerier i olie. Kun et begrænset antal værker er udført i andre medier formentlig alle i limfarve. De omtalte fire malerier malede Matisse i perioden At Matisse kun forsøgte sig med limfarven i en ganske kort periode, kan måske forklares med, at teknikken ikke levede op til kunstnerens krav. Matisses malerier gennemgik ofte en lang række forskellige stadier, før de kunne betragtes som færdige værker. De mange stadier var en del af arbejdsprocessen, hvor Matisse løbende ændrede på værkets farveholdning og komposition mm. Som eksempel kan nævnes maleriet Gran desnudo recostado/desnudo rosa fra 1935, 31 der tilhører The Baltimore Museum of Art. Maleriet blev over en periode på seks måneder ændret 22 gange. Som dokumentation lod Matisse hver af maleriets stadier fotografere. 32 Oliefarve krydslinker under hærdningsprocessen. Det betyder, at (Fig. 12) Detaljefoto, som viser det underliggende grønne farvelag Detail photograph showing the green paint layer 81 kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

82 (Fig. 13) Korrektion af konturfarven Correction of contour line farvelaget ikke opløses, når man maler et nyt lag ovenpå. Oliefarven gjorde det muligt for Matisse at viderebearbejde sine værker. Limfarvens egenskaber tillod ikke den samme form for lagvise opbygning. Konturlinjerne Som beskrevet viste farvesnittene og de visuelle analyser, at motivets konturlinjer var trukket op oven på farvelaget. Enkelte steder var der dog afvigelser fra denne opbygning. I første omgang valgte Matisse at bruge en mørkebrun farve til konturlinjerne. Farven var identisk med den farve, som Matisse brugte til hårfarven på to af maleriets kvinder. Oprindeligt var det meste af omridset på den løbende kvinde malet i den mørke farve. Ligeledes var pandepartiet på den knælende kvinde og det røde bjerg i baggrunden trukket op med denne farve. Senere valgte Matisse at trække konturlinjerne op med en grå farve i stedet. Alligevel er den mørkebrune farve stadigvæk synlig, fordi kunstneren ikke var helt præcis i sin linjeføring [fig. 13]. Kun øjenpartiet på Le Luxe II s centrale figur er stadigvæk udført i mørkebrun. I resten af kvindens ansigt valgte Matisse at bruge den grå farve til konturlinjerne. Konklusion Analytisk fotografi og visuelle studier af Le Luxe II viste, at Matisse anvendte en kvadrering til at overføre motivet til lærredet. Kvadreringen var udført med rødligt kridt, mens selve undertegningen havde været trukket op med en mørkegrå farve. Det underliggende forarbejde til maleriet var stort set blevet malet væk, fordi kridtstregen var vandopløselig. Dette er grunden til, at man i dag kun kan iagttage fragmenter af den oprindelige undertegning. Derudover blev det konstateret, at der var overensstemmelse mellem en udateret fortegning, som tilhører Centre George Pompidou, og den oprindelige kvadrering og undertegning på Le Luxe II. På SDU s laboratorium analyserede man maleriets grundering og farvelag ved hjælp af SDS-PAGE og LC- MS/MS. Resultaterne viste, at der var kollagen og spor af keratin i prøvematerialet. Det kunne derfor konkluderes, at Matisse havde udført Le Luxe II i limfarve, og at denne var fremstillet af benlim. De kunsthistoriske undersøgelser viste, at Matisse kun fire gange i sit liv anvendte et andet medium end olie til sine malerier. Ud over Le Luxe II viste studiet, at de tre andre malerier formentlig alle var/er udført i limfarve. Farvesnitsundersøgelser viste, at Le Luxe II generelt bestod af henholdsvis grundering og ét farvelag, hvorpå motivets konturlinjer var trukket op. Dog var der lokale afvigelser fra den generelle opbygning. Dels havde Matisse ændret konturstregens farve, dels havde den store lyserøde sky øverst i maleriets højre side et underliggende grønt farvelag. Originale skrab i farvelaget i dette område tydede på, at det ikke havde været let for Matisse at arbejde med en lagvis opbygning i limfarveteknik. Det blev derfor konkluderet, at Matisse formentlig havde forsøgt at begrænse omfanget af rettelser på Le Luxe II. Limfarveteknikkens begrænsning kan være forklaringen på, at Matisse kun anvendte dette medium ganske få gange i løbet af sin kunstneriske karriere. kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen 82

83 Mange tak til Kate Tierney Powell og Stephanie D Alessandro fra Chicago Art Institute for løbende samarbejde under projektet. Tak til Cécile Debray, Geraldine Guillaume-Chavannes og Per Jonas Storsve fra Centre Pompidou i Paris for informationer om Le Luxe I og skitsen. Tak til Hélène Vincent og Gilles Barabant fra kunstmuseet i Grenoble for supplerende oplysninger vedrørende maleriet Intérieur aux Aubergines (1911). Ligeledes tak til Marina Guruleva fra Erimitagen i Skt. Petersborg for informationer vedrørende værket Le café Arabe/ Café marocain (1913). Tak til Søren Andersen, Lene Jakobsen og Martin R. Larsen fra SDU i Odense for assistance med massespektrometrisk analyse. Tak til Mads Chr. Christensen fra Nationalmuseets Bevaringsafdeling i Brede. Også tak til Mikkel Scharff og Esben Segel for kommentarer og korrekturlæsning. 1 Matisses værker har ofte flere titler. Endvidere bruges i nogle sammenhænge den oprindelige franske titel, mens andre værker kendes bedst under deres engelske oversættelse. I denne artikel bruges værkernes originale franske titel/ titler. I de tilfælde, hvor der findes en dansk oversættelse, er denne angivet i parentes bagefter. I den engelske version af artiklen, som findes i tidsskriftets bagerste del, er værkets engelske titel i stedet angivet i parentes bagefter originaltitlen. 2 Forvirringen om maleriets proveniens skyldes bl.a., at Matisses maleri, Luxe, calme et volupté (da: Yppighed, sjælsro og elskovslyst) ( ), i mange år var forsvundet. Grundet lighed i titlerne var Le Luxe II i en årrække kendt under det forkerte navn, Barr, A.H., Matisse, his art and his public, Museum of Modern Art, New York 1951, For en udførlig beskrivelse af Le Luxe II s historie henvises til Kasper Monrad, Henri Matisse. Fire store samlere, Statens Museum for Kunst, København 1999, Flam, J., The Man and his Art , London, Thames and Hudson 1986, Monod-Fontaine et al., Oeuvres de Henri Matisse, Musée national d art moderne, Centre George Pompidou, Paris 1989, Samtale med Cécile Debray og Geraldine Guillaume-Chavannes fra Centre Pompidou i Paris Bois, Y.-A., Et de luxe-eksperiment. Le Luxe II, i: Aagesen, D., Monrad, K. & Warming, R., Matisse. Mesterværker på Statens Museum for Kunst, Statens Museum for Kunst, København 2005, Ibid., Det har hverken været muligt at fastslå, hvornår eller hvorfor skaden er opstået. På et fotografi af Le Luxe II, som Rump sendte til Matisses kunsthandler Charles Vildrac 27. september 1920, er skaden ikke med på billedet [fig. 2]. Det bekræfter, at vandskaden ikke er original (Brevarkivet, SMK, København). I Rump-udstillingens katalog fra 1929 ses vandskaden derimod, Swane, L, Katalog over J. Rumps Samling af moderne fransk Kunst, Statens Museum for Kunst, København 1929, 86. I perioden mellem 1920 og 1929 hang maleriet ifølge Rumps barnebarn i et børneværelse i Puggaardsgade, Gottlieb, L., Johannes Rump. Portræt af en samler, Statens Museum for Kunst, København 1994, Opskriften på limklisteren findes i bevaringsafdelingens opskriftssamling og i restaureringsrapporten fra Swane, L., (1929), Det har desværre ikke været muligt at fremskaffe en kopi af spørgeskemaet, men A.H. Barr henviser til Questionnaire IV i: Barr, A.H., (1951), 95 og Mayer, R., The Artist s Handbook of Materials and Techniques, 3. oplag, London, Faber and Faber 1972 [originaludgave fra 1951], Barr, A.H., (1951), Spurling, H., The Unknown Matisse. A life of Henri Matisse. Volume one , London, Hamish Hamilton 1998, Opskriften eksisterer formodentlig ikke mere. 17 Korrespondance med Gilles Barabant and Hélène Vincent fra kunstmuseet i Grenoble, 13/07/ Korrespondance med Marina Guruleva fra Eremitagen i Skt. Petersborg 22/04/ Bois, Y.-A., (2005), Den infrarøde fotografering blev gennemført af Kathrine Segel med et Artist PRO kamera (Art Innovation, Hengelo, Holland) monteret med en CCD progressive scan image sensor (1360 x 1036 pixels) og en Schneider Kreuznach Xenoplan 23 mm F/1.4 CCTV linse i nær Infrared 2 med et long wave pass filter 1000 mm. Billederne blev taget med et Artist software (udgave 1.2). 21 Carlyle, L., The Artist s Assistant: Oil Painting Instruction Manuals and Handbooks in Britain , London, Archetype Publications 2001, ammoniumhydrogenkarbonat kaldes i daglig tale hjortetaksalt. 23 alternativt kan limen fremstilles ud fra planter som fx tang eller forskellige kornsorter, hvor det stivelsesholdige mel bruges til at fremstille en limklister. 24 SDS-PAGE er en forkortelse for Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 25 kda er en måleenhed, der anvendes inden for biokemien. Proteiner er store molekyler, og deres masse angives derfor i kda. Én kda svarer til 1000 Da. Da (dalton) er et andet navn for en unificeret atommasseenhed (u), der bruges til at måle massen af partikler af atomar størrelse. 26 LC-MS/MS er en forkortelse for Liquid chromatograghy mass spectrometry (tandem MS). 27 tilstedeværelsen af kasein kan ikke udelukkes helt, fordi man har at gøre med nedbrudt materiale. Analysens resultater peger dog entydigt i retning af bovin kollagen alfa Det er muligt, at noget af limen fra den limklister, man anvendte til doubleringen i 1966, kan være trukket op i farvelaget under behandlingen. 29 Serifix fra Struers A/S, 30 Brevarkivet, SMK, København. 31 Maleriet kendes under de to titler. 32 andre, L., Seeing with Fresh Eyes. Matisse in the Cone Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art kathrine segel og ole nørregaard jensen

84 Den forladte by En fortolkning af Palle Nielsens radérserie 1 k a s pa r t h o r m o d

85 Den danske tegner og grafiker, Palle Nielsen ( ), er måske den største fortolker af det urbane landskab i dansk billedkunst. Samtidig er han en af de mest betydelige ruinfortolkere. I Nielsens værk synes ruinen at være et permanent vilkår for den moderne storby: Facaderne smuldrer, husene er forladte, byen står for fald. Spørgsmålet er, hvilke betydninger der knytter sig til dette urbane forfald. De seneste 20 års forskning har i altovervejende grad anskuet forfaldet i lyset af Nielsens biografi og samtid, fx hans oplevelser i forbindelse med 2. Verdenskrig eller Den Kolde Krig. 2 Imidlertid kan man argumentere for, at der ikke kun kan være én ultimativ biografisk eller kulturhistorisk forklaring på forfaldets betydning på færde i Nielsens værk. Tværtimod gestaltes urbane forfalds betydninger på mange forskellige måder i de enkelte serier. Derfor vil nærværende artikel kaste lys over en enkelt Nielsen-serie kaldet Den forladte by ( ). (Fig 1) Palle Nielsen: Den forladte by, opus 134, 1973 The Abandoned City Radering 102 x 200 mm Statens Museum for Kunst 85 kaspar thormod

86 Denne serie er karakteriseret ved en særlig struktur, hvor perspektivløse fremstillinger af industrielle rester i seriens første del stilles over for næsten over-perspektivisk iscenesatte tomme bylandskaber i seriens anden del. I stedet for som den sparsomme litteratur om serien hidtil har gjort enten at ignorere eller afvise seriens heterogene karakter vil det blive undersøgt, hvorledes Den forladte by trods en række forskelle i raderteknik og rumkonstruktion alligevel samles mentalt af sin titel, af motivernes mennesketomhed og af raderingernes visuelt destabiliserende karakter. Seriens spaltning gør det ydermere muligt at forbinde den med værket Opere Varie af den venetianske billedkunstner Giovanni Battista Piranesi ( ). Det er gennem en sammenligning med Piranesi, at konturerne af Nielsens tvetydige kulturkritiske forfaldsgestaltning træder frem. Struktur og reception Det første spørgsmål, der melder sig i forbindelse med en undersøgelse af Den forladte by, er, hvordan serien er konstitueret. I forhold til de gængse fortegnelser over Nielsens værk, har det gennem arkivstudier været muligt at udvide serien til 11 raderinger fra perioden Nielsen har anført titlen Den forladte by på disse raderinger, der aldrig har været udgivet i bogform. I kraft af de fortløbende opusnumre, som Nielsen har inddelt sit værk i, falder seriens raderinger i to dele: De syv første raderinger er fra 1973 og har opusnummer , og de sidste fire raderinger er fra 1976 og har opusnummer opus Denne tvedeling af værket kan også iagttages på et motivisk niveau, idet den første del viser opskalerede udsnit af forfaldne industrifragmenter, fx rør og maskindele, mens den anden del forestiller vues over to typer urbane rum, banelegemet og pladsen. Kombinationen af nærbilleder og vues afføder et dobbeltblik på byen, som i det følgende vil være af afgørende betydning for forståelsen af serien. Lad os dog først kaste et blik på seriens reception. Den forladte by er omtalt tre steder i Palle Nielsenforskningen: i Kristian Romares Den fortryllede by. En bog om Palle Nielsen, i Jørgen Gammelgaards Palle Nielsen. Temaer i hans værk og i Jytte Rex Palle Nielsen. Timebog. 4 Romare behandler serien i forbindelse med Nielsens mindre byserier, der fra midten af 60 erne folder sig ud sideløbende med hovedserien Den fortryllede by. Romare hæfter sig ved, at Nielsen i anden halvdel af Den forladte by arbejder med den fine og præcist beskrivende stregradering 5, mens seriens første del, de industrielle rester, karakteriseres således: [Palle Nielsen] går tæt på ruinerne efter katastroferne i Pandæmonium og portrætterer ituslåede rørledninger og knuste ventilationssystemer. De bliver til den moderne bys sønderrevne lemmer og flænsede blodårer, med noget af den samme uhyggelige virkning som udrevne tarme på en arena til tyrefægtning. 6 Ud over at forbinde Den forladte bys motivverden med en anden samtidig serie, Pandæmonium, mener Romare også, at seriens første del er udtryk for en krads kulturkritik. Denne dobbelte vinkling genfinder man også hos Gammelgaard. Også han sætter Den forladte by i forbindelse med de omkringstående serier, Pandæmonium og Nekropolis, samtidig med at han kæder raderingerne fra 1973 sammen med en gryende samfundsmæssig bevidsthed om virkningen af den vestlige verdens overforbrug, der tog fart i starten af 60 erne. 7 Dermed bliver 1973-raderingerne knyttet til lossepladsen som det ultimative sindbillede på en massecivilisations overforbrug. 8 Gammelgaard er dog også opmærksom på, at Den forladte by rummer visse fortolkningsmæssige problemer, som knytter sig til seriens motiviske spaltning, hvor den første del synes at tematisere efterladte ting, mens den anden del henviser til efterladte eller tomme rum. Konsekvensen er, ifølge Gammelgaard, at man må forholde sig til to stærkt adskilte oplevelser af forladthed. 9 Det sidste sted, hvor Den forladte by omtales, er i Rex bog, hvor tre raderinger (opus 138, 155 og 157) er gengivet. I tråd med bogens generelle opbygning er den eneste tekst, der følger med billederne, et fragment fra Palle Nielsens egne, upublicerede notater: Den forladte by handler om det, der er sket, om det rum, der efterlades, når noget har passeret ingenting, en tom støbeform, det ikke-synlige. Jeg så ind i noget fuldstændig ukendt og fremmed. 10 Dette fortættede fragment kan med lidt god vilje knyttes til det forladthedstema, som vi præsenteres for gennem titlen. Citatets første del betoner de forladte rum, der kommer til syne, når en begivenhed er hændt. Dette perspektiv giver mening i forhold til Den forladte by, men det lægger ikke noget væsentligt til det af titlen angivne grundtema. De efterfølgende sentenser om en tom støbeform, det ikke-synlige og det visionære jeg så er svært forståelige i forhold til serien. Det ikke-synlige kunne dog relateres til Nielsens interesse for fænomenologen Maurice Merleau-Ponty, som netop benytter sig af dette begreb, men sammenhængen er her yderst uklar. 11 Denne korte præsentation af den sparsomme litteratur om Den forladte by siger ikke alene noget om serien, kaspar thormod 86

87 men gør det også muligt at iagttage nogle fællestræk ved receptionen af Nielsens værk. For det første er brugen af tekstfragmentet i forbindelse med Den forladte by et eksempel på, hvorledes værket ofte bliver læst gennem kunstnerens egne tekster. Både Romare, Gammelgaard og Rex henviser direkte eller indirekte til fragmentet, fx når Romare et sted skriver, at Den forladte by handler, har han [Palle Nielsen] forklaret, om det, der har fundet sted, om det rum, der efterlades, når noget har passeret, 12 eller når Gammelgaard omtaler seriens emne, som det der bliver efterladt, når man forlader et sted. 13 Man savner her en kritisk stillingtagen til tekstfragmentets faktiske udsagn. For det andet syntetiserer Romare og Gammelgaard Den forladte by med de omkringliggende serier. Romare læser 1973-raderingerne sammen med Pandæmonium, og Gammelgaard grupperer Den forladte by, Pandæmonium og Nekropolis som en trilogi om byens forfald og under- gang, primært fordi disse serier kronologisk er knyttet sammen. 14 Imidlertid adskiller iscenesættelsen af forfaldet i Den forladte by sig på mindst to punkter i forhold til de omkringstående serier. For det første er der, som titlen antyder, ingen mennesker i Den forladte by, og for det andet er der en markant spænding mellem seriens tematisering af industrielle rester og bylandskaber. Begge dele er atypisk i forhold til serier som Nekropolis og Pandæmonium. Endelig synes der i litteraturen også at være et ønske om at læse Den forladte by som udtryk for en firkantet kulturkritik, jævnfør Romares associationer til den moderne bys sønderrevne lemmer og Gammelgaards ditto til en fortælling om industrialismens rovdrift på jordens ressourcer. 15 Men som det vil blive klart af det følgende, evner denne karakteristik ikke at fange Den forladte bys særlige struktur og tvetydige betydning. (Fig 2) Palle Nielsen: Den forladte by, opus 138, 1973 The Abandoned City Radering 102 x 200 mm Statens Museum for Kunst 87 kaspar thormod

88 (Fig 3) Palle Nielsen: Den forladte by, opus 155, 1976 The Abandoned City Radering 102 x 200 mm Statens Museum for Kunst Industrilandskab Den forladte bys første del er karakteriseret ved mængder af vragdele og industrifragmenter, som ligger spredt i landskaber domineret af klipper, småsten og vand. Dette landskab vil der i det følgende blive refereret til som et industrilandskab. Formaterne i denne raderserie hører til blandt de største, som Palle Nielsen arbejdede med, men formatet fører ikke et overblik med sig. 16 Derimod er raderingerne udformet som opskalerede udsnit af det samme uoverskuelige landskab, hvis sammensætning og betydning serien ikke umiddelbart afslører. En overordnet, fremadskridende fortælling er her afløst af et serielt udtryk: Det lader til at være variationer af det samme landskabs forfaldne industrifragmenter. Et kompositorisk fællestræk er, at terrænet skråner fra venstre mod højre i hovedparten af raderingerne. Denne bevægelse forstærkes af rør og maskindele, som overalt er placeret i kæntrende positioner, der ser ud til at kunne falde mod højre. Dette ses for eksempel i opus 133, hvor et perforeret rør yderst til højre hænger ud over en afgrund, eller i opus 137, hvor en kæmpestruktur, som kunne ligne et ventilationssystem, balancerer i baggrunden. Mange af de industrielle fragmenter er også fremstillet på en ensartet måde i de forskellige raderinger. Det gælder fx de allestedsnærværende sorte røråbninger som de karakteristiske rørbugtninger (opus ) eller brugen af markante elementer som en flymotor eller turbine (opus 136 og 139). Altså lader disse raderinger til at skildre variationer over det samme univers af efterladte ting et univers, som er karakteriseret ved en spænding mellem stillestående, forladte landskaber og en række forvredne fragmenters truende fald. kaspar thormod 88

89 industrifragmenter destabiliserer perspektivet. Således bliver det gennem serien muligt at se en begyndende opløsning af det perspektiviske rum. Trods den ensartede komposition og motivverden er der også en vis udvikling at spore gennem seriens første del. I opus danner raderingernes forskellige dybdeniveauer et nogenlunde konsistent perspektivisk rum, som imidlertid bliver opløst i opus 138 og 139. I opus 138 er forskellige rørformationer begravet i et materiale, der kunne forestille vand eller røg, men som samtidig er blandet med klipper, sten og vragdele. Selv om det er muligt at skelne vragdele og rør, som kobles sammen eller forsvinder ind bag hinanden fra andre delelementer, kan der ikke længere etableres ét perspektiv. I stedet fremhæves mange forskellige heterogene flader og niveauer, der støder op til eller fletter sig ind i hinanden uden dog at være en logisk del af det samme rum. En lignende opløsning finder sted i opus 139, hvor surrealistisk sammenflettede og tilsyneladende svævende Banelegeme, plads Anden del af Den forladte by skildrer et distinkt urbant landskab, der koncentrerer sig om to specifikke byrum: banelegemet (opus 156 og 157) og pladsen (opus 155 og 158). Banelegemeterrænet i opus 156 og 157 er fremstillet næsten identisk med hængende køreledninger og huse på hver side. I disse raderinger lader udgangspunktet for perspektivet til at være centreret omkring et punkt nede mellem selve sporene. Skinnerne og køreledningerne udnyttes her til at angive blikkets retning ud af byen og til at eksplicitere et markant centralperspektiv. Køreledningerne fortsætter ud mod horisonten, efter bebyggelsen er hørt op, og danner deres eget halvtransparente rum, der markerer en forskel mellem sporet og omgivelserne. Den by, der kigges ud af, har øjensynligt ingen forstæder, industri eller organisk natur. Der er, som Romare også har bemærket, noget foruroligende ved dette perspektiv centreret omkring togskinnerne. 17 Det af togskinnerne accentuerede centralperspektiv skaber en illusion om accelererende hastighed, idet afstanden mellem de master, der holder ledningerne, synes stadig kortere, jo længere de er væk. På denne måde får man oplevelsen af, at der dannes en sugende dybde i papirets todimensionelle flade. Centralperspektivet dominerer også i opus 155 og 158, hvor pladsen er i centrum. I opus 155 er pladsen et rum, hvis grænser antydes af en række spredte bygninger. Pladsen er her delvist skjult bag en treetagers beboelsesejendom, som er placeret i raderingens forgrund. Til højre for denne ses en kuppelbygning, og i baggrunden markerer nogle større bygninger i midten og til venstre pladsens fjerneste sider. Det er, som om disse bygninger oprindeligt har været en del af større karreer eller bygningskomplekser, men nu står mærkeligt afsondret. Terrænet er fuldstændig fladt; dets overflade udgøres af tynde, horisontale linjer et slags gitter, der er lagt ud over byrummet og fremhæver dets geometri. Længst fremme i forgrunden til venstre og højre er der antydet et lavt fortov, hvis linjer flugter med husenes ind mod et eksplicit forsvindingspunkt i horisonten. Dybden i det geometriske rum forstærkes ydermere af to parallelle linjer, som løber fra raderingens forgrund ud mod forsvindingspunktet. Når man sammenligner opus 155 og 158, kan man få den tanke, at det er den samme plads bare set fra 89 kaspar thormod

90 (Fig 4) Palle Nielsen: Den forladte by, opus 157, 1976 The Abandoned City Radering 102 x 200 mm Statens Museum for Kunst forskellige vinkler, ligesom man umiddelbart tror, at opus 156 og 157 fremstiller det samme banelegeme. Men ved nærmere eftersyn er kuppelbygningerne ikke identiske og pladsen ikke den samme. Dette ses blandt andet ved, at pladsen i opus 158, som leder op til en monumental kirkebygning, er klart defineret. Til venstre og til højre for kirken markerer to seks etager høje bygninger pladsens sider. Der ligger papir, småsten og murbrokker spredt over det meste af pladsen, selv om der ikke er tegn på, at disse fragmenter stammer fra husene. Papiret og murbrokkerne fremhæves af perspektivet, som ved at have sit udgangspunkt ganske tæt på pladsens overflade ligeledes fremhæver bygningernes monumentalitet og den høje, farveløse himmel. Modsætningernes by Den forladte by falder altså i to distinkte dele, der vanskeliggør et samlet udsagn om serien. Alligevel er det nødvendigt at fastholde spørgsmålet om, hvordan man kan forstå seriens samlede iscenesættelse af byens forladthed og forfald. Lad os først overveje seriens grafiske præsentation af de tre byrum. Selv om der er tale om én raderserie, er det grafiske udtryk anvendt på vidt forskellige måder i de to dele. I seriens første del arbejder Nielsen med en rig deltaljering og stærke kontraster i de tæt beskrevne billedflader. I opus 133 er det skrånende terræn fx opbygget af et mylder af lokale kontraster mellem områder med tydeligt adskilte linjer, hvor det hvide papir skinner igennem, og sorte skyggelignende plamager, hvor skraveringerne ligger tæt. 18 Resultatet er en rigt moduleret og kompleks fremstilling, der især i opus 138 er med til at destabilisere perspektivet. Her synes de mørke områder øverst i midten at antyde åbningen af et sort rum inde bag kollagen af rør og klippelandskaber, som undergraver deres placering. I Den forladte bys anden del er raderteknikken brugt meget anderledes. Opus er karakteriseret ved skarpe, præcise streger og en afdæmpet tonalitet, der holder sig i lysegrå nuancer. Eneste undtagelse er de sorte vinduer i beboelsesejendommen og kuppelbygningen i opus 155 og i kirkebygningen i opus 158. Kontrast mellem facaderne og vinduerne, der synes at afsløre et mørke eller tomhed i husene, får os til at sætte spørgsmålstegn ved det realistiske i skildringen. Ved i raderprocessen kun at have ætset facadearealerne i ganske kort tid opnår Nielsen, at det ser ud, som om de bliver ramt af lys i varierende styrke fra alle sider på samme tid. Derved kommer byen til at fremtræde i et næsten scenisk lys, der igen synes at hæve skildringen af banelegemet og pladsen ind i et uvirkeligt, urbant univers. Man kan sige, at hvor Nielsen i første del af Den forladte by bruger raderingen til at fremstille et komplekst, rigt moduleret og til tider destabiliseret rum, fremhæver og overbelyser han næsten i fotografisk forstand byens ekstremt geometriske struktur i seriens anden del. kaspar thormod 90

91 I forlængelse af de grafiske forskelle mellem de to dele af Den forladte by kan man ligeledes på et motivisk niveau opstille en række forskelle, som indirekte er blevet omtalt i det ovenstående. Mens opus synes at tematisere et fragmenteret, abstrakt, kaotisk og perspektivforvrængende rum, er opus domineret af et panoramisk, figurativt, rationelt og centralperspektivisk rum. Der er dog også træk, der binder serien sammen. For det første er der forladthedstemaet, som vi bliver introduceret til via den seriekonstituerende titel. Som Gammelgaard har observeret, tematiserer serien dog to forskellige former for forladthed: Opus omhandler forladte ting, og opus omhandler forladte rum. 19 I begge tilfælde synes forladtheden at henvise til, at de urbane og industrielle rum har mistet deres funktion. Tingene, som portrætteres i seriens første del, kan vidne om et industriområde, der er blevet forladt og dermed er blevet dysfunktionelt. Forladtheden manifesterer sig også i seriens anden halvdel, hvor de unaturligt sorte vinduer synes at afsløre, at bygningerne er tomme og ubeboede. Forladtheden viser sig også i opus 158, hvor pladsen foran den monumentale kirke i stedet for at være et centralt mødested for mennesker er dækket af papir, sten og murbrokker. Selv om ingen af bygningerne lader til at være beskadiget, har de mistet deres vitale funktion at huse liv. Et andet forhold, der binder serien sammen, er dens tematisering af forskellige former for grænseløse, destabiliserende rum. Som vi har set, er seriens første del en tour de force af landskaber, hvis grænser bliver gradvist mere usikre. I seriens anden del opnås den destabiliserende effekt i kraft af raderingernes perspektiviske forløb mod horisontens forsvindingspunkt, der i alle fire raderinger er placeret samme sted, således at der næsten er tale om fire variationer over det samme perspektiviske kig. Den stærke accentuering af forsvindingspunktet viser, at disse urbane rum har en uendelig dybde, der i en vis forstand bryder rummenes grænser. Det er denne (Fig 5) Palle Nielsen: Den forladte by, opus 158, 1976 The Abandoned City Radering 180 x 270 mm Clausens Kunsthandel, København 91 kaspar thormod

92 (Fig 6) Giovanni Battista Piranesi ( ): Campidoglio antico, Prima Parte /Opere Varie ca Radering, 241 x 350 mm Statens Museum for Kunst grænseløshed, der ligger bag Romares beskrivelse af, hvordan jernbanesporenes sammenløbende perspektiv [kaster] os langt ind i det ukendte. 20 Det grænseløse rum er således et grundvilkår i hele Den forladte by, hvad enten det bliver skabt af det centralperspektiviske rums uendelige dybde eller de formløse rum, som bryder rummets logiske grænser. Nielsen og Piranesi Trods ovenstående argumentation er det stadig muligt at indvende, at der er så stor forskel på Den forladte bys to dele, at der ikke kan være tale om én serie. Gammelgaard mener da også, at serien er en retrospektiv konstruktion, som Nielsen kan have sammensat så sent som i Imidlertid er sammenstillingen af seriens to dele ikke blot udtryk for Nielsens idiosynkratiske kategorisering sent i karrieren. For det første tager Gammelgaard fejl i sin påstand, da serien allerede optræder samlet i Romares værkfortegnelse fra slutningen af 1980 erne, og der er intet til hinder for, at denne kategorisering går helt tilbage til 1970 erne. 22 For det andet er seriens tilsyneladende tilfældige modstilling af opskalerede nærbilleder og urbane vues mere betydningsladet end som så. Dette bliver klart, hvis man forsøger at forstå Den forladte by i forhold til to serier af Giovanni Battista Piranesi, der optræder i et samlet bind, han udgav i 1750 under titlen Opere Varie di Architettura, Prospettive, Grotteschi, Antichita. I det følgende vil det blive vist, hvordan der kan etableres en forbindelse mellem Den forladte by og Opere Varie en forbindelse, der bygger på en række strukturelle, motiviske og betydningsmæssige ligheder mellem disse to værker. Det er dog vigtigt at slå fast, at disse ligheder ikke nødvendigvis bygger på en fra Palle Nielsens side intenderet reference til Piranesi, selv om Nielsen sandsynligvis har haft kendskab til Opere Varie; et centralt uddrag af værket en suite på fire såkaldte grotesker findes i den Kongelige Kobberstikssamling, hvor Nielsen var en hyppig gæst. Derudover findes Opere kaspar thormod 92

93 Varie i en førsteudgave på Danmarks Kunstbibliotek ved Det Kongelige Kunstakademi, hvor Nielsen var professor i perioden Lad os først se nærmere på Piranesis værk. I titlen Opere Varie bestemmes seriens indhold som forskellige værker, og de 27 fortløbende nummererede blade omfatter da også en omarbejdet udgave af serien Prima Parte Di Architetture, E Prospettive Inventate (1743), 23 den såkaldte Grotteschi-suite ( ) og et par blade, der kan ses som forløber for de imaginære fængselsbilleder kaldet Carceri d invenzione fra Selv om Opere Varie har et titelblad, der signalerer, at de individuelle værker her er tænkt som en samlet serie, er de i Piranesi-litteraturen oftest blevet behandlet hver for sig. I følgende analyse er det dog en grundlæggende præmis, at Opere Varie bliver set som et samlet værk, hvor især sammenstillingen af Prima Parte og Grotteschi-suiten er af stor betydning, da disse to dele af Opere Varie er karakteriseret ved en modstilling af imaginære vues og perspektivforvrængende nærbilleder lignende den, man finder i Den forladte by. Prima Parte er domineret af perspektiviske vues gennem urbane rum monumentale søjlehaller, atriumgårde, broer og pladser hvis arkitektoniske udtryk kan betegnes som en blanding af antik romersk arkitektur og barok, en stil Piranesi selv skaber, jævnfør ordet Inventate i titlen. 25 Et eksempel på et prospekt fra Prima Parte kan illustrere Piranesis særegne iscenesættelse af byen. I Campidoglio antico ser vi en af Roms syv høje, Capitol, som i Piranesis fremstilling tager form som en imaginær plads i forskellige niveauer med trapper, templer, obelisker og en triumfbue. I 1743-udgaven af Prima Parte var raderingens fulde titel Forma ideale del Campidoglio antico, hvilket, som Richard Wendorf har bemærket, illustrerer, hvordan disse prospekter kan forstås som en ideal form inspireret af fortiden. Han uddyber: De bygninger, som Piranesi præsenterede for sit publikum, var ikke i streng forstand kopier eller præcise rekonstruktioner af andre strukturer [ ] Det, han præsenterede, var derimod moderne fortolkninger, der, selv om de måske var inspireret af og harmonisk faldt i ét med andre bygningsværker, på deres egen måde markerede deres krav på monumentaliteten i 1740 ernes Rom. 26 For at forstå Piranesis iscenesættelse af byen i Prima Parte er det vigtigt at være opmærksom på, hvordan han tager udgangspunkt i Roms antikke arkitektur, der for ham er lig et civilisatorisk højdepunkt, som langt overgår den antikke græske arkitektur. 27 Ved at bruge elementer fra virkelighedens by, som han sætter sammen på nye måder og transformerer til ukendelighed, ender Piranesi med ikke kun at portrættere Rom, men også at gøre den romerske arv til et ideal eller vision for den evige stads nutid og fremtid. 28 Her kan den første forbindelse til de fire vues eller prospekter fra anden halvdel af Den forladte by (opus ) foreslås, idet iscenesættelserne på mange måder er sammenlignelige med Piranesis værk. Kendetegnende for både Piranesis og Nielsens prospekter er, at de udnytter raderteknikken til minutiøst at skildre en række ekstremt geometriske byrum. De arbejder begge med perspektiviske kig gennem byen, som ofte kan spejles på midten, og som samler sig omkring et eller flere forsvindingspunkter. Ydermere er byen hos Piranesi og Nielsen ikke et sted, hvis funktion er at huse liv. Selv om der hos Piranesi optræder menneskeskikkelser, er disse ikke integreret i byen de bebor den ikke. I stedet har de karakter af staffage, der angiver og etablerer arkitekturens monumentale skala og medierer oplevelsen af arkitekturen til beskueren af raderingen. 29 Dermed kan man sige, at hos både Piranesi og Nielsen iscenesættes prospekterne på en måde, således at det urbane landskabs arkitektur transformeres fra et sted, hvor man bor og lever, til et sted, hvor arkitekturen er det primære. Den vigtigste parallel mellem Nielsens og Piranesis værker er imidlertid, at ligesom prospekterne i Den forladte by stilles op imod industrilandskabets forfald, modstilles prospekterne i Prima Parte også med en række forfaldsmotiver i Opere Varie, nemlig Grotteschi-suiten. Denne suite består af fire store raderinger, som henholdsvis har undertitlerne Skeletterne, Triumfbuen, Neros grav og Den monumentale tavle. Fælles for dem er, at de fremstiller ruinøse scener, hvor natur- og kulturobjekter i form af gravsten, væltede søjler, antikke statuer, knogler, skeletter, vedbend, slanger og så videre er opstillet i ét billede. I deres kaotiske udtryk adskiller groteskerne sig kraftigt fra Prima Partes geometriske rum. Dette viser sig også i det grafiske udtryk, som i suiten er langt mere eksperimenterende end i Prima Parte. 30 Også det strengt geometriske rum, som kendetegner Prima Parte-prospekterne, erstattes i suiten af et rum, hvori centralperspektivet opløses. Det er ikke alene de portrætterede objekter, der er ved at gå i forbindelse med hinanden, men også forskellige rum i raderingerne, der ophæves og glider sammen i en sløret enhed. Dette kan for eksempel ses i Neros grav, hvor baggrundens forfaldne bygninger, klipper og træer ikke er en del af det samme rum som forgrundens hovedmo- 93 kaspar thormod

94 tiv, en åben sarkofag, men er adskilt herfra af en tåge. Overordnet modstilles det geometriske og monumentale udtryk i Prima Parte altså med et fokus på forfald og en opløsning af rummet i Grotteschi-suiten. Her kan der igen etableres en forbindelse til Den forladte by, denne gang til seriens første del (opus ). Denne del er netop karakteriseret ved en ekspressiv raderteknik, et fokus på forfaldne landskaber og en opløsning af perspektivet, der ligesom det er tilfældet i Grotteschi-suiten står i kontrast til prospekterne. Dette tankevækkende strukturelle sammenfald vil i det følgende danne udgangspunkt for en undersøgelse af, hvilke betydninger der ligger gemt i modstillingen af prospekter og grotesker hos Nielsen og Piranesi. Samtidskritik og ideal For at komme tættere på forholdet mellem prospekter og grotesker må det først gøres klart, hvad disse begreber dækker over. Prospekt kommer af det latinske prospectus, som betyder udsigt og i kunsten betegner et perspektivisk billede af landskab i denne sammenhæng et urbant landskab. Ifølge Corinna Höper er betegnelsen Grotteschi i Piranesis værk sammenlignelig med capriccioen, dvs. fantastiske afbildninger af arkitektoniske og ofte ruinøse elementer, der sættes sammen på måder, som destabiliserer beskuerens blik. 31 Dette er netop det, der også sker hos Nielsen, hvor destabiliseringseffekten opstår i Den forladte bys kollageagtige og grænseløse rum. Man kan dog også tale om en betydningsmæssig destabilisering hos både Piranesi og Nielsen. I Den forladte by og Opere Varie konfronteres beskueren med forskellige genkendelige fragmenter grave og søjler eller kloakrør og maskindele. Men selv om disse fragmenter præsenteres under seriens overordnede titel, som synes at signalere, at de relaterer sig til seriens betydning, forbliver det imidlertid en gåde, hvori denne betydning helt præcist består. Det kan således siges at være en del af groteskernes lukkede væsen, at de undergraver beskuerens fortolkningsforsøg. I forbindelse med Piranesis Grotteschi-suite har dette forhold gennem tiden affødt en række forskelligartede og ofte modstridende tolkninger, der spænder fra betoninger af vanitassymbolikken til kosmologiske og mystiske læsninger. 32 Suitens ikonografi peger umiddelbart i retning af en forgængelighedstematik, men det har imidlertid vist sig vanskeligt at konstruere en konsistent vanitastolkning. Derfor er det netop blevet fremhævet, at Grotteschi-suite qua dens enigmatiske karakter henviser lige så meget til fortolkningens forgængelighed som til livets. 33 I denne optik henviser Piranesis værk ikke alene til en melankolsk selvrefleksion, når vi konfronteres med forgængelighedssymbolikken, men også til en fortolknings- eller forståelsesmæssig melankoli over ikke at være i stand til at afkode billederne. 34 Lidt forsigtigt kan denne fortolkningsmelankoli også forbindes med Den forladte by. De smuldrende, ituslåede vragdele i seriens første del vidner måske ikke kun om et forladt industriområde, hvis fragmenter kunne symbolisere alle tings forgængelighed, men også om det futile i vores forsøg på at forstå disse scenerier som en del af en større sammenhæng. Det er dog vigtigt at slå fast, at denne pessimistiske tolkning af groteskerne ikke er den eneste mulige. I forbindelse med Piranesis værk har Francesco Nevola for nylig påvist, at ikonografien i Grotteschi-suiten kan forbindes til den græske digter Hesiods (ca f.kr.) langdigt Værker og dage. 35 Uden at gå i detaljer med Nevolas argumentation er konsekvensen af koblingen mellem Piranesi og Hesiod, at Grotteschi-suiten kan ses som en nyfortolkning af Hesiods såkaldte Verdensaldermyte en mytisk fortælling om menneskets fald fra en civilisatorisk guldalder til stadigt lavere og mere moralsk fordærvede stadier: Ligesom Hesiod bestemmer Piranesi menneskehedens største epoke som en æra, der er gået tabt i den fjerne antikke fortid, og i stedet for at acceptere sin egen tid som æraen for kristendommens triumf sådan som Vico hævder i sin Scienza Nuova kritiserer Piranesi med dette billede inderligt samtiden som en tid styret af misundelse, vold og uretfærdighed. 36 For Piranesi er guldalderen noget, der hører fortiden til, mens nutiden er korrumperet. Der ligger altså et kritisk aspekt gemt i Grotteschi-suiten, idet Piranesi ifølge Nevola bruger vanitassymbolikken som en slags kulturkritisk meditation over samtidens Rom. Det er ikke blot menneskelivets eller fortolkningens forgængelighed, der tematiseres her, men også samtidens civilisatoriske forfald. På denne måde er forfaldet i Grotteschi-suiten både fysisk og moralsk. Også her kan man sammenligne med Den forladte by. Selv om seriens første del ikke indeholder så symbolsk ladede elementer som grave og skeletter, er det muligt at se de industrielle vragdele i det golde klippelandskab som en form for kulturkritik. Imidlertid er det interessante ikke primært, at Den forladte by indeholder en sådan kritik. Det er først i sammenligningen af kulturkritikkens tvetydige grundstruktur hos Piranesi med Nielsen, at dens betydning for alvor træder frem. kaspar thormod 94

95 (Fig. 7) Giovanni Battista Piranesi Neros grav, Grotteschi-suiten Radering med kobberstik, koldnål og polering Statens Museum for Kunst Lad os her vende tilbage til den grundlæggende spænding mellem grotesker og prospekter, da det igen er denne særegne struktur, der er på færde i forbindelse med udfoldelsen af de kulturkritiske perspektiver hos Nielsen og Piranesi. Mens Grotteschi-suiten står for en kulturkritik i Opere Varie, kan prospekterne fra Prima Parte siges at tilbyde et alternativ eller et ideal, som samtiden skal efterstræbe. Hos Piranesi er grundstrukturen i kulturkritikken følgelig, at samtidens sørgelige tilstand kritiseres i groteskerne, men at der samtidig tilbydes et monumentalt alternativ: en fuldendt, ideel vision for en genrejsning af den evige stad, som henter sin inspiration i den romerske antik. Piranesi stiller dermed ikke blot en diagnose, men tilbyder også en kur. Vender vi os mod Den forladte by, kan man sige, at der her er sket en forskydning i forholdet mellem groteskernes kulturkritik og prospekternes ideal. Hvis seriens første del repræsenterer en dyster kulturkritik, mødes denne ikke af en tilsvarende klar forløsning i prospekterne fra seriens anden halvdel. Forløsningen er langt mere tvetydig hos Nielsen. Som det fremgik af analysen af opus , fremstiller disse prospekter forladte rum i en by, der øjensynligt har mistet sin funktion som by. Prospekterne er karakteriseret ved fravær af mennesker og miljø. Som det blev bemærket i næranalysen, er det, som om bygningerne oprindeligt har været en del af større karreer eller bygningskomplekser, men nu står mærkeligt afsondret tilbage. Tomheden og den foruroligende grænseløshed er allestedsnærværende. Pladsen, som sædvanligvis er byens centrum og samlingssted, er tom, ligesom banelegemet, byens forsyningsåre, er det. Selv husene synes at være hule og tomme. Disse huse, der er blevet isoleret, har mistet deres funktion og er blevet placeret på en overbelyst urban scene, kan kun vanskeligt ses som et ideelt alternativ til forfaldet i Den forladte bys første del. I stedet står de tilbage tvetydige, tomme og tavse. Hos Piranesi i Opere Varie er den romerske antik referencepunktet for den ideelle by, som fremtidens Rom skal funderes på. Hos Palle Nielsen er der ikke den samme identifikation med en glorværdig fortid. Den arkitektur, der skildres i Den forladte by, kan i arkitekturhistoriske termer karakteriseres som europæisk historicisme en kategori, mange af Københavns største institutioner fx falder ind under. Det samme gør mange af de boligkarreer, der i kølvandet på urbaniseringen i anden halvdel af det 19. århundrede blandt andet skulle huse den nye arbejderklasse. Hovedmotivet i opus kaspar thormod

96 kunne netop være en sådan boligkarré, mens det i opus 158 er en kuppelbygning, som har visse træk til fælles med Marmorkirken. Disse bygninger kan siges at repræsentere et minde om industrialiseringen og det moderne Europas opblomstring før verdenskrigenes ragnarok i det 20. århundrede, og som sådan kan de ses som alternativ til groteskernes forfald i første del af Den forladte by. De repræsenterer måske den fremtidsoptimisme, som led et knæk med udbruddet af 1. Verdenskrig, og på den måde er de en nostalgisk kommentar til en desillusioneret samtid. Men kigger vi nærmere på iscenesættelsen af prospekterne, kan man argumentere for, at Den forladte by snarere repræsenterer et minde om en by efter en krigssituation end før. I opus 155 mangler store dele af boligkarreen der er kun et hjørne tilbage og i opus 158 er kuppelbygningen isoleret, mens pladsen er dækket af papir og murbrokker, som om et udsnit af byen, der ikke er synlig i raderingen, ligger i ruiner. Disse forladte bygninger kunne fortolkes som en by efter bombernes fald og efter at de smadrede huse er blevet revet ned og fjernet. Det er fristende her at inddrage Nielsens egen oplevelse af Hamburgs ruiner efter 2. Verdenskrig, sådan som det er blevet gjort flere steder i forskningen. 37 En sådan parallel vil dog sløre det faktum, at der intet tegn er på, at byen hos Nielsen er en geografisk specifik by, som refererer til en personlig oplevelse. Den forladte bys anonymitet synes snarere at hæve prospekterne ud af en konkret erfaring og gøre deres forladthed til et alment, urbant anliggende. Dernæst er det vigtigt at slå fast, at serien ikke med sikkerhed viser, at der er tale om en krigsmærket by. Årsagen til forladtheden og husenes isolation forbliver et åbent spørgsmål. Dog er det klart, at flertydigheden gør, at prospekterne ikke kan inkarnere et monumentalt ideal, der modsvarer groteskernes kulturkritik, sådan som det er tilfældet i Piranesis Opere Varie. Tværtimod forbliver spændingen mellem grotesker og prospekter uforløst i Den forladte by og samtidig vedbliver serien med at fascinere og udfordre beskuerens fortolkende blik. 1 tak til Det Danske Institut for Kunst og Videnskab i Rom samt til lektor Henrik Reeh, Københavns Universitet for at have støttet mit arbejde med denne artikel og Palle Nielsens værk generelt. 2 Se fx Kristian Romare: Den fortryllede by. En bog om Palle Nielsen, København 1990, 8, eller Michael Wivel (eds.): Palle Nielsen in memoriam, Kgs. Lyngby 2002, 14f. 3 Sammenlign med Romare 1990, 273, Jørgen Gammelgaard, J.: Palle Nielsen. Temaer in hans værk, Humlebæk 2006, 245, og Jytte Rex: Palle Nielsen. Timebog, København 2008, Der findes desuden otte tegninger og fire skitser i Clausens Kunsthandel i København, der med nogen sikkerhed kan knyttes til Den forladte by som forstudier. Dette materiale vil dog ikke blive inddraget i det følgende. 4 romare, 1990, 167f, Gammelgaard, 2006, 126-9, Rex, 2008, romare, 1990, Ibid., Gammelgaard, 2006, 127f. 8 Ibid., Ibid., rex, 2008, I teksten Sort lys og hvidt mørke fra 1990 parafraserer Nielsen nogle passager fra Merleau-Pontys essay L Oeil et l Esprit, men det kan dog diskuteres, om hans forståelse af dette essay strækker sig ud over en sympati for Merleau-Pontys centrale placering af malerkunsten som et sted, hvor perceptionen af verden træder særligt tydeligt frem. 12 romare, 1990, Gammelgaard, 2006, Ibid., romare, 1990, 168, og Gammelgaard, 2006, Opus 139 måler fx 345 x 310 mm. En typisk Nielsen-radering er ca. halvt så stor. 17 Jf. Romare, 1990, Det er vanskeligt at give Gammelgaard ret i, at Nielsen generelt har fulgt en strategi, hvor [d]et industrielle vraggods har været meget kort tid i syren og står derfor blegt og henåndet. Gammelgaard, 2006, Ibid., romare, 1990, Gammelgaard, 2006, Jf. Romare, 1990, For en gennemgang af serien, se Corinna Höper et al (eds.): Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Die poetische Wahrheit. Radierungen, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, Se også Francesco Nevola: Giovanni Battista Piranesi: the Grotteschi, Rom 2009, Se Nevola, 2009, og Höper, 1999, richard Wendorf: Piranesi s Double Ruin, Eighteen-Century Studies, vol. 34, 2, 2001, , Ibid., Jf. Carsten Thau: Piranesis rummets agoni (arbejdspapir), Aarhus 1992, Michel Makarius: Ruins, Paris 2004, 98. Se også Wendorf, 2001, 163, og Cara Denison et al (eds.): Exploring Rome: Piranesi and His Contemporaries, New York 1994, xxxvi. 29 Wendorf, 2001, 176, Thau, 1992, Se Höper, 1999, 120, og Myra Nan Rosenfeld: Picturesque to Sublime: Piranesi s Stylistic and Technical Development from 1740 to 1761, in M. Bevilacqua et al. (eds.): The Serpent and the Stylus. Essays on G.B. Piranesi, London 2006, Höper, 1999, 120. Da nærværende artikel er tænkt som en komparativ næranalyse af Nielsen og Piranesi, tillader pladsen desværre ikke, at der perspektiveres til ruinmotivets oprindelse og historiske udvikling. For en god dansk introduktion til dette henvises der til Maria Fabricius Hansen: Ruinbilleder (København 1999). Se endvidere også Chris Fischer: Ruinmani (København 1995); Michael S. Roth et al (red.): Irresistible Decay: Ruins Reclaimed (Los Angeles 1997); Michel Makarius: Ruins (Paris 2004); Robert Ginsberg: The Aesthetics of Ruins (Amsterdam 2004); Julia Hell og Andreas Schönle (red.): Ruins of Modernity (Durham 2010). 32 Ibid., 121, og Rosenfeld, 2006, 86ff. 33 Se Höper, 1999, Sammenlign med Thau, 1992, Se Nevola, 2009, 185ff. 36 Ibid., 196. Nevola uddyber konsekvenserne af denne tolkning s. 201ff. 37 Se fx Gammelgaard, 2006, 126f, eller Nina Damsgaard: Ruin - Vision. Ruinmotivet i sidste halvdel af det 20. årh., Vejle 2008, 20. kaspar thormod 96

97 97 kaspar thormod English version

98 Jacob Jordaens The Ferry Boat to Antwerp Concerning its acquisition and reception e va de l a fuente pedersen Oh, if only Jordaens had waited to marry until he had been to Italy. Francis Beckett in Illustreret Tidende, 1913 Fig. 1 english version 98

99 In the autumn of 2008 the National Gallery of Denmark staged an exhibition focusing on the Flemish Baroque painter Jacob Jordaens ( ) monumental painting The Tribute Money. Peter finding the Silver Coin in the Mouth of the Fish, also called The Ferry Boat to Antwerp [fig. 1]. The exhibition, which was staged in co-operation with the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht, celebrated the completion of a restoration project that began on 18 September 2007 in an open workshop installed in one of the Gallery s exhibition rooms. 1 Now, that exhibition constitutes yet another branch on the gnarly tree that is the colourful history of the painting s reception. 2 The Ferry Boat to Antwerp was first exhibited in 1905 at a monographic exhibition in Antwerp. 3 It was lent for this purpose by the then-owner of the painting, the Swedish landowner Axel Ekmann, travelling all the way to Antwerp from Stockholm where it had originally arrived in the spring of 1758 after being shipped from Amsterdam. 4 The second time that The Ferry Boat to Antwerp was on loan was in 1930; on that occasion the picture enjoyed the status of being a major work from the National Gallery of Denmark s collections, and it was featured in a major exhibition in Brussels on the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of Belgium s declaration of independence. 5 In his review of the 1930 exhibition the critic A.H. Cohen compares Jordaens with Van Dyck: Against such a neighbour Jacob Jordaens appears brutal, even violent, but also impressive in the broad, bold unfolding of his palette. Max Rooses made his contribution towards rehabilitating Jordaens within art history s canon with his biography (1906 French, 1908 German versions). Max Rooses, who was the director of the Plantin Moretus Museum in Antwerp, offered the following description of Jordaens a few lines into the preface: Jordaens, painter of the people and the middle classes; he who, excellently, powerfully, celebrates sensuous delight. Rooses compares Jordaens to the two other major figures within Flemish Baroque art: Peter Paul Rubens and Anton Van Dyck. The former is described as a heroic painter whose ability enabled him to do everything; the latter as a painter of the poetic, the ennobling, and the seductive. The present text focuses on the acquisition and the Danish reception of Jordaens painting The Ferry Boat to Antwerp: Through what optics has the painting been viewed over the ages? What concepts of beauty have affected the eyes that beheld it? What normative judgments of taste have been applied and held sway? How was it possible to acquire a major work from the Flemish Baroque at such a late date as 1912? Much of the history of the painting s reception outside of Denmark has already been treated. 6 In order to view the Danish reception within a wider perspective, the first part of this text will concern itself with Jordaens first biographer, Joachim von Sandrart, on whose work all subsequent biographies are based. The German painter and critic Joachim von Sandrart ( ) [fig. 2] wrote the only source material about Jordaens oeuvre dating from Jordaens own time. It might be relevant to place Sandrart within his own contemporary context in order to better understand his reception of Jordaens painting. For Sandrart was no advocate of the academic concept of beauty that would later become the norm. Even in his own day Sandrart s aesthetics stood in 99 english version

100 Fig. 2 opposition to the classicising movement found south of the Alps; movements whose proponents included Giovanni-Paolo Lomazzo ( ) and the brothers Taddeo Zuccaro ( ) and Federico Zuccari (1540/ ). 7 As was the case with Jordaens himself, Sandrart s formative years took place within a Northern European setting where classical antiquity and the High Renaissance were certainly present as indispensable parts of a visual image bank, but they did not constitute the only or dominant yardstick for aesthetic norms. Sandrart was born in Frankfurt am Main, where the family had arrived as Calvinist refugees from Wallonia. 8 As a young man he studied in Prague and subsequently in Utrecht, where, in 1627, he joined Rubens, who was conducting a tour of The Netherlands at the time. He then travelled to England with Gerrit van Honthorst, under whom he studied in Utrecht. Having spent a number of years in Italy he and his family settled in Amsterdam in ; here, he became part of the humanist literary scene that also included Jordaens. Sandrart s treaty Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau- Bild- und Malerei-Künste includes a brief description of The Ferry Boat to Antwerp. 9 The first volume was published in 1675 and addresses theoretical matters such as the proportions of the human body, the emotions, rules for history painting, rules on proper lighting in the studio, on how to paint draperies, on colour, on the art of perspective, etc. The second volume was published in 1679 and contains a wealth of biographies of artists from all of Europe; Jordaens biography is quite a bit longer than those of many other artists. Sandrart had met and spoken with many of the artists during the course of his extensive travelling. Sandrart s aesthetic yardstick is coloured by the Northern European Baroque art of his own day. 10 Thus, his concept of beauty favours the study of nature and verisimilitude over the study of antiquity; colour over line and composition. By Sandrart s standards for the perfect painting, the pinnacle of an artist s achievement is to successfully present colours that are true to nature, that create an atmospheric space by graduating the colour saturation, and that create the illusion of spatial form in figures (relief) by having light and shadow painted by means of colour (rather than by darkening a given colour with black and lightening it with white). This Mannerist colour theory is celebrated in Sandrart s theoretical writings as well as in his artist biographies. Also, all compositions are founded on preliminary drawings and studies. Compositional studies and sketches will ensure harmonious groupings of the figures and rational transitions between the groups. With our new knowledge about Jordaens creative development of The Ferry Boat s composition which is associated with a painted compositional sketch as well as with painted oil sketches of heads we see that Sandrart based his directions on practices that were current in his day. 11 Judging by the wording of Teutsche Academie one can only presume that Sandrart met Jordaens in Antwerp in 1671: He still lives in great prosperity in Antorf at the age of 78. Sandrart describes the old Jordaens as a much-revered man who had gathered great wealth, always happy, kind, full of love and warmly welcoming. It is quite clear that Sandrart s concept of beauty is in keeping Jordaens painting: With his great, english version 100

101 masterly brush he painted stories both sacred and mundane, poesies (Poësien) and all sorts of everyday scenes, life-sized, mostly after the life, with very strongly enhanced and elevated natural colour and a manner of painting so excellent that he is on a par with even the most famous of painters. Sandrart describes The Ferry Boat in direct continuation of a life-sized scene featuring a cornucopia; the work in question is in all likelihood Pomona: 12 In a life-sized scene he also painted satyrs holding and carrying the cornucopia which the Three Graces fills with an abundance of fruit, vegetables, grapes and much else besides. His well-made pictures are more wonderful that one is wont to see in their drawing, colour and brushwork; for example, he has painted, with unmatched skill, a canvas as long as the length of a large hall, showing the great ferry boat to Antwerp in which appears all kinds of animals and all kinds of people, each labouring in accordance with their calling. 13 Sandrart s statement to the effect that Jordaens painted very quickly may well be a result of Sandrart spicing up his biography with a favourite topos that the art criticism of the Renaissance and the Baroque inherited from Antiquity. An anecdote in Pliny tells us that the painter Pausias needed to paint a picture of a boy in a single day and called it an hemerésios (one-day picture). 14 Sandrart s admiration for his Flemish colleague, who was 15 years his senior, is not a hollow panegyric. One can find tangible evidence of his high regard for Jordaens in Sandart s own painting February, in which the fat chef personifying the month was obviously inspired by a Jordaens painting of a gentleman; the painting is now housed at the Louvre. 15 Georg Brandes ( ) [fig. 3] must be the first Danish critic to have concerned himself with Jordaens work. In his travelogue from 1868 he writes: To Rubens, too, life is force and strength [ ] Life is in the flesh, is the flowering strength of flesh, and the health and voluptuousness of flesh is the joy of living. However, this animalistic delight in life is not restful, not savoured in luxurious serenity; the blood flows swiftly through the veins, all organs are pulsing and moving without stop; the entire, colossal Fig. 3 human machine is engaged in mighty action [ ] His pupils have transformed it (the style) partly in the direction of the beautiful and partly in the direction of the rusticjovial; Van Dyck takes Rubens in under the auspices of the laws of beauty and the restrictions that elegance requires; Jordaens is Rubens subjected to the exaggerations of the voluptuous and the rustic. 16 When Cohen wrote about the 1930 exhibition, criticism had not progressed much beyond such simple value judgments. The myth about Jordaens sensuous and unadorned realism was to prove long-lived. The Danish reception continued with the acquisition of The Ferry Boat when Karl Madsen ( ) [fig. 4], who was then the newly appointed director of Statens Museum for Kunst, bought Jordaens painting from a Swedish collector. In an article in the journal Tilskueren Karl Madsen said: He did not, like the highly sophisticated Rubens, suffer from pangs of conscience about having moved away from Antiquity s directions as to the proper measurements. 17 Speaking in the same breath, Karl Madsen describes Jordaens in the following terms: He loved the healthy, the sanguine, the blood-filled and the juicy, the rich and the voluptuous; loved it with a warmth, a fury, a glowing fervour that turned the coarse realist, who preferred the plumply natural, into a lyricist, a true poet. He wrote hymns to joy. In Illustreret Tidende (1913) Francis Beckett ( ) [fig. 5] writes an article about the new acquisition, opening it by lamenting the fact that Jordaens got married at such a young age: Oh, if Jordaens had only waited to marry until after he had been to Italy. 18 Then he would presumably have acquired the sense of coherence in a figure, in movement, in form that is lacking in this painting. But then he might also have surrendered his healthy, rustic ways, his lusty humour and the sheer, fleshy force of his art [ ]. Unlike Sandrart s statements, Fig. 5 the critical judgments by Beckett, Madsen, and Brandes are tinted by the 19 th century s normative canonisation of the Italian High Renaissance, a canon that continued to be upheld up through much of the criticism written in the 20 th century. The critique that points to Jordaens painting as anti-classical and as brutal realism is calibrated according to this aesthetic barometer. Fig english version

102 Georg Brandes uses the concept of the beautiful about Van Dyck s style as a contrast to Jordaens vein of painting. Georg Brandes close friend, the art historian Julius Lange ( ) [fig. 6], would not dream of concerning himself with a painter Fig. 6 so far removed from classical ideals as this Flemish Baroque artist. 19 In his writings Lange focused on Danish Neoclassicism, on antiquity (Phidias), and the Italian Renaissance. Like Brandes he wrote a monograph about Michelangelo. In their judgments and general approach to art Julius Lange, Karl Madsen, and the Danish critics were all influenced by a German tradition that has its roots in the work of Johann Joachim Winckelmann ( ). The new standards were set down in Winckelmann s major work Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums, which was published in Dresden in 1764 and in a revised, posthumous version in Vienna in Winckelmann took a new approach by focusing on art history from a cultural/historical rather than a biographical point of view. Brandes use of the concept the beautiful may have been inspired by this. Drawing on Pliny s natural history, Winckelmann placed the art of antiquity within a linear development metaphor that comprised four phases: the archaic, the high (the sublime), the beautiful, and the imitative (Roman copies). 20 To a connoisseur such as Bernard Berenson ( ) Baroque art was not worthy of attention. 21 Within international art history, 17 th century painting was not included in the art-historical canon until the Austrian writer Alois Riegl ( ) published his work about the Dutch group portrait. 22 After this, the Swiss art historian Heinrich Wölfflin ( ) presented his theory that art is bound to a cyclical oscillation between the classical and the baroque. Like that of Riegl, Wölfflin s approach presented no aesthetic value judgments. The acquisition of The Ferry Boat to Antwerp was the cause of much enthusiasm in the Copenhagen media when the painting was finally, after a much-needed cleaning, placed within the so-called Rembrandt room at the Gallery. 23 In Sweden, the news was received rather more coolly. The Swedes annoyance and regret was not eased by the fact that shortly before this, Titian s juvenile portrait of his father-in-law Giovanni Bellini had been acquired by Glyptoteket in Copenhagen from the Swedish count Gustaf Trolle-Bonde. Titian s painting had been part of the collections at the manor house Säfstaholm since Through the art dealer M. Marcus in Copenhagen it was sold to Glyptoteket, which subsequently loaned it to Statens Museum for Kunst. On 11 December 1912 and in the days that followed the Swedish newspapers ran articles with headlines that clearly expressed the general sentiments. Svenska Dagbladet: Yet another classic art treasure leaves the country (11/ ), Dagens Nyheter: Another major work of art leaves Sweden, Søderkøpings Posten: Precious Swedish work of art sold to Denmark, and in Göteborgs Handels Tidning an outraged article by Axel L. Romdahl under the headline Art Exodus was opened by the following volley: Säfstaholm s Titian, Finspong s Jordaens two of the most famous and precious masterpieces in private Swedish ownership have, within the space of six months, passed across our borders bound for Copenhagen galleries. Romdahl chastises the private owners for transferring ownership of the masterpieces to the highest bidder with no regard for social position and obligation (sic!). The newspaper Nya Dagligt Allehanda ran the headline: Art Export to Denmark. In the article a curator at the Swedish national museum, Dr. Looström, is taken to task. The journalist wants his opinion. The curator deftly passes on the parcel to the association of friends of the museum, who had taken it upon themselves to negotiate with Axel Ekman about a possible acquisition of Jordaens painting. In the interview Dr. Looström regrets that the work is sent abroad, but also states that the Danish museum pays dearly for the privilege. In an article in Dagens Nyheter on 12 December 1912 the headline reads: The Finspong panel sold to Denmark: Mr. Axel Ekman s defends its sale. Here, the landowner is allowed to speak, responding to the media storm of the preceding days. In the article Ekman relates how he, several years prior to these events, moved from the manor house of Finspong to the nearby, and smaller, Mogård, where there was no room for the large painting. The painting was then lent to a major Jordaens exhibition in Antwerp in 1905; Karl Madsen knew it from this context. After this Ekman lent the work to the Fria Konsternas Akademi in Stockholm, where it was still hanging in The article concludes that given the circumstances it was only natural that Ekman should wish to sell the painting. That same day Stockholms Dagblad also printed an interview with Axel Ekman. His account of events certainly differs somewhat from that of Dr. Looström. Ekman explains that two years before he offered The Ferry Boat to the curator at the Swedish museum, who informed him that the painting was of no interest to the museum. In the summer of 1912 Axel Ekman began negotiations with the Swedish museum s friends association, as forces within that organisation were of a different opinion than the curator. Ekman informed the association that they could acquire the painting for 45,000 kroner. As the association could not stretch to more than 35,000 Ekman found himself compelled to search for a buyer abroad. To his great surprise the association came back to him on 7 November to let him know that they had now collected 43,000 kroner towards the acquisition of his painting. Ekman explained that he was under new obligations as he had entered into negotiations with the Danish Gallery in the meantime; the Danes had been offered the painting a price which was a third higher than the 45,000. The media storm related only half the truth. Axel Ekman would have preferred the painting to end up at the National Museum in Stockholm. Instead, three potential buyers came into play all at once. This was exactly the situation that Ekman feared. In addition to the two national galleries the range of interested parties included another foreign collector whose bid Ekman felt obligated to await before he could announce english version 102

103 a final decision to the two museums. In his letters to Karl Madsen he requested full confidentiality until the deal was settled entirely. He realised that sending the painting out of Sweden would cause a media frenzy. Shortly after the friends the Swedish museum announced that they would only be able to pay 35,000 kroner for The Ferry Boat, Ekman offered a Continental collector the painting for 60,000 kroner. Later letters to Karl Madsen tell us that the collector in question was Max J. Friedländer, the great connoisseur of Flemish art. At the time Friedländer worked at the art museum in Berlin. The letters still housed at the National Gallery of Denmark allow us to follow events day by day. Axel Ekman s first written communiqué to Karl Madsen is dated 31 October Two months later, on the last day of the year, the second and final rate of 29,000 kroner had entered Ekman s account at the Skandinaviska Kredit Aktiebolaget in Norrköping. Right up until 17 November 1912 Max J. Friedländer had the right of first refusal. Only when Friedländer opted out was the path cleared for Karl Madsen. On 27 November Ekman writes to Karl Madsen, stating that by 1 December he wants a definite answer as to whether the young museum director would be able to come up with the money. Ekman had to inform the friends of the Swedish museum whether he would part with the painting for the 43,000 that they had been able to collect. In a telegram to Ekman of 29 November Karl Madsen says: Favourable result expected. Hope to arrive in a week. In a letter dated 7 December he confirms that the necessary funds are now available. On the Danish side of the Sound, of course, all journalists were enthusiastic. The new acquisition was not introduced to the general public until around 11 February when the conservator Rønne had restored the painting. The critic Chr. A. Been wrote that all the brown gravy poured upon it in order to conjure up the right gallery hue had been removed. Been also states that a foot disappeared here and a pair of hands appeared there, and that the painting has been restored to the brilliant sheen of its youthful glory. Been laments how the museum s bureaucratic traditions did not allow the general public to follow the restoration process (!). On 11 February 1913 the Danish newspaper Politiken printed the essay The Gallery s New Jordaens and the Gallery s new Director, in which the painter and critic Nicolaus Lützhøft ( ) [fig. 7] made some interesting observations on Karl Madsen s endeavours. Lützhøft begins his essay by pointing to the significant expansions of the collection that Karl Madsen s new style of management had brought in its wake. In 1911 he ushered in his directorship by discovering Rembrandt s painting The Crusader, which had been lost and forgotten in a storage room at Fredensborg Castle. 24 He then went on to acquire Joakim Skovgaard s large painting Christ in the Realm of the Dead, swiftly followed by Jordaens almost equally vast painting. Lützhøft states: Each of these works points to a field that demands attention from the Director of the collection of paintings; he must keep an eye on the nation s art, including the works in storage or on loan, he must stay in touch with the contemporary art scene, and he must occasionally add a classic work of art from abroad to the collection. Indeed, those indicators still hold true. Fig. 7 Another critic going by the name Bro outlines a sympathetic portrait of the man behind the new acquisition: Karl Madsen not only feels the joy of art. He feels, even more strongly, the joy of letting as many people as possible be enriched by art. With this statement Bro expresses the essence of that general spirit of the age that made the acquisition possible. A spirit that permeated the entire Arts and Crafts movement: the belief that good design and good art can improve and elevate the general populace. The Arts and Crafts movement, as it was known in Britain, was an international movement known as Skønvirke in Denmark and as Jugendstil in Germany and Austria. All these variants shared the basic tenet that the spirit and the hand should be united in art, design, and industry. The new aesthetic saw art as an element that was to flow through all aspects of everyday life, imbuing it with a spiritual quality to the improvement of all. The circle of moneyed art aficionados that made the acquisition of The Ferry Boat possible included many of the greatest patrons and collectors of the Skønvirke era. The brewer Carl Jacobsen was the greatest contributor by far, offering up 10,000 kroner towards the acquisition. The engineer J. Rump, the tobacco manufacturer Holger Hirschsprung and other private collectors such as the bank manager Herman Heilbuth were also among the main contributors. The circle of benefactors included keen patrons of Skønvirke artists, among these Etatsråd Bestle and the widow Kühle. The landowner Johannes Hage, whose own collection remains intact under a single roof at the Nivaagaards Malerisamling north of Copenhagen, also made a contribution. Perhaps Jordaens anti-classic style was the reason behind the Swedish curator s lack of interest and Max J. Friedländer s opt-out. Karl Madsen, however, saw a different set of qualities in the painting. He viewed The Ferry Boat from Antwerp as a crucial addition that completed the Gallery s collection of paintings by the Flemish artist; a collection that dates back all the way to Christian IV and Frederik III. With the acquisition of The Ferry Boat to Antwerp Karl Madsen marked a turning point in the history of the Gallery. Up until this point the collection of older art from abroad had been regarded as a closed chapter. 25 It was a remnant left over from the days of absolute monarchy, a heritage that was in many respects quantitative rather than qualitative in nature, and one that most had regarded as finished. The new acquisition, however, prompted the formation of Dansk Kunstmuseumsforening (The Danish Art Museum Association). The association s first board of directors had Johannes Hage as chairman, ushering in a period full of many important new acquisitions, right up to the present day. 103 english version

104 1 The restoration project was carried out under the management of Jørgen Wadum and with the support of The Getty Foundation. The exhibition Jordaens. The Creation of a Masterpiece was accompanied by a book bearing the same title (hereinafter Wadum & Pedersen 2008), which contains essays by Troels Filtenborg, Lars Hendrikman, Badeloch Noldus, Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, Anneflor Schlotter, Johanneke Verhave, and Jørgen Wadum, SMK Here, the terms reception history and reception aesthetics are understood and defined as in Wolfgang Kemp, Kunstwerk und Betrachter: Der rezeptionsästetische Ansatz, in Kunstgeschichte. Eine Einführung, (ed. Hans Belting et al.) Berlin 1996, , particularly pp 242f. 3 Henri Huymans: L exposition Jordaens á Anvers, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1905, ; The Ferry Boat was claimed to have been painted for Sweden (255). 4 In the spring of 1758 the painting had been shipped from Amsterdam to the residence of the De Geer family in Sweden, Finspong Castle. The first mention of the painting in our surviving sources appears in his descendant Maria Christina de Geer s ( ) last will and testament of 23 June 1741, in which it is described as the large piece by Jordaens in the hall (het grote stuk van Jordaens in het voorhuis), Isabella van Eeghen: Het Huis met de Hoofden, Maandblad Amstelodamum 38, 1951, 137; Badeloch Noldus in Wadum & Pedersen 2008, p. 97ff. 5 A.H.Cohen: Die Ausstellung Altflämischer Kunst, Pantheon 1930, p. XXXVIII, pp and Badeloch Noldus in Wadum & Pedersen 2008, pp Annette Nicopoulos: Die Stellung Joachim von Sandrarts in der europäischen Kunsttheorie. Disertation. Kiel 1976, p Christian Klemm: Joachim von Sandrart. Kunstwerke und Lebenslauf, Berlin 1986, p Joachim von Sandrart: Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau- Bild- und Malerei-Künste. I-II, Facsimile edition 1994, part 2, 336. We do not know for certain where Sandrart saw The Ferry Boat. It may have been on an undocumented journey to Antwerp, during a stay in Amsterdam in 1628, or during the period 1637 to Nicopoulos 1978, p. 101ff. 11 Regarding the oil sketch: Eva de la Fuente Pedersen, Jordaens Tribute Money: an unknown oil sketch, i Jordaens Genius of Grand Scale, CISA Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies in Art X, (eds. Birgit Ulrike Münch, Zita Ágota Pataki), Stuttgart 2012, Statens Museum for Kunst KMSsp233, Olaf Koester: Flemish Paintings. Statens Museum for Kunst 2000, p Olaf Koester suggests that Sandrart refers to Pomona at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. There is, however, also a slight possibility that Sandrart is describing the painting that was commissioned from Jordaens by the Danish king and delivered in 1652 or in early The Kunstkammer inventory of 1690 describes it as A large artificial piece executed by Jordaens about Nymphs and Cornu-copia. 13 In Lebens-Grösse mahlte er auch, wie die Satyren die Cornucopien aufhalten und tragen, indem die drey Gratien selbige mit allerley schönen Früchten, Obst, Trauben, und andern, erfüllen, dern holdselige nakende wolverstandene Bilder, in Zeichnung, Colorit und geistreicher Manier der Farben mehr verwunderlich als gemein zu sehen, so hat er auch in eines langen Saals Länge, das grosse Uberfahrt- Schiff zu Antorf ausgebildet, darinnen allerley Thire und Leute, dern jeder nach seinem Beruf arbeitet, unvergleichlich wol vorstellet. Sandrart 1994, p Eva-Bettina Krems: Der Fleck auf der Venus. 500 Künstleranekdoten von Apelles bis Picasso. Munich 2003, p Klemm 1986, p Georg Brandes: Samlede Skrifter, vol. 11, 1902, p Reprinted in: Karl Madsen: Museets forøgelser med flamske malerier fra det 17. Aarhundrede ( The Gallery s acquisitions of Flemish 17 th century paintings ), Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XI-XII, , pp Collection of newspaper cuttings, The National Gallery of Denmark, Danmarks Kunstbibliotek. 19 Regarding Julius Lange s view of art, see: Birger Wamberg in Hvorfor kunst? ( Why art )/ Lisbeth Bonde and Maria Fabricius Hansen (ed.). Copenhagen 2007; Marianne Marcussen: The reception of antiquity and Danish art history : Julius Lange and the representation of the human figure in the visual arts, in Acta Hyperborea : Danish studies in classical archaeology. Copenhagen 1990, pp ; Viljen til det menneskelige: tekster omkring Julius Lange ( The Will to Humanity: texts about Julius Lange )/ ed. Hanne Kolind Poulsen, Hans Dam Christensen, Peter Nørgaard Larsen, Copenhagen Alex Potts: Flesh and the Ideal. Winckelmann and the origins of art history. Yale University 2000, p Eric Fernie: Art History and its methods. A Critical Anthology. London 2000, p Alois Riegl: Das holländische Gruppenporträt, Prag, Wien, Leipzig 1902; Regarding Riegl and Heinrich Wölfflin, see: Michael Podro: The Critical Historians of art Collection of newspaper cuttings, The National Gallery of Denmark. 24 Karl Madsen s attribution was only recently subjected to scientific testing that combined cutting-edge technical studies and expert scrutiny by Rembrandt experts (see the National Gallery of Denmark s exhibition catalogue Rembrandt? The Master and his Workshop, 2006). 25 Regarding the significance of the acquisition and the subsequent set-up of Dansk Kunstmuseumsforening as the Friends association of the Gallery an association that came to be of great importance for fundraising for new acquisitions for many years to come please see: Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XLIII-L , 9ff. Regarding Karl Madsen s endeavours to not only acquire Danish contemporary art, but also older European art of high quality, please see: Villads Villadsen: Statens Museum for Kunst , 1998, pp. 172f. english version 104

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107 Plaster Bodies as Performance The Royal Collection of Casts viewed from a performative perspective h e n r i k holm Pure performativity implies the presence of a living being [ ] speaking in a manner that is at once spontaneous, intentional, free, and irreplaceable. Jacques Derrida 1 What does performativity do? Some of the basic premises for the study of performativity will be described in this article and applied to the Royal Cast Collection. The objective is not simply to consider theory for theory s sake, but to contribute to a new understanding of the collection s history and significance. What is more, this perspective makes it possible to outline a future scenario for cast collections in general. If you were to ask what performativity is you would get no answer. Performativity is an action that leads to a change in mood, a new understanding, or a response that may be different from or exactly as what you would expect. Thus, performativity is not about being something, but about something happening. Regardless of whether you are propelled on by the unexpected or by the expected, a movement occurs. As is indicated by the quote above, performativity is about people being affected by what they experience and, more specifically, about how it governs their actions. You perform in relation to a set of expectations that you have not set yourself, but which are nevertheless given. If you stop to watch a work of art at a museum, the work has already governed your actions. Even if you cannot be bothered to stop the work has determined what you do. If you are emotionally affected by the work it will affect your interaction with other people and the way you perceive yourself. If, for example, the work belongs to a cultural canon or is placed in a museum, then it helps build a sense of national identity; the work is an active co-creator of identity and you must relate to the work and to the ideas behind the work and its position within the general, public consciousness. The field of performativity was first explored in the Anglophone countries where performativity studies took roots during the 1990s. Now, the concept of performativity is gaining a firm foothold within Danish academia, 2 and the 14 th international congress for the members of Performance Studies International was held in Copenhagen in August of The present text is a version of a talk given at the subsequent 15 th international congress held in Zagreb in June of Artwork as Communication Performativity studies do not focus on the work s own context or on exploring the artist s intentions. In this context performativity is about how works and their history engage the spectator in some kind of movement. A basic premise for performativity studies is that art is not perceived as something that passively reflects the artist s intentions or the world and time in which they were created. Rather, works of art are regarded as autonomous, actively acting and intervening objects that create the world around them. Here, works of art are utterances that make a difference in the world, that change it and create its framework. At all times, and across time and space, art engages in active communication. Granted, such communication may not effect fundamental changes to the world or save lives the way a new type of medicine can. However, some works may in fact change the world for individuals, or for many people, either for a while or forever. It is a common occurrence to be emotionally moved by reading a book, and it is also commonplace for certain events to become iconic for a while, causing them to have effects that reach far beyond their original intentions; one example would be the images from Abu Ghraib that now stand as symbols of USA s mission in Iraq, or the Mohammad drawings that have, in certain contexts, become synonymous with Denmark s relationship with Muslims. For generations the paintings of the Danish Golden Age have acted as creators determining what Danishness is and to what you should relate if you wish to signal your Danishness. Within performativity studies, the way works of art act is compared to the ways in which language acts, and indeed the first theories about performativity arose out of the long tradition for analysing the semiotics of language. The inventor of the concept performatives, John Langshaw Austin ( ) a concept that would later be developed into the concept of performativity notes that his understanding of language, of how words do something, goes against the grain of the dominant understanding of language in his own day, the 1950s, which regarded language and art as simply being statements. Austin calls this approach the descriptive fallacy, thereby making a direct connection with the term Intentional Fallacy, which attacked a widespread tendency within the assessment of art, i.e. the practice of linking the meaning of a given work to the artist s own intentions. 3 In performativity theory, neither the artists intentions nor a description of the work rooted in logical positivism are considered adequate analyses. To utter a sentence or to create a work of art is to initiate an action; it is doing. Within the field of performativity studies, this prompts a shift between the terms performance as it is used in a 107 english version

108 theatre context and performativity as a theoretical concept. For example, audiences at exhibitions or the works of art themselves can be analysed as if they were actors in a play. Performativity studies often take place within areas where several disciplines meet and merge, e.g. theatre, film, literature, philosophy, and art. When we consider casts after the antiques one might note that such trans-boundary activity is in no way alien to antiquity, for during that period no distinction was made between acting as an artist, philosopher, or scientist. All such activities were done in the service of the human spirit, of enlightenment, consciousness, empathy, morality; and the objective of addressing such subjects was to achieve a cleansing, a renewal, in the encounter with the extraordinary, the exalted, or the beautiful. The work as failed utterance If art can act just as language can, works of art are also subject to the same dangers and pitfalls that can befall utterances made through language. Thus, the study of how communication is successful in some contexts and completely fails in others is a central element of a performativity-oriented analysis. The changeable history of the Royal Collection of Casts which runs the gamut from first being established because it is regarded as necessary and as a successful piece of communication to becoming carted off to storage in the 1960s and, later, to being re-installed outside the Gallery in the West India Warehouse is an ideal candidate for such an analysis. Ideal because it allows us to trace the transformation of an utterance that was successful upon its first emergence in the late 19 th century, but came to constitute a rather failed utterance over the course of the 20 th century. One can also say something about the future of the collection by building on an analysis of its more or less successful performance over the course of history; the collection s turbulent history could potentially be made the lynchpin of communication and education efforts, inviting performers to act in relation to the statues and to the collection s history and new meanings. To perform the collection s failure to act meaningfully may be the most positive way of relating to the collection s misperformance. The Royal Collection of Cast s Performance Our sympathy proclaims our innocence as well as our impotence. Susan Sontag 4 What does the Laocoön group perform? [Fig. 1] Quite a bit, really. Regardless of the spectator s own epoch, you are, when positioned in front of this work, viewing the suffering of others. You witness a horrific scene where Laocoön and his two sons are strangled by giant snakes. Any spectator confronted with this scene must relate to their own experience of suffering and death and may be emotionally moved; this sensation is sparked by their encounter with the sculpture. The intention behind the work is to evoke empathy, and if you are capable of feeling compassion for the victims the work will have an impact on the spectator, an effect that is not entirely unambiguous as described by Susan Sontag in the quote above. Our sympathy ensures a kind of innocence, for if we feel for others we cannot cause pain and death, but at the same time we cannot do anything to alleviate Laocoön s suffering. The sculpture group performs Laocoön s death the way actors might, for it is not Laocoön himself we see, but an artistic staging carried forth by a group of figures. The group also performs in relation to all the artists that have been affected by the sight of it; their numbers include Michelangelo, who witnessed its excavation in 1506 and let that experience greatly influence how many of his figures act. In the Royal Cast Collection the group is placed near casts after Michelangelo, thereby providing visual cues that sweep spectators along and show them how the figures around it writhe and squirm, acting out an emotionally charged piece of theatre about human suffering that very clearly points to how the figures act out and act in relation to each other across time and space. Given the fact that the work in question is a cast rather than an original, the group can be moved around relatively easily, forming part of new constellations with much greater ease than the original, which is firmly lodged in the Vatican. Laocoön plays a crucial part for the father of art history and archaeology, J. J. Winckelmann ( ), so one might say that Laocoön also enacts the history of these two subjects. Of course, this kind of performance requires knowledge beyond that which is communicated via the purely visual. From Winckelmann onwards there has been a discussion on whether Laocoön and hence all of antiquity is heaving a stoic sigh, retaining his composure to the last, or whether he is crying out in blind pain, thereby marking that the wellspring of Western civilisation is not harmony, but chaos; and awareness of this discussion requires a certain amount of background knowledge, a context presented via language that helps give the otherwise silent figure sound, thereby imbuing it with an even greater sense of being an actively engaged main performer in the play that creates the basis for our understanding of ourselves. Cast Collections as the Matrix of the Masses The mass is a matrix from which all traditional behaviour toward works of art issues today in a new form. Walter Benjamin 5 The plaster Laocoön also performs as a copy, not as an original work, which paves the way for several different potential performative consequences. It shows that all art can be reproduced, as Walter Benjamin notes in his article The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936). The original work of art played a part in rituals and in religious contexts, but a copy which may, in this modern era, be the result of mechanical reproduction becomes, for the first time in world history, emancipated from its parasitical dependence on ritual, as Benjamin says. 6 The ritual was for an elite coterie only, whereas reproductions are, in principle, for everyone. Back when the plaster copies were purchased for presentation at the National Gallery of Denmark in 1896 it was believed that plaster reproductions were for everybody, for they made it possible for the masses to view the shapes and forms of antiquity even though they could not travel to see the originals, which english version 108

109 Fig. 1 were scattered all across Southern Europe. Benjamin employs an interesting turn of phrase that points ahead to where we need to go when we are to speak of the casts performative potential, their ability to shape the spectator s view of themselves and their foundations in relation to classical European civilisation. As is quoted above, he states that the mass is a matrix from which all traditional behaviour, all habitual approaches to works of art emerges as if born anew. The focused spectator delves into the history behind a work, immersing themselves in it, whereas the distracted masses let the work of art sink in after a prolonged and uneven process of acclimatisation. To Benjamin film is the medium best suited to utilise the potential for shaping the masses, but as the casts were placed chronologically they actually created a filmic sequence: as you walked through the entire presentation from start to finish you took in the full history of artistic development up to contemporary times. So the casts were to form the masses, this open and malleable matrix, so that they would, at least sporadically, take on the forms of antiquity just as the casts themselves had been moulded after original works. Here the seeds of a serious paradox have been sown, for casts after ancient works may point directly back to the ritual binding that the originals were created to effect; certainly if they can in fact prompt new audiences to perform a new era s rituals of catharsis and education at the museum, one of the cultic spaces of our modern age. But the originals have long ago been removed from the temples where they were originally erected, taken into museums and thus been torn away from their original rituals. Plaster casts that make no attempts at hiding their true nature as casts may be even more liberated from such ties to an original ritual. They are entirely free from any expectations of evoking the same admiration and awe as the originals, allowing them to be more freely appreciated by the masses and even to be enjoyed in the here and now without requiring any thought for the originals and their historical contexts. Yet this makes them all the more suited to segue into a new ritual: the educational tour through the museum where one inspects time and history as it progresses towards ever greater freedom and ever-more brilliant ideas. But it is only when you do not need to run around naked and inebriated, brandishing a thyrsus, that the act of viewing a statue of Dionysus can lead to the enactment of another ritual with the figures a successful, modern performance of education and sophistication. The concept of viewing the masses as a giant matrix or mould points to the works a performative, not just as passive containers of information and knowledge about antiquity. The works create the matrix of the educated individual who is aware of his or her cultural background and of the political, aesthetic, and ethical imperatives inherent in the legacy of antiquity. If casts are to impose form on the masses this presupposes that at the time of their purchase and presentation the performance supplied by the casts was believed to be successful. But Benjamin makes the point that from now on it s the masses that do the shaping, not vice versa. The Royal Cast Collection as a Whites Only Performance In order for a performance to be successful a number of requirements must be met. For each of these requirements deviations may occur that may cause the performance to fail. But let us begin with the requirements applying to the good performance; the requirements that the casts are expected to successfully meet: Prior to the purchase and display of the figures a widely accepted, conventional process must be completed; a process 109 english version

110 that has an entirely predictable and in no way surprising impact on the audience. The institution itself sees to this, for the institutions demand a special choreography from the audience; the museum makes its audience perform the way one is supposed to perform at a museum. The display and presentation of the works are arranged in accordance with the wish to achieve a certain effect in the spectator. The works presentation of Western civilisation as an unmatched and in every way successful story of development one that showcases this civilisation s natural superiority to the more primitive and static histories of all other cultures was as widespread and seemingly natural in the 1890s as would only be possible in the era of the modern empires (from around 1800 onwards) and prior to the end of World War I, when Europe s great colonial powers and principalities collapsed or were forced to yield their sovereignty. Up until that point, however, having and presenting a collection of entirely white, idealised, and naked male bodies, a range of more or less disrobed female figures, and a series of equestrian statues was not just acceptable, but necessary. When the museum first opened its doors nothing could be more natural than for the nation to have a national gallery that demonstrated its respect towards non-national world art by presenting a range of plaster copies. Such respect could neither be challenged nor become too overwhelming when the figures on display were copies after ancient originals often, such originals were themselves Roman copies after Greek originals that had already been lost at the time. In our day and age the whiteness and the ideals behind the collection seem glaring to our eyes, particularly given the fact that the collection is, quite by coincidence, now housed at the West India Warehouse, a building erected in the Florissant age of the 1790s in order to contain the spoils won by exploiting slaves as cheap labour in the Danish plantations on the West Indies; here, the concept familiar from e.g. Apartheid-era South Africa of something being for Whites Only takes on new and special significance. According to my terminology the Royal Cast Collection is very much a Whites Only collection in which coloured copies are delegated to playing inferior parts and where figures such as Michelangelo s slaves [Fig. 2] not only provide an occasion for speaking about Michelangelo, but also about this almost surreal chance meeting on the dissecting table of history between a white plaster figure of a slave and a rustic warehouse; a meeting which, despite its arbitrary and coincidental nature, serves to emphasise the collection s ethos, its special disposition, its unique character and fundamental values. Such a collection s reference to the superiority of the white man could at any time threaten its very existence if it were to be judged too politically incorrect, or perhaps politically incorrectness may imbue it with new meaning as nationalistic sentiments grow in strength. Its reference to a European community is equally problematic, and the collection can only find its strength by living out these dilemmas opening, not by ignoring them. The Cast Collection as Misperformance At the point in history where the plaster casts were first put on display, the general belief must have been that specialists and laymen alike were ready to adopt and perform the ritual acts that a chronological presentation of the figures at the nation s new main museum of art would entail. Undoubtedly, everyone played out their expected parts correctly and completely, creating the impression in each spectator that they were willing participants; everyone performed to the best of their ability for the greater good of themselves and of society as a whole. The figures performed, shaping and moulding the citizens who went on a journey with them, so that for a while the casts could be regarded as successful performances in Austin s sense of the term. 7 As is true of any performative statement, all works of art will find that their successful performance eventually begins to move in wrong directions. If for whatever reason the works no longer fit into a conventional, modern, ritual, and widely accepted context, their attempts at shaping the masses will begin to look like misfires. 8 The figures and the sequence in which they are presented may well murmur ceaselessly of the superiority of white, Western man, but if the spectators do not accept that this is the story to be narrated, the figures may find that they speak in vain. Fig. 3 If you no longer harbour any positive feelings for antiquity or for the claim that figurative art should be the foundations of new art, and if you also no longer find that the museum with its deliberate choreographing of the spectator s movement and learning is the best way for you to assert your right to act and think freely, your visit to the Cast Collection (or indeed to museums in general) becomes depleted of value and positive potential. It quite simply loses its impact on its audience, which may be increasingly propelled by duty rather than delight. The collection remains, stubbornly demanding its right and its rituals, but fewer people accept the gift. Eventually you will lose the sense that cast and ancient art play english version 110

111 Fig. 4 and 5 any significant part in your experience of the real thing, and so what was once regarded a natural and happy performance becomes a negative and destructive performance. This happens over the course of the 1960s. We can see that a number of works in the collection are described in inventories as damaged even though no note is made of how the damage occurred. Up until this point it was standard practice to record all cases of damage; for example, it would be noted in a quite unsentimental manner if a work had tumbled from its place and become smashed. Gradually, however, a large number of works come to be entered as damaged with an arrow-shaped sign in the inventories without any additional explanation. This means that the figure has been scrapped and supposedly smashed in order to prevent its parts from being put to other uses outside the museum walls. When the collection was once again put on display in the West India Warehouse it was discovered that an additional 206 works were lost without this being noted anywhere in the inventories. Such things can only take place when someone no longer shares the feelings towards the works that prompted their acquisition. All those things that constituted elements of the Royal Cast Collection s positive, performative validity grew into being elements that subjected the collection to increasing pressure until we came to a complete breakdown in the plaster cast s ability to communicate; the old sense of intimacy and of being prompted by the figures to enter into conversations grew into something that produced an ever-greater sense of distance until it could no longer facilitate any dialogue. Antiquity: Cast and Rejected There are several reasons why reproduction casts of ancient monuments become depleted in value as the 20th century progresses, and in what follows I will point to what I believe are the chief reasons. In the collection audiences could follow the outlines of the Western world s own staging of history as a steady progression towards 111 english version

112 Fig. 6 increasingly greater freedom and sovereignty a progression that was traced back to the wellspring of civilisation within Greek art from around 400 BCE. Spectators witnessed this narrative unfold in full 3D and with the illusion of having reached beyond all boundaries of time as they walked through the collection, witnessing the human body spring forth from stone through the ages from the Archaic to the Classical eras, right past the birth of Christ onwards through the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and towards the Renaissance with its rediscovery of mankind; the time when modern man was reborn. [Fig. 3, 4, 5, 6] The narrative was somewhat unpalatable and troublesome to artists with a critical sense; tradition lay as a heavy yoke on their shoulders, and some sought to throw it off even as they embraced it; one example would be the ever-struggling Abildgaard, whose The Wounded Philoctetes showed the true face of tradition as he saw it: a tortured, screaming body that cannot break free of its fate without also breaking out of its (picture) frame. [Fig. 7] Abildgaard s attempts at revolt were soundly quelled by the conservative champions of the national collection during the period following in the wake of the European revolutions in the mid-19 th century; after a veritable patricide on Abildgaard and the hailing of C.W. Eckersberg as Father of Danish Painting he was forced to adopt somewhat more subdued formulations in relation to the yoke of Antiquity and tradition. Where Abildgaard s friend Johann Heinrich Füssli (AKA Fuseli) depicts an artist in a state of despair, almost crushed under the weight of the ancient colossal statue s foot [Fig. 8], Christen Købke a student of Eckersberg paints a small-scale painting of an artist studying after the antique at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts; here, the artist may bend down a little, but this could simply be in order to inspect the figure in detail. [Fig. 9] The attitude conveyed via this academic study of ancient proportions and ideals is not entirely unambiguous. What is he looking for? The figure s lack of manhood or potency? Is he even looking at the figure, or is he caught up in his own thoughts, lowering his gaze? And what is he doing with that cloth? Is he dusting off antiquity? Is antiquity simply dusty? Is it not striking how little Eckersberg s students work after the ancients? They would rather be out in the open air painting the trees swaying in the wind, and their portraits are full of colour, life, and a not-very-classical attitude to body and posture, as is evident in e.g. the same artist s portrait of the landscape painter Frederik Sødring (The Hirschsprung Collection). We have to say that the attitude towards the repetition of antiquity represented by the plaster casts gives rise to some slightly peculiar performances as far back as around Yet tradition is safeguarded by those who disregarded all querying ambiguities, and the official position is still to lay claim to Western man s superiority and the undiminished importance of antiquity for all artists, including the Danish ones, right up to the turn of the century; a time when art truly begins to break away from ancient ideals. Exactly which version of antiquity should be incorporated into modern life is not entirely clear. Some artists have breakthroughs with modes of expression that are decidedly anti-classical, such as the Impressionists, to say nothing of Gauguin s and van Gogh s entirely unpredictable grappling with tradition. [Fig. 10] On Danish soil, conventional education based on the study of Latin begins to lose ground as far back as in 1903, making way for other subjects. 9 Perhaps this is the reason behind the strong need to establish such a massive collection of casts after ancient sculptures around the 1890s. A strong need emerges for retaining a grip on an antiquity which is even at that point slipping out of focus for the avant-garde while the institutions and the general public have come to wish to uphold the ideals and traditions from antiquity. Such distance between the two parties constitutes an abyss that can provide a reason for the cast display as an earnest, well-intentioned rescue attempt, even if it is also a lessthan-perfect consolation prize. The casts are, after all, only mass-produced copies and yet precisely because they are mass-produced casts with no special aura, set free from the original, ritual coercion, they become perfect as performances that the mass of individuals can shape themselves after. As was mentioned in the above, the underlying notion of the unassailable sovereignty of the Western empires suffers a breakdown after World War I, and as World War II drew near antiquity as an ideal becomes sorely tested; it has not yet emerged from that trial. The Nazis celebrated antiquity as the ideal example of the kind of art they wished to see, and they used it to point out how degenerate modern art had become. Hitler s filmmaker Leni Riefensthal used the Discobolus of Myron (circa 450 BCE) as the point of departure for the opening sequence of and as stopping points in the first of her two films about the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, Olympia, english version 112

113 Field Painting and figures such Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman as its main proponents. Greenberg spoke of Alexandrianism as something that should be left behind, a static academism that evades all forms of critical analysis. Civil society had nurtured a new, superior historic awareness in the form of avant-garde culture, which had been made possible by a critical stance towards society and history as such. The essay is also about how modern artists relate to the media, paints, and surfaces with which they work. 13 The notion of medium specificity as an ideal for the avant-garde is also expressed in the article Towards a Newer Laocoön (1940), in which Greenberg follows up on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing s ( ) Laokoon oder Über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie (1766) as he arrives at the posi- Fig. 7 Fest der Völker and Olympia, Fest der Schönheit, which premiered in 1938, the same year in which Hitler succeeded in acquiring the sculpture from Italy. The performance of Nazism (and other totalitarian regimes) based on antiquity as an ideal something which is evident in every aspect of their self-representation, in their art and architecture meant that after 1945 it has been difficult to cultivate interest in or appreciation of antiquity as a positive ideal. The most recent reform of the Gymnasium school (Denmark s largest upper-secondary education programme) from 2005 follows the overall line evident after 1903, which has seen Latin and Greek gradually being phased out as main subjects to an all-time low where Latin and the creative (and classic) subjects Music and Arts are all greatly reduced in scope. Parts of the Danish Parliament were concerned about this development, including Louise Frevert from the Danish People s Party, who inquired about the fate of these subjects; the party felt that they constituted the wellsprings of the entire Western cultural community, and as such they should be incorporated as independent subjects in their own right within any conservative educational policy. In her reasoning for preserving the subjects in the form preceding the 2005 reform Frevert added that, any talk of abolishing or combining these subjects simply expresses a typical Generation 68-attitude that accepts no responsibility for the foundations of our own culture. It would, then, seem absurd if these fundamental pillars of education were abolished by a conservative government. 10 Facebook allows you to join groups such as Abolish Classics in Gymnasiet, the group for those who also think that learning about Greek culture 2,500 years ago is a waste of time. The recently appointed professor of Classical Philology at Aarhus University, Marianne Pade, was compelled to express cautious optimism on behalf of her subject when accepting her position in 2009, her optimism chastened by the gymnasium reform, etc. 11 The classic, as it were, avant-garde movements made a point out of mocking antiquity. The Futurist Manifesto of 1909 states that museums and libraries (and feminism) should be destroyed, that the ideals of antiquity have already been conquered, and that we would see the (re) birth of the centaur, rising again after it lost the mythical battle against the Greek ur-people known as the Lapiths. 12 In 1939 Clement Greenberg published an article in which he spoke out against Nazism and Communism s use of antiquity s ideals, Avant-Garde and Kitsch; the article became the manifesto of the vein of Modernism that would gain ground in the 1960s with Colour Fig. 8 Fig english version

114 tion that abstract painting now constitutes a frame of reference for art just as the Laocoön group used to determine the boundaries for painting, sculpture, and poetry. Greenberg s position on the work s self-referentiality is downright ruinous for the plaster casts status as works because plaster figures do not pretend to be stone or bronze. The originals used as models for the casts are often in themselves Roman copies after lost Greek originals. The plaster casts are not modern, they point away from the materials used in the original works, and so they are even further removed from the ideal than the Laocoön group itself. On the other hand it could be claimed that plaster copies point back to the abstract qualities behind the sculpture as they exist to show that the form in itself is the main point of interest. However, that particular attitude to plaster casts only arrives when Post-Modernism softens the hard ideals of Modernism; from the 1980s onwards we find a range of artists, such as Bjørn Nørgaard, who once again embrace plaster and can use it as a point of departure for their work, and indeed it during this period that the Cast Collection is rescued from oblivion. But it was at the time when Greenberg s thinking and, with him, abstract art had reached its pinnacle as the leading art form internationally; a time when what is known today as the 1968 rebellion against authority was underway, that the Royal Cast Collection was given the kiss of death and evicted from the National Gallery of Denmark, officially due to a shortage of space; more space was required for the original works. Today, the assumed superiority of the original remains undiminished despite Post-modern movements, and neither copies nor figurative sculpture are of any great significance. Major changes occurred within the field of sculpture, whereas the plaster casts were carted off to storage. In 1979 Rosalind Krauss, writing in her famous essay Sculpture in the Expanded Field, stated that over the last ten years rather surprising things have come to be called Sculpture: narrow corridors with TV monitors at the ends; large photographs documenting country hikes; mirrors placed at strange angles in ordinary rooms, and that Fig.10 sculpture is no longer a positive category, but has become its own negation as a result of the addition of the not-landscape to the not-architecture. 14 From the 1960s onwards the expanded space in which sculpture must act left little room for classical sculpture s performance of the virtues of antiquity, and even less for what had come to be regarded as a dishonest, kitschy version of the original i.e. plaster casts after the antiques. This remains the fundamental approach today; at the Collection you can see visitors enter the place, take a look around and leave after having assured themselves that the collection holds only copies, no originals. What used to be such a successful performance one that merited the acquisition of a collection of casts had reached its final nadir; all the things that formerly formed the foundations of its excellent ability to communicate had become the very things that now make its performance unsuccessful. Modernity meant that a love for antiquity became almost impossible; in many circles it was unacceptable and inappropriate. A figure such as the Apollo Belvedere, who for 400 years had been regarded as an obligatory reference point for artists, came to be of no interest whatsoever within the modern, and it became increasingly difficult to persuade anyone to see the marvellous qualities of Neo-Classicist art that engaged antiquity, such as Thorvaldsen s sculptures, or of classicising buildings such as Vilhelm Dahlerup s Statens Museum for Kunst (i.e. the National Gallery of Denmark), which was to be rescued from its own mode of expression and be revamped with a new wing in a contemporary style. Performance in the Postmodern Era The Royal Cast Collection found its current location in the 1980s, the age of Postmodernism, and very fittingly for Postmodernism s mixing of styles and goodbye to the grand narratives about history as a steady progression towards ever greater freedom and happiness its new home was an old warehouse originally built to store goods before they were sent on to retailers. The re-establishing of the collection coincided with Postmodernism s reassessment of the gap between high and low culture that was so crucial to Greenberg s distinction between avant-garde and kitsch. Such distinctions are eliminated in the postmodern. Historic links and ties are not so important anymore. An old house and an old collection can match each other perfectly, and the same house can also house costumes for The Royal Danish Theatre and a collection of newspapers belonging to The Royal Danish Library. The plaster casts themselves no longer perform highbrow culture for anyone at this point that particular audience had shrunk to consist of very few besides than the small group of classical archaeologists and scholars who arranged the display and so the plaster casts and their ancient forebears were free to sink down into popular culture and live quiet lives there; i.e. in a realm where plaster casts appear in ordinary homes; where references to antiquity are liberally sprinkled around by the advertising business, frequently on behalf of cosmetics and clothes manufacturer; and where the Wild painting movement of the 1980s regarded all sources of inspiration as equal while Postmodern architecture gorged itself english version 114

115 on ancient and contemporary sources alike with the same voracious appetite. The grand narrative once related by the plaster casts is no longer the main story; that torch has been passed on to the small story of a neglected collection that was saved from oblivion and destruction at the very last minute. But the meta-narrative, the grand narrative about white, Western man s superiority and journey through world history towards ever greater freedom, knowledge, and control of their surroundings can no longer be told, for the collection s own story contradicts that narrative. Repetitions How, then, is the collection s story told here and now, in our present time? Where is the hook that the collection can sink into our era to demonstrate its own relevance and historical importance? If something is living, vibrant, relevant, and important, then it gets talked about; and what gets talked about can be written about. But it is easy to discern when a collection loses its importance, for then the talk ends. It is not hot on Facebook, and the area attracts few visitors and little study. Performativity theory is aware of the power of the written word, of the fact that messages can reach far and wide, but the written word is far less reliable than the spoken word carried forward in a particular situation by a particular person. The written word suffers from the drawback that it has to struggle to achieve immediacy and a sense of presence, and from the fact that the writer s intention behind the missive can easily be misunderstood, and they will not be at hand to rectify matters. However, no form of communication can wholly avoid misinterpretation. On the other hand it would neither be language nor communication if you did not imagine that your ideas and opinions can be transferred into language, communicated, and be understood, even within a different context. And so repeatability or iterability is a key concept within performativity theory. This can tell us something about the unique traits of plaster casts, which are deliberate repetitions of other works. They work on the premises of language rather than on the premises of the purely aesthetic and visual. An original work cannot be repeated and asks to be received as an aesthetic phenomenon; in Immanuel Kant s famous definition as something that evokes disinterested pleasure, something whose intention and meaning cannot be absolutely defined and which has something unique in its character. By contrast, a plaster cast asks to be received as a reproduction of an original as if it had already been translated into another language, as if it were only a cue for a reenactment on a stage, a performance of an already familiar sequence of events. It is, in a manner of speaking, the story of Laocoön that shouts out to be told when you stand before the plaster cast, whereas before the original you are supposed to experience a sublime, stunning encounter with an exceptional moment; perhaps a moment that even robs you of speech. That moment is not necessarily the moment of Laocoön s struggle, which is merely a story, but rather the moment in which the beauty, eeriness, and power of the work of art hits you. That moment has long passed for the plaster cast, but this only creates an even stronger need to tell the story orally and vibrantly in front of the dead plaster surface. The plaster cast is the writing that settles like palimpsest over the original presence of, yes, the original. The plaster cast is a repetition that remains entirely open to interpretation or to a lack of interest in the original. It is free, independent of the original, and as such it can be worked with in a completely different manner than the untouchable original. The plaster casts pale white re-invocation of stories from the dark recesses of history appear before us like revenants. They are ghosts repeating something that was once familiar and immediately relevant, but which now seems like voices from beyond the grave. The Royal Cast Collection is an epitaph to antiquity and a worldview out of keeping with our current time, and the plaster casts are like the living dead, frozen and captured at their moment of death there in the warehouse. Laocöon is simply one of the few figures that are aware of their death struggle; most of them never noticed the arrival of death before they had grown cold and dry. The positive aspect of being a product of the logic of repetition and, thereby, closely related to language is the fact that everything that has gone wrong in relation to the casts, all the historical issues that have caused them to perform so unsuccessfully, can be turned to the casts advantage. As reproductions they are free of the aura of ritual; they can be set free from ties to traditions and inhibitions in many more ways than is possible for any original. Their story may be tragic, may be gripping, but it is the story of the entire Western world from the time the casts were originally moulded to the present day. The plaster casts are part of the present day to a much greater extent than many originals can be. The originals fight a much harder struggle to set themselves free of their original context, but what is the original context of the casts other than the story of their unsuccessful performance in the modern era? The plaster casts are pure products of a changing context, and they demonstrate more clearly than original works that contexts are crucial, yet cannot be retained or neutralised. The potential of the Royal Cast Collection now resides in its lack of anchorage in relation to the past and to the Gallery, for here things can happen in ways and with perspectives that are not as obviously necessary or interesting at the main museum, where the originals reside. The originals should ideally be able to manage on their own, but plaster casts are nothing without staging, communication, and intervention if their histories are to be re-performed. One thing might further destroy our relationship with the plaster casts: A scenario where all this takes place in the form of mechanised repetition of antiquity s narratives without any discussion of the special features and traits of the plaster casts, or without consideration for their special fate as casts. Plaster casts are repetitions, and repetitions must always be reinterpreted in order to throw off their mechanised or machine-like qualities. Perhaps this could be done precisely by pointing to their machine-like nature, and to the fact that many of them have been virtually mass-produced during that period of history where industrialisation and craftsmanship were engaged in a constant struggle for dominion over matter and culture within the Arts and Crafts movement, known on Danish soil as Skønvirke (literally beautiful work ) (1880s -1920s); a time when the brewer Carl Jacobsen 115 english version

116 Fig.11 Fig.12 funded the massive purchase of the plaster casts featured in the collection. The plaster casts were originally acquired because it was believed that they could, in accordance with established conventions, repeat a particular desired performance; however, eventually the mechanical qualities of this performance and the lack of ability to produce new meaning within a new historical context became too glaring. The more that the plaster casts fell back on solely telling the story about a particular style-historical narrative and about a specific technique, i.e. that of plaster casting, the more their performative power diminished. The living, spoken word could find no place by their side. The casts strangled back the words before they could be spoken, and this is the silence to which they are condemned today. There is no spontaneous, direct, free and unfettered dialogue with them. And those are required for a successful performance. Yet such free dialogue can indeed arise after all. It arises when someone discovers the collection, when someone is struck by wonder and perhaps by enthusiasm. It does happen. I myself feel it in this way: I am sometimes struck by pangs of sadness when I have to leave the collection. For then they are once again left to silence. And when the light is switched off their unique, ghost-like qualities emerge from out of the darkness, but then I am unable to say any more. At that moment I am silent as if I were facing a marvellous, sublime, and entirely original work; the collection as a whole, with its unique qualities arising out of repeating an unsuccessful performance in the silence. What does it take to make such a collection spring to life? It should be viewed in the dark, after all the other visitors have left, all alone. That is not part of standard museum practice. The collection can also be revitalised on more commonplace terms during standard opening hours and through communication. In order to more closely investigate its potential within a contemporary perspective we must enter one of the main areas of performativity theory; the area where mechanical repetition, conventions, and language meet gender, body, and becoming. The collection can come to play a political role much like the part it once played for general educational purposes; this is not the same as a well-defined political role associated with particular party politics. In a performativity context the political is defined as a form of becoming, a movement; not a party-political adherence to particular convictions. When someone or something is given a space where it is possible to lead a tolerable life, and where such an opportunity was not previously available, this constitutes a political event. 15 At present the collection is balanced on a knife s edge between having and not having a tolerable existence, english version 116

117 Fig.13 Fig.14 and perhaps it can reclaim the right to speak with authority, perhaps not. The possibility of doing so is not simply a question of money, but also a question of what story we wish to tell about our civilisation. What is more, the Cast Collection can in itself direct its performance at a particular context, i.e. at the ways in which our gender identities are formed. Perhaps this could be the point of departure from where the collection can take on new relevance and spontaneous speech emerge? Performing the Collection and Gender Gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts follow; rather, gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time, instituted in an exterior space through a stylized repetition of acts. The effect of gender is produced through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and styles of various kinds constitute the illusion of being an abiding gendered self. (Judith Butler) 16 One of the leading figures within performativity theory, Judith Butler, has offered an in-depth and groundbreaking discussion of how identity is formed from a gender-performative perspective, so we will begin our investigation here. Butler says that gender should not be construed as a stable identity. The illusion of gender as something unchanging and immutable is constructed, created, and changed over time, and the framework for our understanding and assessment of gender is institutionalised through a stylised repetition of acts. Let us consider this statement in smaller increments and within the context of the Royal Cast Collection s performative potential in the past and present. It consists of depictions of naked bodies acting in accordance with some quite simple conventions on e.g. masculine strength, wisdom, bravery, and honesty, and it addresses feminine beauty and responsibility according to every rule in the book, sporting numerous Venuses and Athenas. The collection points directly and unashamedly to the body at all times. It is from there and to there that the formation of identity should be viewed and practised. The male and the female is defined directly and without further ado all the way through the collection, where the sheer weight of numbers alone has an impact on the spectator. So many physically fit, confident men; so many women displaying their loveliness, vainly struggling to hide their splendour with their hands in defence against the many gazes. The stereotypes become obvious, jarring. And yet it must be precisely those conventional gender roles performed to such great effect that somehow served as the reason why the collection 117 english version

118 was originally established. No other kind of collection can muster such a massive performance of a stylised repetition of an act. Butler states that the effect of gender is produced through a stylisation of the body, and so physical gestures, movements, poses, and stylistic variations of varying kinds help form and retain the illusion of a stable, uniform abiding gendered self. The collection was, then, allegedly established because it could act out gendered selves who lived up to accepted conventions about the feminine and masculine in thought, deed, and every other way. The collection created the notion of gender. The two sexes saw themselves clearly as two separate, unmistakably defined genders and acted as Venuses and Adonises within a heterosexual order. The collection acted in the same direct and banal way as when you pick blue for boys and pink for girls. A massive repetition of such differentiations will eventually form a significant part of the individual s gendered identity. The Royal Cast Collection could help anchor the institutionalisation of gendered identity in an era where advertising, the media, and social mores in general had not entirely secured the roles. Yet as one walks through the Collection, all the exceptions from the rules gradually become as striking as the conventions are massively, insistently present. Antiquity and the collection both allow considerable scope for somewhat unclear messages regarding gender identity. Apollo does not perform an absolutely clear, unambiguously heterosexual male ideal. Even the Apollo Belvedere possesses a certain ambiguity, a possibly homoerotic posture, a somewhat feminine hairstyle, and in the guise of Apollo Musagetes in feminine draperies, holding a lyre and sporting very ostentatious long curly hair, he looks more like a drag queen than like an ordinary male person with an interest in music. [Fig. 11, 12, 13] Then there are all the very young boys who demonstrate antiquity s tendency towards intimate relationships between adult and very young men, and one sees fully grown men playing with a child on their arm. So when Butler states that gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity the plaster casts can offer scope for very liquid identities. What, then, was the objective behind the collection back when it was created? To open up the floodgates for a chaos of unstable gender performances? Would this, then, not mean that the collection could potentially be very much involved in the current debate on gender identity and rights? Some of the women even wear something akin to scarves over their heads. Whatever the case may be, it turns out as Butler states, that To the extend that gender is an assignment, it is an assignment which is never quite carried out according to expectation [ ]. 17 Not even in a collection of casts. Here, the issue of repetition re-enters the stage as a necessity and as a form of coercion. Precisely because the ideal cannot quite be attained, it is ceaselessly necessary to make the attempt at doing so. In a nation like Denmark, which had no direct links to antiquity, making plaster casts after the antiques was simply a necessity. The openness towards different identities whether national or gender-specific evident in the collection may simply be necessary in order to allow the normal to show itself as strong and desirable? Or might the massive dominance of repeated attempts at firmly assigning identity cause a backlash so that it reveals itself as contrived, as nothing more than a plaster repetition? Conventions only become laws by struggling to do so; they must forever be re-performed. It is possible to stage a political intervention against this forced repetition, thereby providing scope and space for a varying and debatable identity whether national or gender-specific. A collection of this kind can provide a space for such vibrant, ongoing discussions if it is allowed the means and conditions to do so. Conclusion: Performance in the Royal Cast Collection If a collection like the Royal Cast Collection is to have a future at all, it might consist in foregrounding the points and the historical narrative that performativity studies bring to light. The collection must act out its history and its failed performance, inserting it directly into a political space where classic disciplines in the widest possible sense are presented; where history, art, philosophy, and politics meet, are re-performed and renegotiated. Performance art as a genre could be allocated a space where persons or groups working within this field could unfold their art in relation to the collection or other contexts. Then the fact that the building houses costumes for The Royal Danish Theatre could take on new significance, even after these costumes are sent elsewhere for storage so that the Cast Collection can be modernised, fireproofed, and ultimately made a worthy satellite for the Royal Gallery of Denmark. One might, for example, envisage an artist such as Yoko Ono performing her Cut Piece at the Collection. YouTube url Cut Piece sees Ono sitting on a stage wearing black clothes, inviting the audience to cut postcard-sized pieces out of her clothes while they imagine themselves sending the piece of fabric as a greeting to their loved one a somewhat ambivalent act of love that would ultimately leave the performer unclothed as dictated by the cutters courage and desire. Yet if this piece were performed at the Royal Cast Collection, a figure such as the Seated Nymph would take on new and different significance; it would become a Cut Piece of a woman who has been partially robbed of her clothes as dictated by the desire of others. In this context a figure from antiquity can suddenly take part in a current discussion on sexual politics. [Fig. 14 and 15] Yoko Ono s performance would have a perhaps startling and non-intentional historical dimension if it turned out that her work can also be related to antiquity s tradition for partially disrobed female figures. What is more, the performance would, if conducted at the Royal Cast Collection, take place in front of nothing but copies, so any offense taken on behalf of tradition should be negligible insofar as the figures are not bound to the rituals that surround the rituals; the copies can at any time become the objects of new rituals. The future of cast collections such as this might reside in acting in relation to its story, in presenting its failure as a source of potential and in pointing to how the figures act in a space; that they are not simply there to be enjoyed, but also shape and form an experience of body and identity, nationally, internationally, politically, and privately. Perhaps then audiences would once more let themselves be gripped and shaped, letting even plaster cast act as if it were a new and relevant art form? english version 118

119 1 Jacques Derrida: Without Alibi, Stanford University Press, 2002, p. 74 in James Loxley: Performativity, Routledge, London and New York, 2007, p the first thorough introduction in Danish to the concept viewed in relation to art history is Camilla Jalving s: Værk som handling, Museum Tusculanum Press, In 1954 Monroe Beardsley and J.K. Wimsatt published a series of essays that included the article The Intentional Fallacy. In so doing they established a new paradigm for analyses of artworks known as New Criticism, where the object of analysis the formal structure of the artworks, not the artist s intentions. Even though New Criticism became widespread, it did not eliminate the tendency towards looking to the artist s intentions when interpreting art, so in 1968 Roland Barthes could once again point to the problem of intentional fallacy in his essay Death of the Author (La mort de l Auteur), which puts the performative aspect of experiencing a work of art in a central position. The tendency towards wanting to explain art on the basis of the artist s life is, however, still alive. Indeed, the subject is one of the areas where the line dividing traditional and new art history is most clearly discerned, separating those who still focus on the artist s life rather than on the artwork s impact on the spectator, society, etc. 4 Susan Sontag: Regarding the Pain of Others, FSG, New York 2003, p Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm Walter Benjamin: Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit, Suhrkamp Verlag Frankfurt am Main, 2007: Die Masse ist eine matrix, aus der gegenwärtig alles gewohnte Verhalten Kunstwerken gegenüber neugeboren hervorgeht. p ibid. p Ibid: philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm Benjamin, ibid.: die technische Reproduzierbarkeit des Kunstwerks emanzipiert dieses zum ersten Mal der Weltgeschichte von seinem parasitären Dasein am Ritual. p after James Loxley s work on Austin in Performativity, Routledge, London and New York, 2007, p Ibid., where Austin speaks of misfire. 9 For an overview of how Latin diminished in importance as a subject within the Danish education system, please see dk/?pageid= Question no. S To the Minister for Education (14/3 03) from: Louise Frevert (DF):»Can the minister confirm or deny that the gymnasium (upper secondary education) reform will abolish the subjects oldtidskundskab (Classics) and/ or religion as autonomous subjects in order to introduce a watered-down variant of Cultural Studies, and could the Minister in this context please explain how this ties in with a Conservative view of society and with the defence of our country s fundamental values that the Prime Minister spoke of in his New Year s Address?«Basis for the question: The subjects Classics and Religion address the wellsprings of the entire Western cultural community, and as such they should be incorporated as independent subjects in their own right within any donservative educational policy. this supplicant believes that any talk of abolishing or combining these subjectw simply expresses a typical Generation 68-attitude that accepts no responsibility for the foundations of our own culture. It would, then, seem absurd if these fundamental pillars of education were abolished by a conservative government. reply (20/3 03) The Minister for Education (Ulla Tørnæs):»I have not yet taken any decision on the range of subjects to be taught at Gymnasium schools after the reform. I cannot, then, elaborate on whether the subjects Religion and Classics will continue unchanged in the new Gymnasium, or whether their status will change. I can add that in their discussion paper on a reform of the Gymnasium school, the Association of Gymnasium Headmeasters proposes the introduction of a new subject called Cultural Studies«. 11 Marianne Pade, interview: Greek and Latin are not exactly languages that enjoy political favour. Even so, Marianne Pade is cautiously optimistic on behalf of the classical studies she will now spearhead as newly appointed professor at Aarhus University. Antiquity has not fared very well in Denmark after the Gymnasium reform cut back on classical studies. But thanks to our fantastic colleagues out at the schools we have succeeded in having Latin and even Greek reintroduced at many schools, meaning that today many more students read the two subjects than was the case three years ago. And even though they only have few hours in which to advertise their subjects, the teachers nevertheless capture their students interest, partly because greater emphasis is placed on antiquity s impact on history, says Marianne Pade to explain her optimism, which she finds corroborated when looking towards e.g. Denmark s neighbour south of the border. In Campus, Aarhus University, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti: The Futurist Manifeso, English translation at: org/manifestos/foundingmanifesto/ 13 Clement Greenberg: Avant-Garde and Kitch: rosalind Krauss: Sculpture in the Expanded Field, October Vol. 8, 1979, uk/_uploaded_pdfs/krauss.pdf Over the last ten years rather surprising things have come to be called Sculpture: narrow corridors with TV monitors at the ends; large photographs documenting country hikes; mirrors placed at strange angles in ordinary rooms; temporary lines cut into the floor of the desert [ ] Sculpture, it could be said, had ceased being a positivity, and was now the category that resulted from the addition of the not-landscape to the not-architecture. 15 after Judith Butler: Undoing Gender, Routledge, London and New York, 2004, 224, in Performativity, p. 112: What moves me politically, and that for which a subject a person, a collective asserts a right or entitlement to a liveable life when no such authorization exists, when no clearly enabling convention is in place. 16 Judith Butler: Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge, London and New York, 1999, p. 179, in Performativity, 119: Gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts follow; rather, gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time, instituted in an exterior space through a stylized repetition of acts. The effect of gender is produced through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and styles of various kinds constitute the illusion of being an abiding gendered self. 17 Judith Butler: Bodies that Matter, On the Discursive Limits of Sex, Routledge, London and New York, 1993, p. 231, in Performativity, p. 124: To the extend that gender is an assignment, it is an assignment which is never quite carried out according to expectation [ ]. 119 english version

120 Fig.1 english version 120

121 Individual and Type? L.A. Ring s Harvest and The Sower m i r i a m hav e wat t s Laurits Andersen Ring s ( ) paintings Harvest from 1885 [fig.1] and The Sower from 1910 [fig.2] will serve as the point of departure for the following examination of a small, focused selection of Ring s production. In the text I shall home in on the two works distinctive description of fundamental issues regarding the human being as body and as consciousness in the world. 1 The paintings enter into a long tradition of depicting workers in the field; in iconographical terms they reach further back than the narrative of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden: in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life... By the sweat of your face / you shall eat bread. 2 Through a close reading of motif and composition I will address Ring s rendition of a familiar genre and figure which, in this particular case, also evades or rejects the traditional, the given, and the approachable. Directing one s gaze towards the paintings ambiguities regarding the familiar and the unfamiliar opens up new opportunities for gaining insight into how our common cultural origins manifest themselves and into how and to what extent Ring expands and reaches beyond this background. An Existential Realism Ring s life began in provincial Denmark, where the culture rested primarily on an oral tradition. Life in that environment did not have a true autonomous visual language, and today critics generally regard the genre paintings of rural life from the mid-19 th century as examples of middle-class sentiments projected onto rustic settings. 3 To Ring and the later artists who favoured realism, such genre paintings primarily acted as a frame of reference for their own identification and treatment of their chosen subject matter: Ring s paintings should be understood as having been shaped out of his own life, experiences, and personal view of the world. On the basis of this observation my investigations into Ring s realism do not rest on an expectation of encountering or uncovering a deliberate, stringent objectivity in the works. Rather, my purpose is to explore and pinpoint an ideal about truthful and honest renditions of reality on the basis of a more existentialist understanding of the concept of authenticity. 4 As is well known, Realism not only denotes a period within art history; the term is also linked to philosophical issues concerning the relationship with reality. A fidelity towards the perception of reality, coupled with the famous maxim Il faut être de son temps (One must be of one s time, ed.), can be broadly regarded as the distinguishing features that set Realist painting apart from the leanings of other isms, even though similar characteristics are also fundamental to Naturalism. The overlaps between Realism and Naturalism and the frequently seen usage of the terms as almost synonymous can be briefly explained by pointing to the common basis of these designations in objective precision, although this manifests itself in different modes of expression; Naturalism traditionally points towards Impressionism, whereas the world view of Realism can encompass a form of expressionism. The latter is an important point in my study of Ring s strongly marked figures and is in line with my reservations about applying a true objectivity concept to his works: I understand expressive in the literal sense of the word, i.e. full of expression, where Ring s depiction of figures and settings evinces something forceful as well as a peculiar sensibility or a Symbolist inclination. Fundamental conditions As a primordial image of humanity inscribed within the passing of the seasons, the depiction of the agricultural labourer transcends the cultural specifics of changing times and habits; it belongs to a more general, universally human narrative that can be traced back to the first visual vestiges of prehistory and up to the present day. Over the course of time the agricultural worker appears in e.g. fables and Biblical tales about industrious peasants who fill out their allotted place in a reality that reaches beyond them and beyond the mere labour of securing the basic necessities of life. 5 For example, the motif of the agricultural labourer traditionally conveys an ideal conception of man living and acting in well-balanced, cyclical patterns. Regardless of whether the frame of reference is mythological, religious, or mundane, and of whether the communication is textual or visually based, the connection between the individual and a wider context is typically illustrated by having personal features and traits subordinated to an all-encompassing, absolute whole. In 1885 Ring painted Harvest, encapsulating all the labours of harvest time in a single, striking figure. Working on the basis of pencil studies he reworked the image of a real-life agricultural labourer his elder brother Ole Peter Ring concealing his personal features in the inarticulate rendition of the half-turned face. 6 The head is small, the mouth is half open, and the eye is not clearly visible underneath the brim of the hat. The figure composition is arranged in a triangle formed by the large, frontally positioned body and its stolid scythe-work. The sense of rhythmic, engrossing labour helps fuse the otherwise relief-like figure with the quality of flatness seen in the field. The background defines as well as opens up the space towards the horizon so that the surroundings seem to grow up above the reaper, bind him to the soil, and indicate the cycle of the seasons via the traditional symbolism of harvest work as an ever recurring, natural activity. Ring has condensed the motif, transposing his brother from being an individual to become the reaper as a general type. 121 english version

122 With The Sower from 1910, painted 25 years later, the artist depicts the activity which of necessity precedes harvest, and the repeated scattering of grains refers to the way such toil has dictated human movement ever since mankind first began cultivating the land. From an immediate, personal perspective the act of sowing ensures that there will be a crop, and in a much wider perspective one that reaches beyond concerns for the survival of individuals and families it also speaks of a fundamental balance being upheld. As a counterpart to the reaper s averted face and absorbed labour, the figure in The Sower communicates a similar taciturn feel that helps underline the repetitious nature of his labour. The high horizon anchors the sower to the field and defines the space around him; a space where a gloomy sky, laden with rain, casts a distinctive light that accentuates a range of yellow areas: the seeds scattered glow golden-hued against the field and the coarse fabric of his sack of grain. The reaper and the sower both have an awkward physiognomy; the reaper s arms are strangely overgrown and attached in a peculiar way to his upper body, which in turn is too large and wide for the small head. The sower s arms, by contrast, are foreshortened and look ungainly on the narrow, sloping shoulders drawn up against the small head. His upper body seems square behind the sack of grain and underneath the large, worn jacket. His stiff legs in their clumsy clogs are oversized. His facial features are clearly hewn and full of character; a contrast to the reaper s less visible and undefined face. Whereas the latter has one arm crossing the frontally positioned body, thereby creating a barrier between him and the spectator, the figure of the sower is depicted in the act of taking a step, creating a more open movement directed out of the painting. His entire body is free of the field, unlike that of the harvestman; with his legs together his pose seems rigid and fixed behind the scythe and the detailed studies of ears of corn in the foreground. Thus the frontal pose and spectatororiented appearance of the sower supplements the earlier figure s closed and more self-sufficient form. 7 In contrast to the absorbed and introvert feel of Harvest, the totality created in The Sower evokes a Fig.2 tension in the relationship between figure and surroundings. Whereas the narration of Harvest emerges out of the rapt focus on the work being done, the more confrontational qualities of The Sower can pave the way for a different narrative about the conditions of life it depicts and for a different awareness of such conditions. In Front and Behind? Harvest does, however, hold far more within itself than a single story arising from a standard presentation of such toil elevated to a grander and more noble (yet no less wearisome) act: the reaper s peculiar, yet physically powerful body resists being unambiguously inscribed into the routine of work, for the strain is insistently conveyed in his movement, which also seems inhibited by his coarse and awkward figure. A divide between man and his surroundings materialises out of this strained forcefulness he puts into his work, and it is borne out by the above-mentioned relationship between the figure and the plane-like background. Critics have often explained the stylisation english version 122

123 and flatness in several of Ring s works and indeed the obvious Symbolist traits in certain paintings on the basic of the fact that he would typically paint the setting first and then insert one or more figures in prepared places. 8 The resultant gap between figure and setting is frequently read as a consequence of his lack of ability as regards motivic integration, or of his use of photography as source material. 9 In such criticism, deliberations on form dominate the readings of how the figures are arranged in relation to pictorial space; only rarely does it aim for a true investigation of the potential of this relationship to create meaning. Having said that, Thomas Lederballe s At Last, The Primacy of Drawing does touch upon interpretation with a precise characterisation of Ring s difficulties with the formal requirements of academic figure drawing; Lederballe describes how the artist s struggles gave rise to illogically heavily outlined shapes and shadows in the background which almost seem to suspend the motivic hierarchy between front and back. The outlines and shading used for the figures make them seem flat, and one notes how Ring s depiction emphasises the figure s plump appearance and coarse physiognomies[sic], almost as if the artist was distancing himself from academic figure drawing [..]. 10 As far as Ring s treatment of figures is concerned, we can also point to the often quoted passage in which the artist himself describes how he photographed numerous things, that is to say people. 11 This is a central statement if it is not passed over as a casual utterance, but rather read as a kind of declaration from which we can infer something about the artist s view of people and the world. In my interpretation of Ring s depiction of the figure/background relationship the statement can with some caution prompt ponderings on the artist s deliberate accentuation of what is in front and what is at the back what comes first, what takes precedence? In search of the sympathetic When identifying the choices Ring made regarding the rendition of his seemingly traditional harvest scene, a comparison to the thematically and motivically similar Harvest Scene from 1910 [fig.3] by the Funen painter Peter Hansen ( ) may prove illustrative. 12 Like Ring, Peter Hansen lets the high horizon signal the rural labourers community with nature, but by way of his repetition of pictorial elements within the softly undulating movement of the composition he also presents such work as a calm, harmonious pursuit founded in a shared life and sense of community. Mankind and nature mutually emphasise each other by means of a range of compositional devices that accentuate the overall rhythm of the harvest work, which sees the farm-girls and men collecting the sheaves after the reaper. The earthbound qualities of the common folk constitute a thematic that was also hailed by the writer Johannes V. Jensen ( ) Fig.3 as the hallmark of the provincial Funen Painters in contrast to the degeneration of the cultural life of Copenhagen; a position he took a few years previously in connection with the so-called peasant-painter rivalry. 13 In Ring s scene there are no helpers at hand to assist the reaper tie up the sheaves. And whereas the figure in the foreground of Peter Hansen s painting has been depicted while drawing back the scythe to make the sweeping cut, which requires balance rather than strength, Ring s reaper is shown holding the heavy scythe at exactly the point where the greatest strength is required for the blade to cut the stalks. The two paintings share a sense of vitality arising from the foundation of rural life in nature, but while Peter Hansen s depiction evokes the festivity associated with harvest time, Ring s scene eclipses such celebration with the sense of effort and strain evident in the reaper s body. Similarly, Hansen s depiction of communal work is transposed to a representation of lonely toil and isolation in Ring. A forced vitality carries Harvest from 1885 when compared to Peter Hansen s rather more pure-bred Vitalism from after the turn of the century: Ring promulgates and subverts the traditional harvest scene s rendition of man harmoniously inscribed within the rhythm of nature. Indeed, a critic Fig english version

124 Fig.5 from the newspaper Morgenbladet, a paper associated with the liberal party much favoured by farmers, expressed his regret and disappointment as regards Ring s mode of depiction: There are sympathetic figures aplenty to be found amongst the ranks of peasants and rural labourers, so why choose such a dim, sluggish-looking fellow who is in no way conducive to sympathy? 14 All sympathetic features and vitality have long drained away from Jean-François Millet s ( ) Man with a Hoe from ca [fig.4]; a painting that inscribes itself within the French Realist painter s primary circle of motifs in the 1850s and 1860s. As a precursor of Ring s reaper, Millet shows how the physical activity the work to be done almost blanks out individual identity, and in the words of Michael Fried the painting illustrates a downright brutalisation of man caused by repeated, immense physical hardship. 15 The man with the hoe is depicted in an ungenerous manner, his face and hands dark and coarsened, his mouth half-open and his eyes staring blindly out of their dark sockets. The body is gangly and bony underneath the tattered clothes and seems to grow out of the large, heavy wooden clogs. Like the clogs, the hoe links the man with the lumpy soil; the tool completes the figure and offers him a solid point of support that stabilises his body while also keeping him shackled to his work. The sense of individuality seems to have been worn down so thinly that only the man s human frame and physical activity are left as markers of identity, and in this empty and desolate landscape one is reminded of the words of the Biblical tale of expulsion: Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. A Notion of Immutability Inscribing human existence within a wider context for better or worse creates parallels to phenomenological thinking, where analysis is fundamentally based on experience and the conditions governing awareness and insight. In Martin Heidegger s ( ) The Origin of the Work of Art his description of a pair of peasant shoes in Vincent van Gogh s ( ) painting from 1886 [fig.5] 16 is rooted in the peasant woman who is assumed to have worn the shoes: From the dark opening of the worn insides of the shoes the toilsome tread of the worker stares forth. In the stiffly rugged heaviness of the shoes there is the accumulated tenacity of her slow trudge through the far-spreading and ever-uniform furrows of the field swept by a raw wind. On the leather lie the moistness and richness of the soil. Under the soles slides the loneliness of the field-path as evening falls. In the shoes vibrates the silent call of the earth, its quiet gift of the ripening corn and its unexplained refusal to produce anything in the fallow desolation of the wintry field. This article of clothing is pervaded by uncomplaining anxiety as to the certainty of bread, the wordless joy of having once more withstood want, the trembling before the impending childbed and quaking at the all-pervading menace of death. These shoes belong to the earth, and they are preserved in the world of the peasant woman. From out of this preserved belonging the shoes themselves rise to their resting-within-itself. 17 The text speaks of the toil of existence and of its dependence on nature on the basis of Heidegger s phenomenologically perceived connection between man and world. Mankind exists within a totality where shoe leather and the desolate fallow fields of winter, uncomplaining anxiety and trembling can all be traced back to fundamental connections of which the ultimate and greatest totality is the world. The interpretation of the peasant s shoes accentuates the general opposition of phenomenology to metaphysical essentialism and preference for retaining its focus on existentiality. A similar interest in uncovering the appearance of what is and in understanding the singular vitality of a given object can be identified in a related way to be a central endeavour in the painting of van Gogh, although this does not imply that he should be placed in the same bracket as Heidegger. Van Gogh s depictions of field work point to the simple, yet universal observation that regardless of whether you lay down the groundwork or reap the fruits of your labour, the physical labour required is equally hard and wearisome. Several of his series of paintings present a single-stringed narrative that accentuates the unchanging conditions of life, quite in keeping with his role model Millet just as the reaper s absorption in Ring can be immediately related to the description of a fundamental, simple lifestyle. The objective of visualising the factual in painting and the sense of the actual labour with its recurring, repetitive nature also link Ring s endeavours to those of van Gogh, of which the latter s also gave rise to several harvest scenes, of which english version 124

125 many were repetitions after Millet. Ring s choice of motif and stylistic approach in Harvest convey a materiality, partly in the detailed studies in the foreground and partly in the harvest work encapsulated in the single, characteristic figure. The flatness of the figure and background do not weaken this tactility, but instead give access to layers of meaning that carry Harvest beyond straightforward realism and beyond being a depiction that is solely motivated by e.g. political convictions or specific religious views on the world. Determinism Held at a Distance A Romantic-pastoral gaze among many other aspects not discussed here is inherent in Heidegger s text about existence incorporated into a greater whole, a gaze that denotes rural life as a simple, balanced, and self-fulfilling form of being where the barrenness of the soil is balanced out by the bounty of harvest time. Anxiety is described as uncomplaining, and it is resolved by a joy that is wordless. A corresponding taciturnity can also be found in Ring s reaper, who appears to be fully absorbed and seemingly at home in his work. For Millet, conveying a sense of the relationship between man and his surroundings was a deliberate strategy, and his endeavours with motifs such as Man with a Hoe aimed at a deterministic depiction of his figures. In a letter from 1862 he made an account of his efforts in which he stated that he not only aimed at creating cohesive compositions governed by a sense of inherent necessity; he also strove to depict figures whose appearance was consistent with their position in life: it should be impossible for the spectator to imagine that the staffage could be anything other than what you see in the painting. 18 Yet, as I have emphasised in the above, Ring s reaper s awkward body and laboured movement do not unambiguously inscribe him within such a context. Rather, it reveals a disparity between the labourer and his surroundings. Ring s depiction of harvest is at a remove from the peasant woman s preserved belonging and from Heidegger s academic and calculated rhetoric, whose evocative juxtaposing maintains a lyrical distance to its subject matter. The depiction of a fundamental phenomenological cohesion is contradicted by the inner tension of Ring s composition and figure drawing. Harvest inscribes itself within the tradition and also challenges the notion of an unreflective, natural rural lifestyle that is borne with quiet determination and whose joys and sorrows follow each other in an eternal cycle. Likewise, Ring distances his sower from his setting, withholding a traditional union of man and world. The sower s physical appearance is reminiscent of Jules Bastien-Lepage s ( ) figure from the correspondingly monumental painting The Beggar from 1880 [fig.6], from which Ring in all likelihood drew inspiration: like the beggar, the sower has been depicted with convincing spatiality around the face and hands, while the less differentiated, dark clothes covering the coarse body have a twodimensional quality that corresponds to the plane-oriented structure of the background. 19 An earlier parallel to Ring s figure and two-dimensionality of depiction can be found in Gustave Courbet s ( ) The Stone Breakers from 1849 [fig.7], which Ring may have known from reproductions. 20 While Ring s sower is characterised with more singularity than the beggar, his depiction is less direct and radical than Courbet s Stone Breakers: Courbet purged the work of classical references and religious analogies; only the actual toil remains. Ring s sower figure, too, is stiff and angular in keeping with his work and surroundings, yet is also borne up by a certain powerfulness and by the vitality associated with the act of sowing itself. Courbet, however, elected to show the most degrading form of labour of all; in a Danish context such work is most familiar in a rather more pathos-swollen formulation in Jeppe Aakjær s ( ) textual pendant from 1905 about the itinerant worker Jens Vejmand, der af sin sure Nød / med Ham ren maa forvandle / de haarde Sten til Brød ( who out of bitter need / his hammer wields to turn all / the heavy rocks to bread. ) 21 Fig english version

126 Courbet s stone breakers stand in relief against the closed plane of the background, which rises up like an almost claustrophobic wall and keeps them bound to the routine of their work. A friend of the artist, the socialist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon ( ), described the old man in the following terms: His stiff arms rise and fall with the regularity of a lever. Here indeed is the mechanical or mechanized man, in the state of ruin to which our splendid civilization and our incomparable industry have reduced him. 22 In the course of a few years, such fundamental consequences of the ongoing technological development gave rise to new industrial areas and to a shift in demographics; for example, industrial mass production transformed an entirely new class the factory workers into a single, anonymous mass. T. J. Clark, politically aware of and interested in these conditions, observes in his Image of the People how the stone breakers clothing confirms their physical presence, but does not articulate their spatiality or movement. 23 Ring s reaper and sower share the same physical appearance as the stone breakers, and the backgrounds the same set-like qualities, but the frontal position and characteristic appearance of Ring s figures do, however, seem to convey a more pointedly nuanced picture of the nature of work. These layers of meaning lie just underneath the surface of Ring s paintings; they keep several different dimensions of interpretation open as counterweights to the impulse towards reducing the figures to mere unthinking labour. The Significance of Habit and a Potential Change in Existence As my reading of the body and its actions serves as the fundamental premise for my exploration of labour in Harvest and The Sower, it is relevant to briefly point to the fact that Heidegger s philosophical system strangely omits to treat concrete physicality despite the fact that his terminology presupposes a bodily subject. Instead a phenomenological treatment of the body can be sought in Maurice Merleau-Ponty ( ), who is far more specific on the subject of physical anchoring in the world. 24 Fig.7 In connection with his account of pathological cases in Phenomenology of Perception from 1945, Merleau-Ponty addresses the significance of habits, using the example of a blind man becoming accustomed to using a cane. Here, habit ensures that the cane is transferred to the blind person s sensory apparatus and as such is no longer perceived as an object, for its tip has expanded the scope and reach of the sense of touch, analogous to the sense of sight. Having become familiar with a cane or any other object such as a hat or a chair, man inhabits the object and lets it become part of his body. Rooted within a far more complex system of thought, such relationships can be briefly summed up in the following statement: Habit expresses our power of expanding our being-in-the-world, or changing our existence by appropriating fresh instruments. 25 To Merleau-Ponty the body takes primacy and can, as and when needed, produce objects that expand its scope of action and the possibility of generating meaning. The object or tool is incorporated via habit, which is a mode belonging to the body s fundament and independent existence. The body is not, then, a thing among things; it determines the subject s perspective on the world, which means that it stands outside the objects to which its perspective applies. The subject can move way from other spatial and material objects, but the body is always present. Just as the blind person senses via a cane, the reaper s work with the scythe can be regarded as an expression of the tool s incorporation into his body as he, as subject, directs himself towards the world via the body: the harvesting has become a special modulation of his motor coordination. The movement describes a knowledge inherent in the reaper s hands, manifesting itself, in Merleau-Ponty s words, through bodily effort. 26 Seen from this angle one might say that the reaper expands and changes his existence through the incorporation of the tool. The body is the world, as it were, and when the body s own natural assets are insufficient to perform a wished-for action or achieve a certain meaning, a cultural world e.g. tools such as the scythe can be built up around the body, changing its fundamental existence. I have already touched upon a form of modulation of being in connection with the seeming shift from individual to type on english version 126

127 the basis of Ring s rendition of how labour affects the reaper s appearance. As has been suggested, additional dimensions can be added to the view of labour as an absorbed, repetitive, and seemingly automatic act if interpretation is broadened within the scope of various approaches inspired by phenomenology. For example, Merleau-Ponty s concept regarding the acquisition of habits can expand my study with its description of the subject and the way it acts; here, the subject is an individual with its own independent will, understood as a concrete expression of physicality engaged in an exchange with the world, not a body that has been reduced to a state of mere existence. Fig. 8 Body-Labour-Tool Concurrently with my deliberations on the acquisition of habits I also maintain that Ring s depiction of being bound to work points to a form of existential change prompted by a reduction in the sense of individuality a change that strengthens the dominance of the worker type over the individual. This relationship is in Millet s Man with a Hoe where the figure almost merges with its tool, just as the transition between Ring s reaper and his scythe is rendered in a gradual manner. By referring to the acquisition of habit, this incorporation into one s labour via one s tool can be shifted by asking the question where dominance asserts itself in the relationship between body and tool. This is a question of primacy that also applies to formalistic uncertainties about what is in front and what is at the back. Opening up the analysis even further, one could reverse the expansion of existence effected via habit: for if familiarity with a tool and the extension of the body are switched around in the sense that the tool comes to absolutely define the body s movement and scope for action, then this would amputate the body s relationship with its surroundings. This reduction of one s perspective on the world narrows the body s freedom of action ultimately transforming it into a form similar to that of the tool. This sort of reversal can also be described on the basis of the theories of Hannah Arendt ( ). In The Human Condition from 1958 she describes how the best results while working are achieved when individual movements are co-ordinated in a single rhythm: In this motion, the tools lose their instrumental character, and the clear distinction between man and his implements, as well as his ends, becomes blurred. [..] Labor implements are drawn into this rhythm until body and tool swing in the same repetitive movement, that is, [..] it is no longer the body s movement that determines and implement s movement but the machine s movement which enforces the movements of the body. 27 As an offshoot of my point stating that labour can overwrite individuality so that the type materialises with greater clarity than the individual, the tool itself can, in repetitive work, transcend its status as an aid and come to determine the body s movements and its relationship to the world. The body then takes on the appurtenances of a tool a toolness it becomes yet another thing among the other things in the world. Obviously, this reversal subverts the Merleau-Pontyesque acquisition of habit I have also detected in the depiction of the reaper s work with the scythe; a depiction that expresses mastery of the tool and an expansion of the body s scope for action. Thus, my appropriation of the concept of habit should not be regarded as being transferred directly to the painting, but rather as a source of inspiration for my specific interpretational work directed at 127 english version

128 the dual meanings inherent in the reaper s absorption and in my description of different value-laden transformations of the body. As regards the notion of objectification, of the body becoming a thing, Finn Terman Frederiksen makes a similar point in an analysis of Ring s painting Road near Næstved from The excerpt can also be related to the aforementioned quotation by Ring about photographing things that is to say people : According to Ring, life s most fundamental and painful schism is the one dividing man and the world, the one that makes the world alien to man; the one that makes man homeless on Earth. To Ring this alienation is also an objectification causing man to become a thing. This impression is strengthened when Ring employs uniform brownish, earth-like tones and forces his pasted-in figure to enter into a tonal community with its surroundings, thus objectifying this human figure and increasing the sense of alienation by depicting man as if he were just a thing in a world of things. 28 In Harvest I read several levels of potential interpretations, and among these a double shift in existence is of primary importance. On the one hand individual markers of identity seem erased, but on the other hand they also come across expanded in their exchange with the surroundings. These shifts manifest themselves as modulations and reversals in the relationship between body-labour-tool. A split perspective In The Sower I identify the same mediation between body-labour-tool, but here the tool consists solely of the body and is defined by the figure s general appearance, marked by toil as it is. Here, we see the same obvious discrepancy concerning the figure s spatial qualities as a whole and in relation to its surroundings, and in this painting that discrepancy is accompanied by an indication of an outward movement, also suggested in Bastien-Lepage s beggar. In his ambivalent gestalt, the sower is frozen in mid-step, seemingly stranded on the surface of the painting, the dynamics in tension within the constrained, set-like space. The sower s ambiguous expression of stasis and outward direction contribute to the general formal expression becoming more radical than in the otherwise similar planes and stylisations of Harvest. This duality means that the later painting is more overtly pointed in its rendition of the concrete relationships between figure and setting, between the subject and the objective. Here man is exposed in a state of a much more insistent distance to his surroundings, which can be transposed to a greater degree than in Harvest to a reading of a distancing from the notion of a grand structure of meaning into which man should insert himself undemandingly. As if commenting on traditional depictions of sowers as an innate part of agricultural life, Ring places his sower adjacent to rather than within the setting. In a more unambiguous way he is thus characterised as a subject faced with the objective as an individual with the potential to form his own existence in the world. At the same time Ring consciously challenges this sort of tentative approach to a precise formulation of the subject by employing divisions, and, via his relational approach, through the figure s apparent distance from the world. The accentuation of a fundamental gap points to as well as away from phenomenology s primary union of man and world. In this sense The Sower can be viewed as a proponent of an understanding of an exchange between the subject and the objective as touched upon here, deriving from Merleau-Ponty insofar as the figure s alleged affiliation with its setting presents a potential and predictable link. However, this link is negated by the more insistent formulation of gaps and broken perspectives within the pictorial space itself. The issue of distance depicted in individual works can be clearly exemplified by Ring s later painting Has the Rain Stopped? from 1922 [fig.8], in which a large, expressive figure stands in a wide doorway, hesitating on the threshold. Like the sower, the figure can be said to parallel Bastien- Lepage s The Beggar. Ring s depiction of this man in relation to the interior tells us that he is at home here, whereas the rendition of the world outside conveys a different reality, alien to the house in which he stands. Ring s painstaking depiction of detail of the exterior evokes a strange sense of independence in relation to the rest of the motif, just as he ignored the illusion of distance and diminution of objects in his depiction of the background in The Sower. The precision and the sharply defined contours cause the pictorial space of these two works to appear elastic in the sense that the smaller-scale content of the background is accorded almost the same status as the enlarged figurations of the foreground. Technique and composition illustrate a concrete difference between here and there, between man and world. The question of hierarchy within the work s own space, the issue of what is in front and at the back is again under discussion. The sense of distance previously addressed in The Sower is borne out by the clear definition of the background that causes already indeterminable indications of distance to be even more difficult to grasp. Moreover, it impedes the onlooker s attempts at retaining perspective and narration. The sower s outwardly-oriented appearance and his position near the edge of the frame are not the only insistent aspects; the farm and the trees in the background delineated in such detail also demand attention. In The Sower clarity and simplicity never find rest, and by way of paradox, the uniformity of the depiction is maintained in a divided state. The Uncanny The negation of coherence evident in Harvest and even more in The Sower can be elucidated further by looking to elements of Sigmund Freud s ( ) Das Unheimliche from The main thesis of this work takes its point of departure in an etymological study of the contradictory meanings inherent in the uncanny as a concept. 29 My incorporation of the uncanny does not focus on psychoanalytical matters; it will exclusively serve to expand my interpretative perspective as regards a familiar image of the world that suggests and opens up the possibility of experiencing something different and broken. The image of the world created by Ring within the ambivalent space of his paintings is neither straightforward nor easily accessible, for the iconography allows the spectator to feel well acquainted with the meaning conveyed, yet at the same time introduces something else compared english version 128

129 Fig english version

130 to what one would expect. One might say that something unknown and something disturbing intrudes upon what is usually considered the familiar and the secure, particularly in the embodiment of the sower. Henrik Wivel transposes this instability and eeriness into a fundamental morbidity that allegedly fuelled Ring s work, right from the artist s concrete depictions of the triumph of death to his figure painting, which plumbs something sick and unpleasant in the mind, in mankind. Wivel s phrases about the paintings coarsened brutality and latent aggression are first and foremost of interest by virtue of his contextualisation, particularly the comparisons with the writer Johannes V. Jensen s reading of human nature. In the early story Oktobernat ( October Night ) for example, Jensen provides a direct and uninhibited access to mankind s most primitive instincts in the depiction of the un-homeliness of the setting of a country inn and the fates that revolve around it all of it framed by the evocative sentence: The door opened out on the darkness. 30 A veritable darkness also characterises Millet s 1850 image of a sower, in which an aggressive figure traverses the field at a halfrun [fig.9]. The body is bent backwards and the shoulders raised and tense, the arms clearly defined and foreshortened; the fist by the bag of corn is firmly clenched. His figure is outlined against the gloomy sky where flocks of crows seem to spread out with the grains scattered by the backward-flung hand. Strong effects of light and shadow add drama to his appearance and darken the face, whose coarse features and open mouth link up with the same artist s depiction of a man supporting himself on a hoe ca. 13 years later. Ring s reaper, too, relates to this sower s lack of facial articulation, and elements of violence can be observed in the reaper as such and this figure s direct reference to the Grim Reaper. In addition to the close kinship as regards motif, Ring s own sower s distinctive and ambiguously introvert/confrontational appearance is also reminiscent of Millet s figure in spite of the clear stylistic differences between the works. The coarse bodies and the potential, yet strangely restrained, strength in both Ring s reaper and sower also tie in with the ominous appearance of Millet s characters. An awareness of the eerie and doom-laden aspects of the paintings can contribute to a more nuanced reading of the tension surrounding Ring s figures, with a brief foray into Freud s tracking of Das Unheimliche s self-contradictory etymology. In my view this approach could be fruitful as regards the artist s confrontational sower while also remaining mindful of the reading of Millet s corresponding figure. In keeping with this, I find it interesting to relate the latent aggression in Ring s sower to Das Heimliche ( the homelike ), which Freud uses as a point of departure for considering Das Unheimliche. While the home-like is familiar and safe, it also encompasses something private or secret something hidden or unknown, something that is veiled from the outsider s gaze. From here the meaning of the term becomes its own opposite and coincides with the eerie and the frightening. Referring to Schelling, Freud states that Unheimlich is the name for everything that ought to have remained... secret and hidden but has come to light. 31 Transposing this Heimliche to my readings, I see the familiar in Ring s reaper and sower alike, evoked through the inscription of the motif into a tradition that establishes the figures as recognisable types. At the same time, however, the fact that the figures are rooted and fixed in the pictorial space means that immediate accessibility is impeded, leaving the spectator with the sense that something in the works remains withheld or even hidden. More nuances are added to this by the sower s outwardly directed, confrontational nature that carries him further than the reaper, allowing a more intricate and also dramatic double bind between the familiar and the unknown to emerge. Thus, yet a dimension of the uncanny as a concept can come into play in the form of uncertainty as to what kind of figure Ring is actually depicting in The Sower. On Animation and Doubts Freud s article addresses the issue of a lack of clear-cut boundaries on the basis of E.T.A. Hoffmann s ( ) short story The Sandman from 1815, in which the wooden automaton Olympia is the source of doubts regarding the question of being animate/ inanimate; she gives rise to an intellectual uncertainty as to whether something is alive or lifeless where the lifeless takes the similarity to the living too far. 32 Such uncertainty can also arise out of Ring s dual depiction of the reaper and the sower as both individuals and types, absorbed by the routine and automatic actions of their work, further nuanced by the concurrent sense of ambivalence and negation. The figures seem both natural and forced, unveiling both the familiar and the alien, and because the sense of absorption is more ambiguously conveyed in the sower compared to the reaper, I regard the relationship between the two as particularly unresolved as regards the sower. His facial features and outward orientation accentuate a greater potential presence that allows the spectator to read a sense of animation into his restrained, rigid figure. The projection of life and of the seemingly familiar onto an inanimate object that Freud describes in relation to the doll or automaton is not just unsettling because the inanimate object can seem perfect on the surface, but possesses no inner life. The projection is particularly unpleasant because it points to the mechanical qualities that human beings can also experience within themselves when a part of their self seems to live its own life independently of the control exercised by the consciousness. 33 I detect such unaware, non-conscious mechanical actions in the repetitive work conducted by the harvestman and sower alike. This is, among other things, associated with my application of the concept of absorption and of the automatism that Proudhon saw in Courbet s Stone Breakers. The description of the breaking down of individuals, which may be prompted by the technological development of the time, points to an experience of alienation. Hannah Arendt describes it in the following terms: For a society of laborers, the world of machines has become a substitute for the real world, even though this pseudo world cannot fulfil the most important task of the human artifice, which is to offer mortals a dwelling place more permanent and more stable than themselves. 34 With Harvest and The Sower, Ring frames a similar doubt about the Heimliche, even though he does not depict the industrial society of his time; indeed he rarely does english version 130

131 so in his overall oeuvre. The sense of instability can grow exponentially with the sense of separation, not least in The Sower. In a move corresponding to the unsettling gradual shift between man, labour, and tool that I have particularly identified in Harvest, the overall appearance of The Sower evokes a sense of something disturbing, something uncanny. The figure advances towards the spectator, and yet it is closed-up and guarded; it expresses the duality and ambiguity of the familiar and the unfamiliar, of the accessible, as well as an underlying aggression of that which is repressed. My thesis suggests that Ring s practice regarding the rendition of the figures in Harvest and The Sower indicates a fundamental experience of alienation which, in light of the automaton s traits, has a state of objectivity, of thingness, as sounding board. Against this basis, the statements of the painting fluctuate between presence and absence, between the conscious and the subconscious, the animated and the inanimate interactions that I postulate arise out of the fundamental modulations in the relationship between man-tool-work. Individual and type Standing 25 years apart, Harvest and The Sower more than provide the framework for a wider understanding of Ring s artistic practice when depicting rural labour and related subject matter: The two paintings serve as monuments to this motif. The ambiguities I see encapsulating the statement of both works transcend a traditional pastoral, nostalgic approach, a counterpoint to a-historical imagery that points back to something that belongs to yesteryear. Rather, the expressivity of these paintings captures and retains something that is unfinished, broken up, and the depiction of reality is not a stylistic construct next to experience, but is in fact communicated as something inside of and within this personal horizon. The paintings are rooted in the present reality, in materiality, and they firmly establish an opening onto a concrete and historical contemporaneity, and uncertainty regarding a broader stability is thematised. As the cardinal issue in Harvest resides in the encounter between the vitalistic expression of an independent identity and an altogether different expression of a vitalism linked to how labour superimposes itself on individuality, an existential shift is conveyed. The shift takes place first and foremost within the reaper himself. This perspective is expanded in The Sower, where the vitalistic statement may seem similar at first, yet takes on a far more insistent and aggressive quality through the appearance of the figure, which can be said to activate its surroundings. Thus shifts and modulations in meaning take place mainly between the figure and pictorial space. The world-oriented and the objective aspects bring the formulation of the subject and the impediments to such formulation into play, and a certain otherness materialises in the gap between the familiar and the unfamiliar. The works address the concurrent presence of the individual and the typical in each figure, and thus a broadly embracing state of both-and settles on the different and ambivalent narratives I have identified in the two paintings. In the analysis of Harvest the sense of belonging reveals itself to be modulated and contradicted, and in The Sower the same issue takes on a more acute form centred on fragmentation and negation. Whereas the reaper can point to a potential harmony with his surroundings if rest is to be found in a nuanced and multi-facetted perception of the body as the carrier of existence, The Sower introduces a far greater sense of distance and pause with its insistent, detailed realism. Here, the interconnected appears in fragments that insert themselves behind and around the figure of the sower so that the ambiguities surrounding the motif become difficult to grasp; various shades of meaning are formed that will, unavoidably, also come to point back to and affect the reading of Harvest. There is no overall perspective or any real calm within the pictorial space of the two paintings only as regards the sense of cohesion the message is unambiguous: cohesion has been broken. 131 english version

132 1 the article is based on my magister thesis L.A. Ring, Figur og billedrum menneske og verden from January Excerpt from the Bible, Genesis 3,17-19: Because you have listened to the voice of your wife /and have eaten of the tree /of which I commanded you, / You shall not eat of it, /cursed is the ground because of you; / in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;/ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; /and you shall eat the plants of the field. / By the sweat of your face / you shall eat bread, /till you return to the ground, / for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, /and to dust you shall return. English Standard Version. 3 Compared to the visual arts, literary communication fared better insofar as the writers could incorporate aspects of the farmers and farmworkers mindset and modes of expression, for example by featuring specific traits from the oral storytelling tradition. This is pointed out by Lis Barnkop in Bøndernes billeder billedernes bønder, in Drift og socialitet, Analyser af fortællinger og malerier om hverdagslivet på landet i det 19. århundredes slutning samt kulturhistorik bibliografi (Dansk kulturhistorie og bevidsthedsdannelse , volume 15), Odense Universitetsforlag 1983, p In connection with Realist painting the concept of authenticity is addressed in an older, but quite serviceable introduction to the period by Linda Nochlin in Realismen, Stil og samfund (Realism, Style and Civilization) from 1971, in Danish by Else Mogensen, 1978, p. 31. Originally Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, New Jersey See, for example, Matthew 13:24-43, which recounts the parable of the bad seeds sown by the devil. The good seed stands for the people who belong in the kingdom of Heaven; come harvest time (i.e. the end of the world) they will be sorted out from the weeds, and the weeds will end up in the fiery furnace. 6 the preliminary studies mentioned, which focus on the upper body s posture and movement, can be found in the Royal Collection of Graphic Arts, the National Gallery of Denmark: A Harvestman, Pencil, 186 x 109 mm., and verso: Part of study for same painting as recto, Pencil, 186 x 109 mm. 7 For this article I am compelled to leave out the significant starting point that Michael Fried s concept of absorption and definition of theatricality formed for the fundamental and more form-oriented studies of my thesis regarding how Ring composed his motifs and employed stylistic devices. Fried s expounding of his theory through a selection of Jean-François Millet s depictions of farmworkers has been central to my analysis of Harvest, whereas my work on The Sower harks back to one of Fried s other illustrative examples in the form of a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. The theoretical foundations for my use of Fried are provided in Absorption and Theatricality: Painting and Beholder in the Age of Diderot, California this practice is, for example, very overtly evident in Ring s By the Old House, Sankt Jørgensbjerg, which bears the date 1919, denoting the time when the setting was completed, while the full completion of the painting after the addition of a winter-clad, pipe-smoking man is dated Oil on canvas, 81 x 102 cm, Nationalmuseum Stockholm. 9 Gertrud With is among those who link the figure s two-dimensional appearance with Ring s predilection for singular motivic choices and abrupt croppings inspired by photography. With: Fotografiets betydning for modernitetens billeddannelse, in Fischer Jonge and With (eds.): Verden set på ny, Fotografi og Malerkunst i Danmark , Copenhagen 2002, pp thomas Lederballe adds greater nuance to our understanding of Ring s stylistic idiosyncrasies with his study of the role played by drawings in the artist s work and his seeming acceptance of imperfection. Lederballe: At last, The Primacy of Drawing in Nørgaard Larsen (ed.) L.A. Ring, On the Edge of the World, Copenhagen 2006, pp ; quotation p ring, undated letter to Johanne Wilde, written in Næstved in the early summer of The Royal Danish Library, NKS 4437, VII,3,4. 12 For a comparison of these two paintings, also see Barnkop, Odense 1983, pp the peasant-painter rivalry of 1907 primarily took place in the pages of the national newspaper Politiken, where the opposing parties favoured either a Naturalist or Symbolist vein of painting. For a more in-depth analysis of the conflict, see Laursen and Thestrup Andersen: Naturen og kunsten: Bondemalerstriden 1907, Faaborg Museum Peter Nørgaard Larsen also addresses the link between Fynboerne (the Funen Painters) and Johannes V. Jensen in his article Solbilleder, Vitalismen i dansk billedkunst , Stjernfelt & Winkel Holm (eds.), Kritik, no. 171, vol , pp Exhibition feature, no byline, Morgenbladet, Fried: Courbet s Realism, Chicago 1990, pp For additional nuances to this reading of Man with a Hoe see, for example, the exhibition catalogue Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet: The main article, which shares the exhibition title, describes the figure as an individual engaged in cultivating his own little plot of land rather than as a symbol of work as inhuman hardship whereas the text explicitly accompanying the work in the same publication takes a position very close to Fried s reading. See Murphy: Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet, in Murphy et al. (eds.): Drawn into the Light, Rediscovering Jean-François Millet, Williamstown, Massachusetts 1999, pp , Van Gogh repeatedly used one or several pairs of shoes as subject matter in the mid-1880s. The painting referred to by Heidegger is in all probability the familiar version reproduced here [fig.5], which is also reproduced in Bjørn Holgernes article Kult og livsverden, in Kunst og filosofi i det 20. århundrede, Copenhagen 2002, p My reference to peasant shoes hails from the translation of Heidegger s shoes; I am, however, aware of the significant differences between peasants and farmworkers in terms of class and social standing. 17 Heidegger: The Origin of the Work of Art. Originally Heidegger: Der Ursprung des Kunstwerks, a lecture first held in 1935, printed by Vittorio Klostermann For a treatment of Heidegger s view of art and a bibliography of other publications on the matter, see Joseph J. Knockelmans: Heidegger on Art and Art Works (Phenomenologica 99), Dordrecht 1985, which specifically addresses Heidegger s use of van Gogh s painting, pp Millet explains his endeavours in a letter dated Barbizon to the critic Théophile Thoré ( ). The letter is mentioned and translated into English in Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, pp One should note that Nochlin comments on the dating of the letter. The letter is also mentioned and excerpts from it translated in Fried, Chicago 1990, p Nochlin and Fried both quote after Etienne Moreau-Nélaton: Millet raconté par lui-même, Paris, Henri Laurens 1921, II, pp What follows is the excerpt that Fried includes, in the original French in note 20, p. 348: [Je] désire, dans ce que je fais, que les choses n aient point l air d être amalgamées au hasard et par l occasion, mais qu elles aient entre elles une liaison indispensable et forcée; que les êtres que je représente aient l air voués à leur position, et qu il soit impossible d imaginer qu ils pourraient être autre chose; somme toute, que gens ou choses sont toujours là pour une fine. Je désire mettre pleinement et fortement ce qui est nécessaire [...]. 19 The Beggar was acquired by Carl Jacobsen at The French Exhibition held in Copenhagen in 1888, and Ring may also have drawn inspiration from Bastien- Lepage s The Ripened Wheat (Les Blés Murs), 1880, oil on canvas, 79 x 104 cm, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California: While working on Harvest it is very likely that he also looked to the same artist when working on his sowing scene. The 1888 exhibition was groundbreaking, not least for the Danish artists with Realist leanings who, like Ring, had not yet been abroad to gain firsthand acquaintance of the movement in an international context. 20 Given that The Beggar received such attention at the 1888 exhibition and was subsequently housed in a prominent collection in Copenhagen, it cannot possibly have escape the Danish Realist painters notice; it is less certain whether Ring was familiar with Courbet s painting. Within the context of my work, however, confirming or disproving such familiarity is less interesting than the interpretative potential that this perspective offers. The painting, which has acquired the status of an icon of Realism, was destroyed in Dresden during World War II, but a study hangs in Die Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz in Winterthur, Switzerland. This is the painting depicted as [fig.7]. 21 Jeppe Aakjær: Jens Vejmand, dated Jebjerg , first printed in the newspaper Politiken Cf. also Ring s friend and colleague H.A. Brendekilde s ( ) monumental painting A Road, 1893, oil on canvas, 200 x 263 cm, The National Gallery of Denmark. 22 Quote: Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: Du Principe de l art english version 132

133 et de sa destination sociale, Paris Quoted here from Nochlin: Realism and Tradition in Art, , Sources and Documents, p. 52, after Oeuvres complètes de P.-J. Proudhon, eds. C. Bouglé and H. Moysset, Paris Clark: Image of the People, London 1973, 80. Clark s formal observations could equally well be applied to The Beggar s lack of spatial articulation. 24 as was pointed out by Dan Zahavi in Heidegger og rummet, in Rum og fænomenologi, filosofi, æstetik, arkitektur, historie, Hellerup 2000, pp , the body is the precondition for Heidegger s identification of objects as present-at-hand or ready-to-hand, for the distinction between these concepts constantly plays on a physically present subject with hands. 25 Merleau-Ponty: Le Corps, Phénoménologie de la perception, volume 1, pp , Paris The various examples that Merleau-Ponty uses to describe habit and how objects are incorporated into the body appear in the chapter Vanen som motorisk tilegnelse af ny betydning, Kroppens fænomenologi, pp As Zahavi describes in the chapter Rummet og kroppen, Fænomenologi, Roskilde Husserl, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty emphasise that the body is not simply one object among many. Zahavi uses their exploration of this fact to accentuate the problematic aspect of Heidegger s lack of an account of bodily existence. My incorporation of the phenomenological perception of the body as a physical presence is limited to a few references to Merleau-Ponty s perspective, even though Husserl and Sartre employ similar formulations. Cf. Thomas Schwarz Wentzer s postscript for Heidegger: Væren og tid, in Danish by Christian Rud Skovgaard, Aarhus 2007, p Merleau-Ponty: Frederiksberg 1994, p Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition, The University of Chicago 1958, p Finn Terman Frederiksen: Den bevingede knokkelmand, L.A. Ring imellem realisme og symbolisme, Randers 2007, quote pp Efter Rings opfattelse er tilværelsens mest fundamentale og smertefulde tvedelthed den, der skiller menneske og verden, den, der gør verden fremmed for mennesket, den, der gør mennesket hjemløst på jorden. For Ring er fremmedgørelsen samtidig en tingsliggørelse, et indtryk, der forstærkes, når Ring som her skaber en brunligt jordagtig enhedstone og tvinger sin påklistrede figur ind i et tonefællesskab med omgivelserne, der tingsliggør denne menneskeskikkelse og forstærker fremmedfølelsen ved at se mennesket fremstillet, som var det blot en ting i en verden af ting. 29 Freud s approach differs from the conception prevalent at the time of writing, which states that the uncanny arises as one encounters the unknown. Rather, Freud claims that the source of a sense of the uncanny frequently resides in the re-emergence of the repressed. Freud: Das Unheimliche, article printed in Subsequently published in Gesammelte Werke, volume XII, and Studienausgabe, volume IV, Psychologische Schriften, London 1947; this edition served for the Danish translation used as the basis for the original Danish version of this article. 30 Wivel: Den realistiske uhygge. Vilh. Hammershøis og L.A. Rings motivverden, Kritik, no. 59, København 1982, quotes on p. 45 and p. 48, and Johannes V. Jensen: Oktobernat, Himmerlandshistorier, Copenhagen 2005, p. 22. First printed in Illustreret Tidende, , reprinted in Himmerlandsfolk, November Freud, Copenhagen 1998, p. 23. Das Unheimliche is that which is public, openly and freely accessible, which means that it also encompasses the alien and the uncanny that lacks a home. In his postscript, p. 84, Visholm comments that Schelling s understanding of the uncanny is relational or interpersonal he who hides something knows the secret himself and keeps it hidden from others whereas Freud directs this interpersonal approach towards the intra-psychic where the uncanny is established as the re-emergence of the repressed. 32 Hoffmann: Sandmanden, in Danish by Johannes Wulff, 10 fantastiske fortællinger, selection and postscript by Bo Hakon Jørgensen, Odense 1990, 25. Originally Hoffmann: Der Sandmann, 1815, printed in Nachtstücke. Herausgegeben von dem Verfasser der Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier, Erster Teil, Berlin Also see Freud, Copenhagen 1998, p. 33. Freud does not dwell much on The Sandman s far stronger examples of the uncanny as regards the uncertainties regarding animation. However, dolls are linked to the infantile and to the re-emergence of an old childhood fear that arises out of the child s desire for the doll to come alive. This fear can return in the adult as a sense of the uncanny in connection with the indeterminable animation of a figure. 33 as Steen and Visholm point out on p. 10 in the preface to the Danish edition, The Unheimliche was written by Freud before he had completed developing his structural model of the psyche that comprises the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego, and so he does not address the role of the super-ego in the experience of the uncanny. 34 arendt, op.cit., p english version

134 english version 134

135 The Style in Itself The classical, the modern, and Modern Classicism in three breakthrough sculptures by Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg, and Einar Utzon-Frank r a s m u s k j æ r b o e The years 1914 to 1915 brought remarkable simultaneous breakthroughs for three Danish sculptors and their take on a contemporary sculpture intended to show a new way of engaging artistically with tradition. Svend Rathsack s Adam, Newly Created ( ), Johannes C. Bjerg s Abyssinian (1914), and Einar Utzon-Franks Aphrodite (1914) [fig. 1-3] are life-sized statues; simply by virtue of the resources committed to their execution they can be described as deliberately ambitious ventures into forming the earliest Danish example of what was once a both popular and widespread international classicism. 1 In the years that followed the three artists created a number of works in the new style; works that were regarded as being amongst the finest and most important endeavours Danish art had to offer during the artists own lifetimes, 2 but which are now virtually unknown by art historians and laymen alike. Something about the sculptures expressionless stiffness and their lack of drama and recognisable narratives seems to prevent present-day spectators from experiencing these works as engaging and meaningful. It was not always thus. A considerable number of sculptures by Utzon-Frank, Bjerg, and Rathsack can be found in public spaces, squares, and museums all across Denmark. As artists they were regarded as significant; two of them acted as professors at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, while the third created the largest memorial of the interwar years, Søfartsmonumentet (The Naval Monument) on the Copenhagen waterfront, and all three made a considerable number of public monuments and artworks. 3 The present article seeks to interpret and present their three breakthrough sculptures at the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen and ARoS in Århus while also explaining and offering a perspective on the beginning of a minor epoch in the history of Danish sculpture; an epoch where classicism and modernism engaged in mutual, tension-filled interaction. 4 The act of describing and defining artistic modes of expression always involves the risk of appearing needlessly reductive as regards explanations, and attempts at linking various works of arts on the basis of purely formal features have repeatedly been subjected to justified criticism. 5 The following account will strive to evade some of the common pitfalls by abstaining from establishing a rigid catalogue of significant forms or providing overly broad explanations based on social or societal causes. Rather, attention will be focused on studying of a range of ideas about the classical and the modern and how these concepts have influenced the more traditional sculptural production over the course of an entire period and how the same ideas have been an important factor in its subsequent obscurity. To include a somewhat lengthy, introductory examination of concepts relating to the classical and the modern may seen almost pedantic, yet the exercise is crucial in providing an interpretational framework for the sculptures studied here. After this, the article will analyse how the three works primarily create their meaning through a range of associations with and references to the past and the classical, and finally I shall present a brief discussion about the significance of conventional body image, where in conclusion Modern Classicism will be summed up as an artistic strategy in Danish sculpture. The objective of the article is, then, to define Modern Classicism and to show how it can be seen as a deliberate re-formulation of the classical project on a new premise. Here, the artistic strategy is identified in just three works that by virtue of their time of conception, their scale, and the level of ambition can be regarded as object lessons, but in a wider perspective I hope that this can pave the way for a new understanding and appreciation of a much wider and richer field of almost forgotten sculptures; internationally as well as domestically. Art historical oblivion Except for a few, minor mentions 6 the oeuvres of these three artists, which used to be so highly acclaimed, has not been the object of any major interpretation or analysis over the course of the last five decades. 7 The question of how such marginalisation could occur can only be answered by recognising that history is a manufactured product, not a given; it is always created and written retrospectively and with specific, possibly unacknowledged, objectives in mind. 8 The process of selection, inclusion, and exclusion is a fundamental problem for all descriptive history writing, and Danish art history is no exception. 9 Choices and omissions make the past make sense. Sculpture especially the traditional and partially naturalistic sculpture that completely dominated the first half of the 20 th century has largely been left out of recent Danish art history writing. Granted, most of the works still stand in their allotted spaces around Denmark, but they are no longer part of any master narrative that can place them within a common frame of reference. 10 Except for works by particular heroes such as J.F. Willumsen and Kai Nielsen, early and 135 english version

136 a wave of progress created by modernism and the avant-garde, has pushed aside everything that did not fit in with a notion of radical experimentation, breaks with tradition, and a steady journey towards abstraction. 12 Today, modernism has been elevated to an ideology that is not necessarily accompanied by explicit knowledge about its origin; 13 rather, it has penetrated right into the very core definition of what good art is: art should be in a state of constant development, characterised by ongoing critique, rebellion, and anti-representation. Today s spectators who are embedded in a modernist perception of art whether they are aware or unaware of this fact a mythological subject such as Aphrodite by Utzon-Frank or an athletic nude such as Rathsack s Adam, Newly Created must seem strangely out of keeping with their time. Roughly coinciding with when these sculptures were first put on display, international avant-garde art could be viewed at a few select exhibitions in Copenhagen, 14 and in Paris Cubism and Futurism had enjoyed a minor breakthrough. Today, modernist values have become institutionalised to the point where art historians and critics simply pass by in silence all that which does not fit into a particular developmental logic. For this very reason a very large group of artworks that refer to tradition, particularly those from the 1910s and 1920s, remains largely un-interpreted and uncommented today. Fig. 1 mid-20 th century sculpture is almost entirely absent from academic studies and more general history books alike. 11 To borrow a concept from literature, an entire generation of sculptors can be described as having been written out of art history. A likely explanation for such a writing-out through forgetting can be found in a specific, value-laden and fundamental narrative that has dominated Western art history since the post-war era. The notion about art s unidirectional development, carried forth on International Modern Classicism During the period from just before World War I and far up into the interwar years, European art in general and French art in particular saw a blossoming of a heterogenic movement one might call Modern Classicism. 15 It manifested itself as, among other things, a renewed interest in depicting the young, idealised human body in a more or less naturalistic style and presupposed the ability, now widely lost, to sharply distinguish between, interpret, and read almost identical representations of the body in painting and sculpture. 16 In its own day Modern Classicism was regarded as a positive return to tradition, a move opposed to what was viewed as the worst modernist excesses and formal experiments, and a source of renewed, contemporary development towards something english version 136

137 more artistically essential. 17 This prompted a number of leading critics and artists who had been associated with avant-garde and modernist art to discuss and work with a more figurative formal language than they had employed in the preceding years. The new movement, which included prominent former avant-garde artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Gino Severini, combined motivic references to the past with a return to more traditional, academic, mimetic, and naturalistic techniques, something that many critics regarded as an attempt at reformulating a modern classicism on the basis of eternal, universal values. 18 A case in point: In a 1916 essay the writer and critic Guillaume Apollinaire, who was an important champion of Cubism, wrote of the avant-garde artist André Derain that his genius was marked by his newfound ability to resist the lure of the new art movements and to place his art within the Great Tradition instead. 19 The next year Georges Braque wrote a number of reflections in which he linked his previous Cubist experiments with a new classicism, thereby becoming part of a general rappel à l ordre among several pre-war avant-garde artists. 20 Other artists, among these the figurative French sculptors Charles Despiau, Emile Bourdelle, and Aristide Maillol, had always worked with a motivic and artistic invocation of a classical past and now came to be increasingly acclaimed throughout Europe with a mode of expression centred on a restrained, figurative formal language that most often eschewed elaborate, expressive narratives. Even though it has in recent times been argued that such classicism was a melancholy and reactionary movement 21 it can also be regarded as fundamentally many-faceted, devoid of a uniform ideological or political focus. 22 The past that was to be presented as a model for contemporary audiences carried within it a range of eternal, universal classical values, but soon the classical and classicism became very wide-ranging and accommodating concepts that could, in practice, refer to antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance; to the spirit of Greece, Italy, or Mediterranean sensibilities. The concepts had only a vague framework made up of notions of unity, of a striving and Fig. 2 search for truth, and of the need for naturalistic representation. One of the concrete results was that the nude life study came to acquire renewed poignancy and significance, and that storytelling, social realism, and the anecdotal were banished. 23 Modern Classicism in Danish Art Towards the end of 1918 a modern classicism was already gaining a foothold within the realm of Danish sculpture when Adam Fischer, a Danish artist living in Paris, presented his thoughts on the classical in 137 english version

138 Fig. 3 art, much like e.g. Georges Braque had done the year before. 24 Shortly before this, Fischer had written about Primitivism and his inspiration from Cubism in the same experimental Danish art journal, Klingen, and had himself exhibited Cubist and avant-garde-oriented works, 25 but now he followed in the wake of contemporary French classicism. Back in Denmark the realm of painting offered up parallels; previously radical artists such as William Scharff and Vilhelm Lundstrøm also began to create artworks that fell within a classicising framework. 26 To provide a wider context, the Danish art scene had seen a predominantly negative public debate about Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling (The Artists Autumn Exhibition) in 1917 and 1918, where a number of works experimented with Cubism, Futurism, and the dissolution of the naturalistic, representational work of art. 27 Immediately afterwards, in early 1919, came the so-called dysmorphism dispute that posited mental illness as the precondition for certain modern art movements. 28 Similarly, the acclaimed art historian Vilhelm Wanscher repeatedly argued in favour of Den store Stil (The Grand Style) and of ending experimentation in favour of a return to classicism in art. 29 Comparisons between the emergence of a classicising movement in Danish art during and immediately after World War I and similar ideas and impulses in the rest of Europe must, however, be made in the form of analogies. Source material is sparse, and in most cases it is difficult to demonstrate a direct Danish reception of a European art debate that took place on different terms than the local discussions. Nor is it possible to directly apply explanations that describe classicism s success as a response to the meaninglessness of the Great War, 30 since Denmark stayed out of the conflict and profited from its neutrality. Nevertheless, one can certainly claim that the new international Modern Classicism within painting and, especially, sculpture formed a positive model and provided guidelines for how younger artists could make a mark for themselves by creating classical art in a Danish setting. Adam Fischer remained a relatively marginal figure on the Danish art scene, whereas Svend Rathsack, Einar Utzon-Frank, and Johannes C. Bjerg were well on their way english version 138

139 to becoming the most high-profile sculptors of their generation, particularly after the death of their major rival Kai Nielsen in In 1914 Svend Rathsack was the first to present his classicising breakthrough work, Adam, Newly Created, and the following year Einar Utzon-Frank and Johannes C. Bjerg were ready to follow suit with Aphrodite and Abyssinian. None of the three artists were graduates from the schools of sculpture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts; Rathsack had studied painting there, while Bjerg never applied for a place at the Academy and Utzon-Frank left after a semester in protest against the conformity of the teaching. 31 Bjerg and Rathsack spent time in Paris, moving among the outer circles of the more experimental artists of the time, while early on Utzon-Frank had become associated with the group surrounding the socially aware journal Gnisten. 32 During World War I the three artists had their true commercial and critical breakthrough. Their popularity may have been spurred on by the excellent economic conditions prevalent in Denmark at the time, which helped facilitate considerable sales of statuettes from e.g. Dansk Kunsthandel. 33 Their positions were consolidated after the end of the war: Utzon-Frank was appointed professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1918, Rathsack won the competition to design one of the biggest monuments of the time Søfartsmonumentet in 1924, and Bjerg embarked on a succession of commissions that made him the mostused artist for public decorative art projects in the interwar years. Over the course of the 1920s the three men went from being outside the circle of recognised, officially educated sculptors to becoming the most acclaimed artists of the era, supplying a wealth of works to public spaces and Danish museums. Thus, the three sculptors became the preeminent producers of a range of works that acted out, explored, and tested a new style: Modern Classicism. Articles and interviews with the artists served to emphasise that these works should be understood and appreciated in relation to an exemplary past; mentions of their art were interwoven with notions of the Greek, the classical and the ideal. The three sculptures at the National Gallery of Denmark and ARoS all hail from the early stages of their careers and demarcate the outlines of the field within which a new type of Danish sculpture operated. The Classical and the Modern as Opposing Concepts 34 In The Oxford Companion to Western Art, classicism in general is defined as: [a] reference or commitment to a canonical ( classic ) art of the past or its values, 35 and A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art describes the 20 th century s international, New Classicism as: [ ] a return to restraint after a period of unprecedented experimentation. 36 As is suggested by the second quote, Modern Classicism was invariably associated with and perhaps strove to conquer historic Modernism. To elaborate on this point, there is a particularly significant opposition between the idea of the classical and the modern, between the rebirth of the past and the poignancy of the present, even when the two fundamental concepts appear under various names and in many different contexts. The specific contents of the concepts will vary according to their context, but within a conventional frame of understanding the classical represents a looking back towards the past, while the modern denotes an engagement with the here and now or a looking ahead to what is to come. Like other contrasts, this duality has operated as an archetypal indicator of difference which has, in a structuralist sense, primarily manifested itself through negation: The modern is, unlike the classical, not conservative, not ancient, not preserving, not static. The classical, for its part, is unlike the modern not fashion-dictated, not time-bound, not ephemeral, not distorted. Many more features and definitions could be added, but as concepts the classical and the modern have no core; their real contents are always defined in relation to their opposite, and usually in a negative relation. There is something they are not. The classical and the modern form part of, to borrow a term from the semiotics of the linguist Ferdinand Saussure, a language, langue, where the mutual relationships between the words determine the actual contents. 37 As is the case with other concepts, however, the relationship between the classical and the modern to each other and to other terms is often dissipated and made invisible in actual practice, and so the processual and changeable qualities of their mutual relationship get overlooked. Art history s descriptions of the classical have almost consistently taken the form of long chains of cause and effect linking works and artists, but literature has not paid much attention to historicising the framework for our understanding of what classical is and means as a concept. Rather, the classical has been regarded as a meaningful constant that could be identified and inferred from incredibly diverse aesthetic spheres. 38 Structurally speaking, the modern occupies the same role as the classical, possessing widely different meanings in different contexts. From an art theoretical perspective the classical and the modern are both discursive meta-concepts that do not in themselves have a stable meaning, but always refer to new content that is constantly shifted to become something else in each individual context. Considered as words, classical and modern have interesting etymological links going back to late antiquity and Medieval Latin. 39 As far as aesthetic matters are concerned, however, the two concepts were not defined until the late 17 th century when European scholars posited an opposition between the relevance of the past and future to artistic production. Known as La Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes (the Quarrel between the Ancients and the Moderns, ed.) the debate established a notion, still current today, about the classical as the modern s opposite, either as an ideal or as an impediment, but particularly as something that was cut off from the present by an insurmountable diachrony. 40 The notions of the artistically classical being linked to the past and the artistically modern being linked to the present were, quite simply, born together. The publication of the archaeologist J.J. Winckelmann s immensely influential writings in the mid-18 th century introduced the idea of the classical past being specifically limited to Greek antiquity. 41 Greek antiquity was attributed a crucial and normative role for the production of new works, and the shortcomings of the present and the modern became an oft-repeated theme. 42 Later art history has 139 english version

140 subsequently gathered up the era s various concepts and artworks inspired by antiquity under the designation Neo-Classicism. 43 From the mid-19 th century onwards the dichotomy between the classical and the modern grew ever more complicated. Advocates of the classical increasingly viewed it as a broadly defined font of knowledge and truth that did not constitute a perpetually opposite pole to the present; rather, true modern art should learn from it in order to be art. On the one hand, the art critic Charles Baudelaire, who is traditionally regarded as a definite modernist, wrote his famous article on The Painter of Modern Life (1863) in which he argued in favour of art that is both classical and modern, and which is based on an equilibrium between art s eternal, classical rules and the flux of the present. 44 On the other hand the aesthetic veneration for antiquity was filtered through modern positivism; the sculptures from the Parthenon were admired for their anatomical correctness and their study of life, and the assumed inductive knowledge of the perfect human body was admired and shored up the era s budding racialism. 45 The discursive and practical artistic exchange between the two meta-concepts of modern and classical continued up through the 19 th century into the 20 th century. Engaging in complicated interactions between action and reaction, the exchange reached its final culmination with Modern Classicism during the years around and after World War I. A New Artistic Strategy: Adam, Newly Created In 1913 the Danish artist Svend Rathsack formed his first large sculpture, Adam, Newly Created [fig. 1]. The work won immediate acclaim and was awarded a prize by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts even though it was originally rejected for the Academy s Charlottenborg exhibition in With Adam, Newly Created Svend Rathsack went from being a painter to become a sculptor and gained immediate access to the art scene and subsequent commissions. 46 The work also heralded the coming of a modern classicism as a new artistic strategy within a Danish context. 47 If we consider Adam, Newly Created as an unproblematic image it constitutes a naturalistic, life-sized representation of an ideally formed male body: a traditional statue. The work fuses a number of references to sculptures from Greek antiquity as they would typically be summed up in early 20 th century general descriptions of the history of art. 48 The modelling of the torso, arms, neck, and head point toward the Classical period of Greek sculpture (circa BCE) with its formal mode of expression: naturalistic, featuring only subtle, local effects of light and shadow. However, the narrow groin, the stiff legs, and the distinctive pose all point to the rather older sculptures of the Greek Archaic period (circa BCE), which is also evident in the stylised genitals, the position of the feet, and the total circumference of the bulging thighs, which is greater than that of the hips. 49 Signs belonging to Classical and Archaic art are combined with newer sculptural signs that mark a break with Greek antiquity, such as the outstretched arms and the rather un-greek face. 50 The work looks like an attempt at creating a modern kouros statue; a stylistic melange offering a generalised depiction of a youth in his physical prime. 51 With its physiognomy and stylistic references, Adam, Newly Created draws, in a semiotic sense, on a range of unspoken connotations to past concepts of the ideal, linking them with contemporary ideas about the healthy, muscular body. Thus, the sculpture also enters into a dialogue with the fact that fitness was first formulated as an individual, personal objective in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, based directly on the art of antiquity. 52 Finally, the work can also be regarded as a subtle reworking of a modern Symbolist motif that continues along tracks laid down by Rathsack s former tutor, the Danish painter Joakim Skovgaard, and the Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler s paintings of naked, isolated man. Viewed in relation to how other art movements of the time wished to demonstratively break with tradition, this move of recycling and mixing various styles seems almost regressive: 53 Adam, Newly Created proudly maintains a conception of classical, ideal, Greek role models. Thus, the artistic tradition is also shown to be a kind of thematic mixture of distinct periods from Greek ancient art with a more recent Symbolism. However, such references are not made via explicit symbols and attributes, but through subtle stylistic signs, which makes the work appear less literary and more immediate and direct than other, obviously narrative sculptures. From this follows what the French cultural thinker Roland Barthes has called a myth or ideology; an attempt at hiding a rhetorical construction behind a sheen of something natural: 54 Adam, Newly Created is simply the universal human body in its finest incarnation and an image of modern man resting on a foundation of historical stability, exemplified here through art s most exalted origins in the Greek past. The connotations of youth, stability, ideality, and archaic calm lets the work tell a story about ur-humanity, about a kind of spiritual beginning and a dwelling in a bodily self. 55 In 1943 the art historian Erik Zahle writes about Adam, Newly Created that [ ] the powerful impact is not created through defiance, but in deference to old art; and on the other hand the figure can be regarded as a testament to a not inconsiderable independence, not just in its choice of role models; there is a distinctive, hale and strong appreciation of nature to be found in the upright man [...]. 56 According to Zahle, then, the statue can be read as both a celebration of sculptural tradition and as an original and independent work. Viewed from a present-day perspective, however, its originality is primarily linked to the seamless linking of various references to Archaic and Classical art and modern Symbolism. Adam, Newly Created essentially evinces a stylistically polyvalent formal language that sees the work discreetly incorporating fragments of various periods from antiquity and from its own time. The same applies, in various permutations, to several of Einar Utzon-Frank s and Johannes C. Bjerg s works from 1914 to the early 1920s that contribute to the creation of a modern classicism in a Danish setting. These works are distinguished by a kind of stylised naturalism, a range of historical references, simplified individual details, and with the whole, unfragmented, nude human body as its main motif. With their choice of the naked body as subject these works do not differ greatly from earlier Danish sculptures; rather, the new departure consists in how the works are presented in a formal idiom that implicitly and explicitly argues english version 140

141 in favour of a modern continuation of an idealised past through a removal of narrative and more pronounced expressive elements. A Meeting of Contrasts: Abyssinian Around 1914 Johannes C. Bjerg created three versions of Abyssinian [fig. 2] in the form of two statuettes and a statue. The large statue can, like Rathsack s Adam, Newly Created, be regarded as a young artist s ambitious application for entry onto the Danish art scene, and indeed it became Bjerg s breakthrough work. 57 However, the work can also be regarded as a kind of mediating meeting between the two metadiscourses, modern and classical, 58 which is difficult to fit into a modernist-oriented art history fixated on development. Compared to the statuettes somewhat abstract and generalising form, the large version of Abyssinian belongs within a more traditional, figurative sculptural tradition; the point of departure is to use the entire classical vocabulary in the form of an idealised depiction of the body with a naturalistic, slightly abstracted anatomy and clearly defined contours. In this case, however, the classical framework includes obvious references to its own opposite number as various signs of the modern coexist side by side with those devices that point towards tradition. Abyssinian s subject matter the black body is itself anti-classical, and modernity itself, in the form of colonialism, is a fundamental precondition for being able to experience the image of a black man in a Western context. 59 What is more, the African diaspora in Europe and the USA can be said to have created the first quintessentially modern people insofar as they experience a state of violent changes and breaks in traditions and continuity. 60 The references to the modern is given concrete form in the figure s head; its simplified and stylised features appear as if they were contained within an oblong sphere, subjected to a modernist experiment with form. The shape of the sphere is accentuated further by the almond-shaped eyes that protrude to meet the invisible boundary of the orb, but also and even more importantly repeats yet other modernisms of the time and their primitivist inspiration from African sculpture. Fig. 4 Besides the modern and modernist signs, Abyssinian further demonstrates its reference to tradition and the past with its harmonious and dynamic contrapposto; its spiralling movement and curvature is reminiscent of e.g. early Florentine Renaissance sculpture, and with its elongated form it echoes French-German Gothic sculptures. It would be tempting to see references to French and Italian Mannerism here, and indeed later 141 english version

142 critics find such references in both Bjerg and Utzon-Frank, 61 but here we can only do so tentatively; mannerism has not yet been developed as a definable and positively regarded style until around 1925 at the earliest. 62 In Abyssinian, as was the case with Adam, Newly Created, the classical should be understood as a font of various devices from the past rather than as a firmly defined canon; here, however, they are depicted in a more direct confrontation with signs that can be regarded as modern and anti-classical. The subject matter and the abstract-reductive forms in Abyssinian signals modernity, but underneath this the work still depends on a narrow mimetic-representational space where the identification of the human form constitutes the crux of the work s impact and the upright naked body acts as a carrier of the message in itself. As a consequence we are shown that both the classical and the modern can be recognised as elements within a single sculpture. Bjerg s work can be regarded as a synthesis of different references in which the classical legacy is maintained and reformulated to become broader and more accommodating in scope, like a container for several different distinctive modes of expression, including the modern. The work is neither an old-fashioned sculpture nor pure modernism; rather, it occupies a position somewhere between the two. The works references to both discourses do not, however, take the form of downright quotes; rather, they are analogous in nature, evoking something reminiscent of, thereby rendering a simple, descriptive identification of its style problematic. If Abyssinian can encompass references to several different styles, then what meaning does style have? Classical and Modern Style: Aphrodite as Modern Classicism Conventional style analysis seems to claim that the style and form of a work of art places it conclusively within this or that period and this or that historical horizon. 63 The third breakthrough piece of the emerging Danish classicism, Einar Utzon- Frank s Aphrodite [fig. 3], can therefore illustrate how a work of art can grapple with style in order to complicate that concept. In 1914 the sculpture was presented at the Autumn Exhibition at Charlottenborg, where it marked a decisive break with the artist s former production of expressive and social-realist works 64 that seemed more than anything to be inspired by Rodin s and Constantin Meunier s works at The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. 65 With his new idiom he, like Svend Rathsack and Johannes C. Bjerg around the same time, became known to a wider public, and he subsequently sold Aphrodite to museums in e.g. Norway, Sweden, and Germany. 66 In a brief, illustrated article by the prominent critic, architect and designer Poul Henningsen (known as PH) from 1918 Utzon-Frank was described as being both a lover of classicism and as a [ ] connoisseur and lover of classical art. 67 In PH s description, artist and oeuvre were conflated in the following conclusion: He, too, believes in the Renaissance spoken of in this age, and he works towards better times on the basis of his own beliefs and preconditions. He appears modern because the best aspects of our age coincide with his vision. 68 The article is remarkable insofar as it calls for a positive development towards an artistic renaissance that takes its point of departure in the past, yet is also modern. The dual demand for the classical and the modern a precondition of international classicism challenges any stringently compartmentalised perception of style. On the one hand a pure repetition of a past, classical style will be neither modern nor original, and on the other hand too much modernism or originality would disavow the formal authority of the classical role models. A sculpture such as Aphrodite shows how this issue can be resolved through direct, yet discreet manipulation of this situation. At first glance Aphrodite emits signals that belong to the realms of tradition and the past: A mimetic, representational nude female figure depicted in a static contrapposto pose, her long hair tied up and her eyes blank and pupil-less; these are all strong signs that establish a range of associations to a classical tradition for depicting the goddess of love, right from antiquity to the present day. 69 Precursors can be found in works separated by great gulfs of time such as antiquity s Venus Medici and Thorvaldsen s Venus with Apple, [fig. 4] both of which evince a similar smooth and softly rounded anatomy. Motivic references almost seem to take over the work; if unopposed they would render the work almost invisible as an independent statement, obliterated by a long line of predecessors. In the book Tradition and Desire. From David to Delacroix, British art historian Norman Bryson has addressed how new works of art are created in relation to tradition. 70 In Western art it has been common practice to build on past efforts, and nowhere is it more difficult for a work to appear independent than when the classical is the yardstick: Neo-Classicism is a deadly style: it has a lethal quality [ ], for a certain kind of petrification sets in when tradition takes up much space within the artistic agenda and everything already seems to have been done to perfection. 71 Within a Danish context, then, Utzon-Frank s Aphrodite occupies a position somewhere between the countless ancient sculptures of women that could be viewed at the Royal Cast Collection and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and the more recent sculptures by Bertel Thorvaldsen with their references to antiquity. The lethal, deadening element in invoking the classical meant that several generations of Danish sculptors before Utzon-Frank can be said to have been working in the shadow of Thorvaldsen and antiquity. 72 Utzon-Frank s Aphrodite resists being mistaken for something that belongs to the past, Thorvaldsen, and antiquity by subtly modernising itself. It does so by effecting a purging compared to the models of the past: the figure is made slimmer and desensualised, all suggestions of narrative are removed, and anatomical details are reduced, thereby accentuating the contours of the body and the lines of the limbs as the key elements. The Venus Medici and Thorvaldsen s Venus both have an anecdotal framework; one is covering itself against our gaze, the other contemplates the golden apple without acknowledging the spectator. These aspects are gone in the more recent work, as are the dramatic contrasts between bent-stretched, right-left, and the spiralling upward movement from base to top evident in Thorvaldsen s figure. Utzon-Frank s sculpture, like Rathsack s Adam, Newly Created, appears more general in scope, more modern, because it seems english version 142

143 less rhetorical and devoid of an expressive psychological space. Herein resides the work s new style; within the framework of tradition, of the mimetic and representative, Aphrodite delves down to a basic, fundamental figure that appears more still and more generalised than its predecessors. Utzon-Frank s work can enter into a dialogue with art s past rather than be swallowed up by it because it appears as a distillation of both antiquity and Thorvaldsen. Aphrodite reveals itself as better than its tradition because the work seems to show what is most important. Perhaps it is this reduction and distillation that prompts PH to write about Utzon-Frank s clarity, calm and coolness, 73 i.e. qualities associated with the specifically modern. Aphrodite requires an ability to compare styles in order to work as a sign of past art as well as of its reformulation and cleansing. The statue seems to be imbuing a specific mode of expression with new potency, to accentuate a range of elements as pure style. The work tells nothing and offers no anecdote or story; the title Aphrodite has in itself been used so frequently that it becomes empty. The observation of nature has subordinated itself to the demands of style, and we sense that this the style in itself has been the artist s true objective, 74 says Aksel Rode about Aphrodite in When narrative and tensions of composition are absent, the work comes to be about the style in itself. Style is the content of the work, it seems to say. 75 The Sculpted Body Adam, Newly Created, Abyssinian, and Aphrodite are sculptures without explicit narratives or defining attributes, thereby entering into a dialogue with a core modernist tradition for eliminating all suggestions of storytelling: In spite of their invocation of the past they are also modern exhibition pieces, created for the era of the museum. Like some of the works of the contemporary avant-garde, these sculptures are engaged in exploring the style in itself, but they do not mark the same break with tradition; rather, they take their point of departure directly in the idea of the relevance of the classical. One consequence of this dependence on classical subjects and naturalistic idioms is that the sculptural body also takes on great significance as carrier of a range of traditional conceptions about body and soul. For at least a few centuries, the Western body has been associated with issues regarding ethics and essence. The image of the body has been viewed as an ideal representation of a whole, unified human being through a firm and well-defined form where the outer is read as a reflection of the inner. 76 As regards art, the American art historian Rosalind Krauss has described this as a mode of perception where the sculpture s surface is read as a reference to the body s inner structure, thoughts, and inherent spirit. 77 In this way, images of e.g. the ideal body in a state of balance can be interpreted symptomatically to refer to a mind and being in a state of balance. Bodily expressions in visual representations become a question of right and wrong ways for the body to be and express itself, 78 thereby providing spectators with role models and directions for conduct. Since the Renaissance the notion of classical art has been associated with the universal, the conventional, and the appropriate. 79 Thus, strong emotions and expressive forms were not suitable subjects for art because they could, at one and the same time, be regarded as far too contingent and too specific. In this context the three sculptures by Rathsack, Utzon-Frank, and Bjerg marks a modern acceleration of the ethical view of the body in a classical sense: In the absence of narrative, the only clear message conveyed by the works becomes calmness, balance, and perfection. If we apply the logic of Roland Barthes, the sculptures may well denote bodies, but their true significance lies in connoting a range of traditional, pre-existing notions about how the healthy body reveals the healthy soul. 80 The denotation the simple display of a body always hides how additional meaning is attributed besides the mere statement of fact: Here, a roughly life-sized statue narrates no stories that involve external action; rather, it lets cultural notions about the body be the story itself. The three works by Rathsack, Utzon-Frank, and Bjerg addressed in this article mobilise and reinterpret a classical tradition, as an artistic exploration of style this marks a truly new departure, but in terms of subject matter they still draw on traditional notions of the ideal body as gendered and essential. Adam, Newly Created shows the ideal, white man as a fusion of body and spirit, independent of the demands and impacts of modernity; Abyssinian does the same to the ethnic body, thereby paradoxically inscribing it within a classical tradition, yet also and in the same move divesting it of any real historical and modern context. Similarly, Aphrodite appears as an emblematic image of the quintessential female body in repose, thereby lifting the ideal image of woman out of any contemporary polemics regarding women s position in society. An Artistic Strategy The early sculptures by Rathsack, Bjerg, and Utzon-Frank addressed in this article are involved in several simultaneous manoeuvres that can also be said to govern the framework for Modern Classicism as an independent style and as a potential artistic strategy in its own right. First of all, the sculpture is simplified through a stylisation of anatomical detail and poses and by removing expressive and narrative features. In contrast to the even more marked simplifications and the rapid appropriation of abstraction seen in other art from the period, these works retain a link to a naturalistic idiom, and the sculptures can still be viewed and perceived as ideal representations of a concrete, physical reality. The process of simplification takes place within the framework of traditional sculptural practice in which conventional devices such as the base, the upright and cohesive body, the mimetic, and the exemplary are not transgressed against. However, compared to previous classicisms the simplification, stylisation, and lack of narration seen here can be said to be radical, thereby ensuring the sculptures status as original and autonomous works, not just repetitions of tradition. Secondly, the style in itself becomes an area of exploration, one where a range of different signs for Archaic or Classical Greek art, for Medieval and Renaissance art and Modernism are all incorporated within a single work of art. Such awareness of style can to some extent be viewed as a consequence of a growing modern awareness of the many different artistic idioms of the past and present, and the deliberate mixture 143 english version

144 of references marks a crucial difference compared to earlier sculpture. The many loans and references to various notions about the classical ensure the legitimacy of the works and facilitate a new artistic departure based on the best from the past and from modernity. Thirdly, these traits the simplification of naturalistic form, the disappearance of narrative elements, and the complex awareness of style become linked to a conventional message regarding the essential significance and meaning of gender and body. Whereas the sculptures naturalistic stylisation and compound stylistic references to past and present would have seemed new around , the representation of the naked body as carrier of a message about essential values seems quite conventional, a fact that presumably contributed to the rapid and widespread recognition of Modern Classicism. As was described in the above, our present-day sharply delineated opposition between classical and modern art means that art historians, critics, and general perceptions of art all find it impossible to reconcile motivic or formal references to the past with the progressively modern. 81 Rathsack s, Bjerg s, and Utzon-Frank s sculptures come from a different time where the modern and modernism were still being defined and when there was no single, dominant conception of what proper art should be like. In her PhD dissertation Skulptur i folkhemmet the Swedish art historian Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe writes about how a similar scenario applies in connection with a slightly later public sculpture in Sweden. She describes a number of sculptures as hybrid forms occupying a position somewhere between traditional sculpture and self-referential, modernist art, 82 a situation which is in certain regards similar to that of the works of Modern Classicism. Rathsack s, Bjerg s, and Utzon-Frank s Modern Classicism, as it was formulated in their three breakthrough works, represent an endeavour to strike a balance between notions of the classical and the modern, between employing pared-back, abstract forms while also referring to tradition. The style in itself comes to carry a message about the poignancy of the body, but at the same time the efforts to formulate a new idiom also constitute an attempt at carving out a space for themselves, a space that allows their art to be viewed as innovative, original, and in keeping with contemporary requirements. If we accept Norman Bryson s notion that all artists must react against their predecessors, 83 then Modern Classicism constitutes a revolt against the type of sculpture that set the artistic agenda at the time of their own breakthrough: Willumsen s expressive and symbolic art, or the hyper-realistic naturalism advocated by the Academy professors Carl Aarsleff and Vilhelm Bissen. In sculpture, Danish Modern Classicism asserts itself by passing over the works of slightly older sculptors in order to reach back in time and uphold the authority of the classical in support of a new, artistic strategy that subtly incorporates modernist elements. In a wider sense this significant undertaking of defining and presenting a new kind of classical and modern style became an exploration of how to create a work of art that expresses meaning in a new, contemporary and relevant way without following in the wake of radical modernism. Something about the art of Rathsack, Bjerg and Utzon-Frank resonated with audiences; during the years after World War I a number of their works were used to adorn new buildings in Copenhagen and as public monuments and memorials, 84 and their success came to influence an entire generation of younger sculptors who would, even in the years after World War II, seek to find their own feet through variations and repetitions of the same motif: 85 the ideal, well-shaped human body executed in an abstracted, non-narrative idiom. This article takes its point of departure in some of the arguments in my MA (research degree) dissertation from 2008, Det klassiske som figur. Mening og nærvær i skulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Johannes C. Bjerg og Einar Utzon-Frank. (The Classical as Figure. Meaning and Presence in Sculptures by Svend Rathscak, Johannes C. Bjerg, and Einar Utzon-Frank). I should like to once again thank my knowledgeable tutor, associate professor Gunhild Ravn Borggreen, PhD. Warm thanks are also due to curator Ernst Jonas Bencard, MA, whose comments and criticism have helped the points made in the article emerge with greater clarity. english version 144

145 1 No published or complete inventories of the artists works exist to provide certain dating. Dating is based on my best estimate of when the original plaster model was ready; such estimates are based on the literature available and on studies conducted in the archives of Danmarks Kunstbibliotek (The Danish National Art Library). Incomplete inventories can be found in the following: For Svend Rathsack, see: Erik Zahle: Svend Rathsack II: , Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XXXI-XXXII, For Johannes C. Bjerg, see: Minna Bjerg: Billedhuggeren Johannes C. Bjerg, unpublished manuscript, available at html. For Einar Utzon-Frank, see: Utzon-Frank og hans elever : Udstilling i Udstillingsbygningen ved Charlottenborg, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen See, for example, Sigurd Schultz: Nyere dansk Billedhuggerkunst. Fra Niels Skovgaard til Jais Nielsen, Copenhagen 1929; the series Vor Tids Kunst, published from in a total of 76 volumes, initially by the publishing house Rasmus Naver, later by Gyldendal; Haavard Rostrup: Fra Kai Nielsen til de yngste, in Viggo Thorlacius-Ussing (ed.): Danmarks billedhuggerkunst. Fra oldtid til nutid, Copenhagen 1950; or Aksel Rode: Billedhuggerkunsten, in Frithiof Brandt, Haakon Shetelig & Alf Nyman (eds.): Vor tids kunst og digtning i Skandinavien, Copenhagen Utzon-Frank was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1918 until his death in 1955, Bjerg from 1945 until his death in During the period Bjerg also served as Director of the Academy. As no inventories of the artists body of work exist, the dissemination and popularity of their work can only be estimated by reading a number of incomplete inventories, media cuttings and criticism, and articles and pamphlets about the artists; the latter having mostly been published in the artists own lifetime. 4 the relative obscurity that has descended upon the three artists and their works has also affected their sculptures at the National Gallery of Denmark. In the early 2000s, after having stood in front of the Gallery for decades, a number of sculptures were rather brutally restored in Italy where no concession was made to their original patina. Bjerg s The Abyssinian suffered particularly hard at the hands of the restorers to the point where it now appears with a matt, golden surface that is far removed from the artist s original intentions. The version of The Abyssinian housed at the Fuglsang Art Museum on the island of Lolland was owned by the artist s family until 2004 and has kept its original surface; the sculpture depicted in this article is the Fuglsang version. See Birger Thøgersen, Kunsten på helsetur, Politiken, Style analysis has been regularly challenged and criticised over the course of the last 30 years, but continues to constitute a frequently unconsidered, yet fundamental manoeuvre at the heart of an art historical practice. See, for example, Willibald Sauerländer: From Stilus to Style: Reflections on the Fate of a Notion, Art History 6 no. 3, 1983; Svetlana Alpers: Style is What You Make It. The Visual Arts Once Again, in Berel Lang (ed.): The Concept of Style, Ithaca 1987, 2 nd edition; Jas Elsner: Style, in Robert S. Nelson & Richard Shiff (eds.): Critical Terms for Art History, Chicago and London 2003, 2 nd edition. 6 See especially Teresa Nielsen: Johannes C. Bjerg. De tidlige år , Kunstmuseet Køge Skitsesamling, Køge 1990, and briefer mentions in Hanne Abildgaard: Modernitet og menneske, in Jens Erik Sørensen (ed.): Dansk skulptur i 125 år, Copenhagen 1996; Hanne Abildgaard: Tidlig dansk modernisme, Ny dansk kunsthistorie, vol. 6, Copenhagen 1994, p. 161ff; Gertrud Oelsner & Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen (eds.): Livslyst. Sundhed Skønhed Styrke i dansk kunst , Fuglsang Kunstmuseum and Fyns Kunstmuseum, Toreby L. and Odense abildgaard, 1994, p My MA (research degree) dissertation from 2008, submitted to the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen, Det klassiske som figur. Mening og nærvær i skulpturer af Svend Rathsack, Einar Utzon-Frank og Johannes C. Bjerg, on which this article is based, is the first theoretically ambitious study of the three sculptors work. An unpublished MA thesis from 2002 about Utzon-Frank also exists, but unfortunately it suffers from certain shortcomings as regards theory and method. 8 Michel Foucault: Nietzsche genealogien, historien, in Søren Gosvig Olesen (ed.): Epistemologi, Copenhagen 1983, See, for example, Hans Dam Christensen: Forskydningens kunst. Kritiske bidrag til kunsthistoriens historie, Copenhagen there has been only one reasonably integrated attempt made in recent years at constructing a proper narrative about early 20 th century Danish art that includes traditional, figurative sculpture: the exhibition Livslyst at Fuglsang Art Museum and Funen Art Museum in The exhibition theme Vitalism in Danish art encompasses many different artistic modes of expression and is, for the purposes of this article, too broad in scope to elucidate specific artistic choices in Rathsack, Bjerg, and Utzon-Frank. See Oelsner & Hvidberg-Hansen, Quite tellingly, Rathsack, Bjerg, and Utzon-Frank are allocated a few pages alongside other sculptors in Hans Edvard Nørregaard-Nielsen s 672-page, very widely sold book about Danish art history under the heading And the others ; Rathsack s last name is even spelt wrong. Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen: Dansk kunst. Tusind års kunsthistorie, Copenhagen 2003, 6 th edition, pp. 478ff. The most comprehensive description of the era s sculpture a description which is nevertheless quite general in scope can be found in Abildgaard, to my knowledge the hitherto largest and most cohesive study of modernism as master narrative can be found in Hans Hayden: Modernismen som institution.om etableringen av ett estetisk och historiografiskt paradigm, Stockholm and Stehag Ibid., pp. 8ff; James Elkins: Master Narratives and Their Discontents, New York and London 2005, pp , pp See Dorthe Aagesen (ed.): Avantgarde i dansk og europæisk kunst , Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen Modern classicism, classicising modernism or new classicism are different designations for a phenomenon that remains little studied and controversial; most discussions of the subject are embedded in reference works, monographs, and exhibition catalogues about avant-garde artists. A number of recent exhibitions and their catalogues have, however, ventured attempts at grappling with the issue, including: Elizabeth Cowling and Jennifer Mundy (eds.): On Classic Ground, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, , London 1990; Gottfried Boehm, Ulrich Mosch and Katharina Schmidt (eds.): Canto d Amore. Classicism in Modern Art and Music , exhibition catalogue, Kunstmuseum Basel, , London 1996; Robert Storr: Modern Art despite Modernism, exhibition catalogue, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, , New York The only recent reference work of sculpture to consistently include Modern Classicism would appear to be: Penelope Curtis: Sculpture After Rodin, Oxford An inspiring study of the link between nationalism, politics, and art in interwar France can be found in: Romy Golan: Modernity and Nostalgia. Art and politics in France between the war, New Haven and London A number of texts on primarily French (avant-garde) art have also addressed important aspects of the issue: David Cottington: Cubism in the Shadow of War. The Avant-Garde and Politics in Paris , New Haven and London 1998; Christopher Green: Cubism and its Enemies. Modern Movements and Reaction in French Art, , New Haven and London 1987; Christopher Green: Art in France , New Haven and London 2000; Kenneth E. Silver: Esprit de Corps. The Art of the Parisian Avant-Garde and the First World War, , London Curtis, 1999, p Elizabeth Cowling: Introduction, in Elizabeth Cowling and Jennifer Mundy (eds.): On Classic Ground, Tate Gallery, London 1990, p Ibid. 19 Guillaume Apollinaire: André Derain, in Apollinaire on Art, edited by Leroy C. Breuning, London 1972, pp Green, 2000, pp See Golan, See in particular Christopher Green, Part Five. History, Tradition and the French Nation, Art in France , New Haven and London Unfettered by anecdote and as a worthy expression of the eternal and true in a nation s soul, landscape became the other major subject matter for the artists of the period. See Green, 2000; Golan, adam Fischer: Moderne klassisk kunst i Paris, Klingen vol 2, no. 3, adam Fischer: Negersculptur og moderne kunst, Klingen vol 1, no. 6, abildgaard, 1994, p. 153ff. 145 english version

146 27 abildgaard, 1994, p. 121ff. 28 abildgaard, 1994, p. 139ff. 29 See, for example, Vilhelm Wanscher: Moderne Kunst, Politiken an explanation employed in e.g. Golan, Leo Swane: Svend Rathsack. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 17, Copenhagen 1934, p. 9; Leo Swane: Johannes C. Bjerg. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 9, Copenhagen 1932, p. 13; Sigurd Schultz: Utzon Frank. Et Udvalg af Skulpturer med indledende Tekst, Vor Tids Kunst 10, Copenhagen 1932, p Schultz, 1932, p Maria Fabricius Hansen: The Great Age of Statuettes. Danish Decorative Sculpture, , Scandinavian Journal of Design History vol. 3, In this context classicism denotes a reference to or a desire to operate within a field that is designated as classical, and modernism denotes a reference to or a desire to operate within a field which at the very least involves some of the concepts relating to the modern. At the risk of being reductive, the terms classical and classicism are used partially as synonyms, as are modern and modernism, throughout this text. For a more developed distinction concerning the classical and classicism, see Gottfried Boehm: An Alternative Modern. On the Concept and Basis of the Exhibition, in Gottfried Boehm, Ulrich Mosch and Katharina Schmidt (red.): Canto d Amore. Classicism in Modern Art and Music , Kunstmuseum Basel, London 1996, 24. The concept of modernism is an abstraction that will most frequently be understood as a response to an experience of modernity. More accurate definitions of what is required in order for something to be modernist are, however, as hotly debated as the definition of what the modern is. For some of the currently widespread definitions of modernism as an experience, see Marshall Berman: All That is Solid Melts into Air. The Experience of Modernity [1982], London and New York, Paul Holberton: Classicism, in Hugh Brigstocke (ed.): Oxford Companion to Western Art, Oxford Neoclassicism, in Ian Chilvers (ed.): A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art, Oxford Ferdinand de Saussure: Lingvistikkens objekt [1916], in Peter Madsen (red.): Strukturalisme. En antologi, Copenhagen It is, of course, impossible to provide an overview of everything that has been written about classical tradition, or to provide a meaningful account of works and artists that have been called classical. See, for example, the list of literature and the considerations behind it in Michael Greenhalgh, The Classical Tradition in Art, London 1978, 9, 235ff. It lists approximately 1,000 articles and books about classical art and architecture. 39 Calinescu, 1987, pp ; Johan Fornäs: Cultural Theory and Late Modernity, London 1995, p. 19; Boehm, 1996, p Calinescu, 1987, p. 26ff. 41 two of Winckelmann s books came to be at the centre of the notion about classical antiquity s status as a model to be emulated in art: Johann Joachim Winckelmann: Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in Malerey und Bildhauerkunst, Dresden and Leipzig 1756; Johann Joachim Winckelmann: Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums, Dresden alex Potts: Flesh and the Ideal. Winckelmann and the Origins of Art History, New Haven and London 2000, p Hugh Honour: Neo-Classicism, in The Age of Neo-Classicism, The Arts Council of Great Britain, London 1972, p. xxii. 44 Modernity is the transient, the fleeting, the contingent; it is one half of art, the other being the eternal and the immovable. Charles Baudelaire: Det moderne livs maler (The Painter of Modern Life) [1863], Aarhus 2001, p. 33; the art historian Craig Owens quotes Jules Lemaître s interpretation of Baudelaire s view of art as: [a] constant combination of two opposite modes of reaction a past and a present mode. Craig Owens: The Allegorical Impulse, in Brian Wallis (ed.): Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation, New York 1984, athena S. Leoussi: Nationalism and Classicism. The Classical Body as National Symbol in Nineteenth- Century England and France, London 1998, p. 25ff. 46 Erik Zahle, Svend Rathsacks Ungdom, Kunstmuseets Aarsskrift XXX, 1943, pp ; Abildgaard, 1996, p a contemporary modern classicism can be discerned in Danish architecture with Carl Petersen s Faaborg Museum as an early example, but a discussion of architecture as an analogy to the visual arts falls far outside the scope of this article. 48 For an overview of the period s perceptions about the stages and traits of ancient art, see e.g. this popular Danish handbook for young students, which was printed and reprinted in numerous editions: J.M. Secher: Græsk-romersk Kunsthistorie til Skolebrug, Copenhagen 1926, 6 th edition. 49 Cf. Zahle, 1943, p art history and archaeology agree that outstretched or raised arms in free sculpture are features that are not seen before late Classical sculpture, and which are not used in earnest until the advent of the bronze sculptures of the Renaissance. See Robin Osborne: Archaic and Classical Greek Art, Oxford 1998, p the view of the kouros statue as being, at least in certain eras, ideal and universal is widely accepted. Robin Osborne: Men Without Clothes: Heroic Nakedness and Greek Art, Gender & History vol. 9 no. 3, 1997, p. 512; Nanette Salomon: The Venus Pudica: uncovering art history s hidden agendas and pernicious pedigrees, in Griselda Pollock (ed.): Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts, London and New York 1996, p. 71ff. 52 regarding the body culture of the era and its classical precursors, see Tamar Garb: Bodies of Modernity. Figure and Flesh in Fin-de-Siècle France, London 1998, pp ; a Danish context is described in Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen: Hellas under nordlig himmel, in Gertrud Oelsner and Gertrud Hvidbeg-Hansen (eds.): Livslyst. Sundhed Skønhed Styrke i dansk kunst , Toreby L. and Odense Most literature regards the revolt against tradition as a crucial, progressive basis shared by modernism and the avant-garde alike. See e.g. the influential studies: Peter Bürger: Theory of the Avant-Garde, Minneapolis 1994, 3 rd edition, pp. 22, 49, 60-63; Matei Calinescu: Five Faces of Modernity, Durham, 1987, 2 nd edition, pp. 5, 10; Renato Poggioli: The Theory of the Avant-Garde Cambridge MA and London 1968, pp. 30ff, 52ff. 54 roland Barthes: Myten i dag, Mytologier [1957/70], Copenhagen In Hebrew Adam literally means human being, and the general understanding within Western thought, as influenced by Christianity, is that Adam is a symbol of all of humanity by virtue of his role as the first man, the first sinner, and the first farmer. James F. Driscoll: Adam, in The Catholic Encyclopedia, New York 1907), available at cathen/ 56 Zahle, 1943, p aksel Rode: To danske billedhuggere, Konstspegeln 6/7, 1955/56, p the art historian Anne Højer Petersen offers a very similar analysis: In the large Abyssinian Bjerg unites the classical (the human figure, the choice of material) and the modern (the non-narrative content, the ethnic element) to form a harmonious whole and has furthermore created an unusually perfect sculpture in the round on a monumental scale. Anne Højer Petersen: Johannes C. Bjerg, Abessinier ( ), in Tine Nielsen Fabienke and Gertrud Oelsner (ed.): Vores bedste stykker, Toreby L. 2008, p the sculpture was done after the same male model as Georg Kolbe s Torso eines Somalinegers, created two years earlier, so the motif could, if one wished to be polemic, also be Kolbe s statue rather than the life model. See To Arbejder efter samme Model, Dagens Nyheder, Fornäs, 1995, p. 30. On this subject one can note that various peoples have experienced being uprooted prior to this time; the Jewish peoples and various historic migrations are good examples. However, the African people in the West are the first to experience a large-scale physical relocation and a systematic denigration and repression of their culture. 61 Haavard Rostrup, 1950, pp. 438, 442; Rode, 1955/56, pp As far back as 1929 Sigurd Schultz described Utzon-Frank s art as having a tendency towards the mannered, which should be regarded as an instance of traditional, qualitative criticism rather than as a designation of the artist as having been inspired by Mannerism. The same text points to antiquity and Florentine Renaissance as the main sources of inspiration for Utzon-Frank. Schultz, 1929, pp In connection with this article Ernst Jonas Bencard has called my attention to the fact that Mannerism and mannered are concepts that appear several times when Bjerg and Utzon-Frank are mentioned, which means that these concepts could be incorporated into an analysis of their early art. On this subject I would note that Mannerism is a much-contested and very vague definition and that such characteristics are only applied to Bjerg s english version 146

147 and Utzon-Frank s art at a somewhat later date than when they were produced, and not until after the publication of the two absolutely seminal works identifying Mannerism as a style by the Austrian art historians Max Dvořák and Walter Friedländer, published in 1922 and 1925, respectively. It would certainly be possible to discuss e.g. Friedländer s description of the anti-classical and Dvořák s identification of a crisis sensibility in mannerism in connection with Modern Classicism, but it does not seem entirely feasible to link Bjerg s and Utzon-Frank s works to this type of interpretation when such readings were still in their infancy. Even though a few artists such as El Greco, Giambologna, and Cellini, who would later come to be regarded as quintessential Mannerists, were admired before the 1920s, it is by far the most likely scenario that the main objective was to point to the proto-mannerist traits of the already acclaimed Gothic and Florentine 15 th century sculptures. Max Dvořák: Über Greco und den Manierismus, Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschicthe, p. XV, 1921/1922; Walter Friedländer: Die Entstehung des antiklassischen Stiles in der italienischen Malerei um 1520, Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, p. XLVI, Cf. note Several of these works are now lost; the only documentation of their existence can be found at Danmarks Kunstbibliotek (The Danish National Art Library), Kunsthistorisk Billedarkiv. Also see Chr. Engelstoft: Einar Utzon Frank, Skønvirke V, 1919, p rodin and Meunier appear to be widely accepted as Utzon-Frank s role models for his attempts at renouncing the type of naturalistic sculpture that Carl Aarsleff taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and which constituted the dominant type of sculpture. See e.g. Rode, 1955/56, p. 15; Schultz, 1932, p Schultz, Utzon Frank, pp.10, Poul Henningsen: Einar Utzon Frank, Vor Tid II, 1918, pp. 140, Henningsen, 1918, p Caroline Arscott and Katie Scott: Introducing Venus, in Caroline Arscott and Katie Scott (eds.): Manifestations of Venus. Art and Sexuality, Manchester Norman Bryson: Tradition and Desire. From David to Delacroix, Cambridge Bryson, 1984, p Ernst Jonas Bencard: Generationen uden egenskaber, in Ernst Jonas Bencard and Stig Miss: Afmagt. Dansk billedhuggerkunst , Copenhagen 2002; Aksel Rode: 1880 ernes og 90 ernes billedhuggere. Fra klassicismens efterklange til 90 ernes stilsøgen, in Viggo Thorlacius-Ussing (ed.): Danmarks billedhuggerkunst. Fra oldtid til nutid, Copenhagen 1950, pp Henningsen, 1918, pp. 140, rode, 1948, p the same function, i.e. the modern, classical work as a self-aware presenter of the style in itself, is identified, independently of each other, by the art historians Jens Toft and Gottfried Boehm, as a central strategy for other artists of the time. Jens Toft: Nogle betragtninger over tegnet i maleriet, Periskop. Forum for kunsthistorisk debat no. 4, 1995; Boehm, In other words, the notion of unified form is integrally bound up with the perception of self, and the construction of individual identity. Lynda Nead: The Female Nude. Art, Obscenity and Sexuality, New York and London 2004, p. 7; Also see George L. Mosse: The Image of Man. The Creation of Modern Masculinity, Oxford and New York 1996, p. 24ff. 77 rosalind Krauss: Passages in Modern Sculpture, Cambridge MA and London 1981, p. 23ff. 78 this reading runs counter to the tradition of regarding the artistic body image as being a primarily aesthetic matter, as has been argued in e.g. the art historian Kenneth Clark s influential book: The Nude. A Study in Ideal Form [1956], London A significant criticism of Clark and his position can be found in Nead, 2004, p. 12ff. 79 See e.g. Richard Shiff: Phototropism (Figuring the Proper), in Kathleen Preciardo (ed.): Retaining the Original. Multiple Originals, Copies, and Reproductions, Washington 1989, pp. 164, Barthes, See e.g. the attack on postmodern art that point back to tradition in Benjamin H.D. Buchloh: Figures of Authority, Ciphers of Regression: Notes on the Return of Representation in European Painting, October 16, Jessica Sjöholm Skrubbe: Skulptur i folkhemmet. Den offentlige skulpturens institutionalisering, referentialitet och rumsliga situationer , Göteborg 2007, p Bryson, 1984, p. 15ff. 84 In the 1920s Rathsack and Bjerg created a number of designs for reliefs for new apartment buildings created in the Danish Classicism and Functionalist styles in e.g. Vanløse and the København NV and Østerbro areas in Copenhagen. Utzon-Frank s designs also included the figures for the extension of the Royal Danish Theatre, Stærekassen, around , and the relief Bull for the modern complex of slaughterhouses in Kødbyen in Works by the three artists were also erected in connection with Aarhus Stadion and Østerbro Stadion, in public parks, and in many other settings. 85 Bjerg s and Utzon-Frank s work as professors shaped an entire generation of Danish sculptors for better or worse, and their influence was increasingly viewed as restraining or inhibiting. See Ernst Jonas Bencard: Den bundne varme, BKF. Billedkunstnernes Forbund, nos ; Rasmus Kjærboe: Billedhuggerskole med vægt på traditionen. Johannes C. Bjerg, professor , in Henrik B. Andersen and Carsten Jarlov (eds.): Billedhuggerskolen i Frederiksholms Kanal, Copenhagen english version

148 Fig.1 english version 148

149 Henri Matisse, Le Luxe II k at h r i n e segel and ole nørrega a r d jensen In 2009 the painting Le Luxe II 1 [fig. 1] by Henri Matisse ( ) was restored at the National Gallery of Denmark s Department of Conservation. During treatment, a number of studies were conducted in order to achieve greater knowledge about the painting s genesis and to expand our general knowledge of Matisse s painting technique. One particular objective was to ascertain how the artist transferred the motif to the canvas. Another was to determine the medium used to execute Le Luxe II, as existing information pointed in different directions. The extensive studies prompted collaboration between the Gallery and protein scientists from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense. Le Luxe Times Three As the title of the painting indicates, Matisse painted two versions of Le Luxe. The older version, Le Luxe I, was painted in 1907 in Collioure, south of France. The painting was executed in oil and measures 210 cm x 138 cm. It was exhibited later that year at the Salon d Automne in Paris under the title Luxe (esquisse). The fact that Matisse added the word sketch to the painting s title at the time might suggest that the painting was either unfinished or that it formed part of a longer process. The painting, which is now known by the title Le Luxe I, remained in the artist s ownership right up until 1945, at which point it was sold to the Musée National d Art Moderne in Paris (the present-day Centre George Pompidou). While the older version described above is well accounted for, some confusion has reigned regarding the genesis and dating of the subsequent Le Luxe II. 2 Today, however, scholars are convinced that Matisse painted it at his studio in Couvert des Oiseaux in Paris in late 1907 or early Le Luxe II measures x 139cm. The two paintings share virtually the same size and the compositions in both works are also almost identical. One reason behind the studies described here is that in contrast to the older version Le Luxe II was obviously not executed in oil. The painting was exhibited in Cologne and London in 1912, and was also featured at The Armory Show in New York the following year. In 1917 the painting was bought by Johannes Rump, a Danish engineer, politician, and property developer. In January of 1928 Rump donated his collection to the National Gallery of Denmark; a gift that included Le Luxe II. Despite the similar compositions featured in the two versions of Le Luxe, the paintings differ in terms of style. Le Luxe I was painted using broad, irregular brushstrokes, thereby creating a certain sense of volume, while landscapes and figures in Le Luxe II are simplified and reduced to almost flat, monochrome fields of colour. The painting shows three naked female figures on a beach. In the foreground is a dark-haired woman standing on a white piece of fabric. At the woman s feet is a kneeling, blonde woman who is either attempting to dry the standing woman s feet or to liberate her from the cloth. The third female figure in the painting is approaching the other two. She carries a bouquet of flowers, and her pose suggests that she wishes to present it to the standing woman. Some think that the work evokes associations to the birth of Venus. 4 Others interpret the motif as an allegory of three different states: activity, passivity, and contemplation. 5 In addition to the two paintings, the motif is also featured in an undated preliminary drawing owned by the Centre George Pompidou in Paris. The present dimensions of the drawing are 225 x 137cm, which makes it slightly taller than the two paintings. At either end of the drawing an empty, horizontal band of 7.5cm has been added. Presumably these horizontal bands were originally folded back and have been added to the work itself in connection with a previous relining. 6 If this is indeed the case, the drawing would originally have measured 210 x 137cm, which corresponds to the size of the two paintings. The preliminary drawing was done on paper which has been divided into a 20 x 20cm grid of reddish lines. On top of this grid Matisse drew the motif in charcoal. Matisse did not date the preliminary drawing, but studies have shown that Matisse may have done it during the time elapsed between Le Luxe I and Le Luxe II. 7 If this is the case, the preliminary drawing functioned as a tool allowing Matisse to retain a clear memory of the subject when Le Luxe I was sent to be exhibited immediately upon its completion. This thesis is corroborated by the fact that Le Luxe I was exhibited at the Salon d Automne as Luxe (esquisse), suggesting that a final painting was in the works. Furthermore, the art historian Yve-Alain Bois has observed that Matisse carried out a number of compositional changes in the later version of the painting. 8 In Le Luxe I the standing woman has her front towards the spectator, whereas in Le Luxe II she is turned slightly towards the heraldic left. Similarly, the second female figure moves her foot from heraldic right towards heraldic left. If we compare the paintings to the preliminary drawing it seems as if the drawing s composition falls somewhere between the two versions of Le Luxe. The adjustments in the preliminary drawing can be read as if Matisse was, at a conceptual level, in the process of rotating the painting s central figure. The Conservation of Le Luxe II in 1966 In 1966 conservators at the National Gallery of Denmark carried out extensive conservation of Le Luxe II. At this point the painting s surface was already greatly affected by major water damage in the painting s upper half as well as comprehensive stains and runs caused by moderate water splashes. A photograph of Le Luxe II from 1919 revealed that this water damage was not original [fig. 2]. 9 The matt paint layer had plenty of areas with flaking paint and craquelure. Furthermore, the canvas was in poor condition. Thus, a choice was made to reline the painting with glue-paste. The treatment was carried out on a hot-table. The glue-paste employed for the process was made of wheat flour, gelatine, benzoic acid, and water. 10 Flaking paint layers were consoli- 149 english version

150 Fig. 2 dated locally with gelatine. Also, the most damaged areas of Le Luxe II were retouched using a mixture of dry pigment and gelatine that matched the matt appearance of the paint layer. Basis for the Technical Studies in 2009 In early 2009 Le Luxe II was once again restored at the Gallery s Department of Conservation for aesthetic reasons. The old retouchings had become discoloured and were detrimental to the overall experience and appreciation of the painting. Moreover there was an interest in examining Le Luxe II for the purpose of adding new knowledge about Matisse s painting technique and to confirm or refute contradictory information about the work. When the studies commenced, the issue of how Matisse had transferred the motif to the canvas was unresolved. Due to the overall similarities between the compositions of Le Luxe II and the preliminary drawing, it was assumed that Matisse had used some kind of transfer technique. However, a naked-eye examination did not immediately reveal an underdrawing underneath the paint layer. Additionally, the studies wished to determine the exact medium used to paint Le Luxe II. Existing literature have described the paint layer as either casein or distemper, which in chemical terms are widely different mediums. The earliest Danish source referring to the painting is an exhibition catalogue on J. Rump s collection of modern French art. The catalogue was published in 1929 and states that the painting was executed in distemper. 11 But in a questionnaire survey from 1951 conducted in connection with a retrospective at the MoMA in New York, Matisse allegedly stated that Le Luxe II was executed in détrempe. 12 In French the concept of détrempe has two meanings: 13 the term can denote either distemper or emulsion paint / tempera. In A.H. Barr s 1951 publication on Matisse, which uses the questionnaire as part of its source material, détrempe has been translated as casein. 14 Since then both terms have been used in various international publications to describe the paint layer of Le Luxe II. There is also information suggesting that Matisse received the recipe for the paint from the relatively unknown Catalan painter Etienne Terrus 15. Despite keen efforts it was not possible to uncover the original recipe. 16 Visually, the paint layer of Le Luxe II appears extremely matt, almost pastel-like. Preliminary studies also showed that the paint layer was water soluble. These two observations suggested that the paint layer consisted of distemper. However, they could also indicate that the paint layer was in a very advanced stage of deterioration. Regardless of the medium used, Le Luxe II stands out among the artist s other works by not having been executed in oil. There are only three other known cases where Matisse did not employ oil for his paintings. Of those paintings only two still exist today. At the Museum of Art in Grenoble, France, analyses were conducted on the binder employed in the painting Intérieur aux Aubergines (Interior with Aubergines) from The study revealed that the paint layer contained animal glue. 17 According to conservators at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg the painting Le café Arabe/ Café marocain (Arab Coffee-House) from 1913 is presumably also executed in distemper. 18 However, this information was based solely on the conservators empirical knowledge of materials; no technical studies are available. The third painting La Nuit/ Grand Nu à la colle from 1911 is lost, presumably destroyed by the artist himself. According to literature it, too, was executed in distemper. 19 Grid When the ornamental frame of Le Luxe II was removed in connection with the restoration, this revealed lines of approximately 1cm spaced 20cm apart along the painting s horizontal edges. In some cases the lines took the form of a narrow v. The short lines were perpendicular to the painting s edge [fig. 3]. A total of six lines could be observed in the top and bottom alike. The small marks were made in pencil. The lines could be observed to form pairs opposite from each other along the top and bottom. This indicated that Matisse had divided the canvas into segments. However, naked-eye inspections did not reveal similar lines along the painting s vertical sides. At this point the painting was studied under infrared light; the examination was conducted using Artist PRO camera Fig. 3 english version 150

151 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 from Art Innovation. 20 The infrared studies revealed identical marks along the two vertical sides of the painting. Here, too, the 1cm lines were spaced 20cm apart, and the marks were set perpendicular to the painting s side [fig. 4]. A total of ten lines were observed on either side of the painting. The topmost mark was set 20cm from the painting s upper edge, and due to the painting s height (209.5 cm) the final mark was set approximately 10cm from the bottom. The marks along the vertical sides could not be observed with the naked eye due to the fact that Matisse painted all the way to the edge in these areas (he did not do so at the top and bottom). There were now clear indications that Matisse had divided the canvas into a grid. However, the infrared light did not reveal that these marks had been linked by horizontal and vertical lines, which would conclusively prove the use of a grid. Grids are frequently used to transfer a motif from one surface to another, e.g. from a sketch to a canvas. The grid allows the artist to draw his motif freehand by referring to the lines as he works. 21 Closer visual inspection did, however, reveal that the canvas had indeed been divided into a grid pattern. In areas where the ground was exposed or where the paint layer was transparent, it was possible to observe fragments of either horizontal or vertical lines. The position of these line fragments corresponded to the marks alongside the painting s edges. All in all, traces of the grid could be observed in twelve different locations in Le Luxe II [fig. 5]. The painted surface was originally divided into 10.5 x 7cm squares. This grid is identical to the grid in the preliminary drawing if one disregards the two horizontal bands that have been added to the drawing at a later date. The grid on Le Luxe II was drawn with red chalk, which was why it could not be seen under infrared light. The chalk line also proved to be water soluble, meaning that the grid was presumably painted away when Matisse applied the watery paint layer. The water solubility of the grid also explains why the light-coloured areas of the paint layer (especially the carnation) have a reddish tint in places. In these areas the red colour from the grid has become mixed with the paint layer. Underdrawing Having divided the canvas into a grid Matisse outlined his motif in a thin, dark grey charcoal line. Like the red grid, the contour line proved to be water soluble, and was presumably dissolved when Matisse applied the paint. This explains why one cannot see the underdrawing in the infrared studies. Thus, the underdrawing can only be observed in the very few areas where the paint layer does not provide full coverage. The line is clearly visible at the point where neck and shoulder meet on the painting s central figure, the standing woman [fig. 6]. In some areas, the underdrawing, like the grid, has caused a shadow-like discoloration of the paint layer around the contours due to the water solubility of the charcoal line. It is not clear to what extent Matisse carried out compositional adjustments in the underdrawing (like those visible in the existing preliminary drawing). As the shadow-like discoloration can only be observed locally around the contours of the motif, one must assume that such corrections, if any, were limited in scope. In all likelihood Matisse simply outlined the motif in a thin line as illustrated. Fig english version

152 MV SDS-PAGE separation of protein SDS PAGE separation of protein Fig. 8 Sample no Binder analysis MW 170 kda The studies included an analysis of the binder used for the pigments in order to ascertain which medium Matisse employed for Le Luxe II. The result of this analysis would be significant to our understanding of Matisse s painting technique and artistic development. Additionally, identifying the binder would have an impact on the imminent restoration of the painting. When carrying out their retouchings conservators would wish to apply materials that are reversible in relation to the originally used by Matisse. The point of departure was a belief that Le Luxe II was done in either casein or distemper. Casein is a group of protein molecules found in milk. Dried casein powder is in itself insoluble in water, but it can be made soluble and adhesive by adding an alkaline liquid such as ammonium hydrogen carbonate. 22 As the casein can then be dissolved in both water and oil, the medium is also known as emulsion paint or tempera (from the Latin for mixing ). Once dry, casein paint is insoluble in water because its components, such as the protein molecules, are cross-linked during the setting process. Distemper is a type of paint created by dissolving dry pigments in size. Within the arts, size is usually an animal hide or bone glue. 23 Animal bones and hides contain a protein called collagen. Therefore it was natural to include a protein analysis in the endeavours to identify the medium used for Le Luxe II: The two types of paint supposedly used by Matisse both contain protein based binders; the two types of binder differ in terms of the specific protein components they contain. Protein molecules consist of polymer chains of amino acids held together by peptide bonds. The structure of individual proteins can be divided into four levels. The lowest level, known as the molecule s primary structure, describes the sequence of the amino acids in the polymer chain, analogous to pearls on a string. This is followed by the secondary structure, which describes the folding classes for a given amino acid sequence. The tertiary structure refers to the three-dimensionality of the protein molecule, i.e. the protein s spatial organisation. The highest level, the quaternary structure, describes features such as protein-protein interaction. As it was not possible to carry out protein analyses at the Gallery, the Department of Conservation contacted Ole Nørregaard Jensen, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at SDU, who specialises in proteins. The protein analysis was conducted by extracting and analysing a very small sample from the painting Le Luxe II. The samples were taken mechanically by means of a sterile scalpel. A total of six samples was collected: three came from the paint layer (blue, red, and green) and one from the ground. The remaining two samples were taken from the retouched areas. Each sample was placed in a sterile container and sent to the protein laboratory at the SDU. The following focuses on the results of the tests taken from the paint layers and ground, respectively. Fig. 9 SDS-PAGE The samples were first analysed by means of gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). 24 The technique uses an electric field to separate proteins on the basis of their molecular weight (size). The individual samples from Le Luxe II were dissolved in sodium docedyl sulfate (SDS), which dissolves any proteins present in the material. After the electrophoretic separation the protein pattern is developed and visualised by means of silver staining [fig. 8], a process analogous to photographic development techniques. The analysis used a gradient-polyacrylamide gel at a concentration in the 4-20% range. The proteins migrate across the gel in accordance with their size; small proteins move faster than larger proteins, and this means that the components of a given protein mix are separated. SDS-PAGE separations employ the measuring unit kilodalton (kda) 25 to describe protein size. The analysis showed that all samples contained proteins within the kd range, and that several of the samples also contained smaller proteins in the kda range [fig. 8]. The staining pattern suggests that the proteins have been broken down as no clear, individual protein bands appear; instead, the tests showed smeared traces of protein for each sample. This indicated that the samples from the paint layer of Le Luxe II contained aged protein materials and that the original protein would have been relatively large ESI MS/MS analysis: Collagen Protein fragment: GAAGLIGPK ( ) english version 152

153 while still intact, i.e. larger than 50 kda. At this point it should be noted that casein proteins are small (smaller than 50 kda), whereas collagen proteins have a size greater than 100 kda. LC-MS/MS In order to get closer to an exact identification of the components in the proteincontaining paint layers of Le Luxe II, sample materials were then analysed by means of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (tandem MS) (LC-MS/MS). 26 This technique is widely used for protein identification within cell biology, protein chemistry, and proteom analysis. The LC-MS/MS technique combines high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with advanced mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The latter is a highly sensitive technique that makes it possible to determine the sequence of amino acids in the protein chain. The sequence of amino acids is unique for each individual protein, allowing us to identify individual components in a mixture on the basis of searches in a protein sequence database. The method corresponds to taking a fingerprint or a dental impression of a person and then use this information to identify that person by searching a database of potential candidates. Mass spectrometry is used to determine the structure of organic molecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and metabolites. In the study addressed here we used electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry; molecules are transferred from liquid to gas phase where they are ionised, i.e. have charged particles added. The gas phase molecule ions can be manipulated in electric and magnetic fields; based on their movement and energy it is possible to determine their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and hence their molecular weight. In addition to this the molecule ions can be fragmented, thereby determining their chemical make-up. As mentioned above, mass spectrometry based on fragmenting proteins makes it possible to determine the proteins amino acid sequence. Thus, the specific protein can be identified by comparing the results of the analysis with information from a protein database. When working with older paintings it is often difficult to identify the binder because the materials are already broken down to a Fig. 10 and 11 great extent. Also, the function and value of the test subject means that you can only extract very limited quantities of sample material. Mass spectrometric protein analysis of the samples taken from Le Luxe II showed large contents of one large protein component in particular: bovine collagen alpha-1 [fig. 9]. Collagen is a protein found in animal bones, and the analysis went on to show that the collagen found was from a cow! The test also discovered traces of keratin, which is a mammalian protein. Keratin is found in e.g. hide, hair, and horn. The results were identical for both paint layer and ground. It should be emphasised that LC-MS/MS analysis showed great consistency between the various samples, which helps corroborate the results of the individual analyses. Furthermore, the test samples showed no traces of casein protein. 27 Control tests carried out by means of LC-MS/MS analyses of fresh glue and casein paintings yielded the expected results; collagen and casein protein were identified. Aditionally, GC-MS analyses carried out at the National Museum of Denmark s laboratory showed large contents of hydroxyproline in the sample of Le Luxe II. This amino acid is frequent found in collagen proteins. The results of the analyses indicate that Matisse used distemper for Le Luxe II. The binder used in the ground and paint layers would have been based on boiled bones, as is evident from the large quantities of collagen in the samples. The presence of keratin may be due to remnants of animal hide having been included while the glue was boiled, or it can hail from the gelatine used in connection with the 1966 conservation. 28 The conclusion that Le Luxe II was painted in distemper ties in with the fact that its paint layer is highly water soluble, as had been demonstrated in the preliminary studies. If Le Luxe II had been painted in casein tempera it would probably not have been possible to dissolve the paint in water. The conclusion accords with information from the 1929 Rump exhibition catalogue which, as mentioned, stated that Le Luxe II was executed in distemper. The misleading information about the painting being executed in casein presumably first emerged after the 1951 questionnaire due to an erroneous translation of the term détrempe from French to English. Studies of painting technique As part of the study, a number of cross sections of the paint layer were extracted from various areas of the painting. Each cross section was extracted by means of a scalpel and embedded in Serifix, 29 a two-component polyester resin. The cross sections showed that the painting generally consists of a ground onto which a single, thin paint layer has been applied. The contours of the motif would then be outlined on top of the paint layer [fig. 10]. This result accords with the visual analysis of Le Luxe II; in some areas the ground can be observed through the layer of distemper, and locally the ground is visible. As the distemper technique requires a certain efficiency on the part of the artist, brushstrokes can be observed in many places. The visible brushstrokes should presumably be seen as the result of a combination of factors: the fields of colour were filled in at a comparatively rapid pace and/or the distemper did not provide full coverage. The purple mountain in the background is one of the areas where brushstrokes can be observed. Here, the distemper has obviously been applied in horizontal strokes, and the paint layer to the right is not opaque at all, indicating that the work was done at a rapid pace. 153 english version

154 The Pink Cloud There are, however, local deviations from this overall structure. A cross-section of the large pink cloud seen to the right reveals that underneath the pink colour is a greenish paint layer consisting of white and green grains of pigment [fig. 11]. The greenish paint layer can still be observed along the edge of the painting and where the pink paint layer is damaged [fig. 12]. In this context it is interesting to note that the cloud in Le Luxe I is light green. Perhaps Matisse originally set out with the intention of having a more identical colour scheme in the two versions of the painting? The fact that this was the only area in Le Luxe II where Matisse painted two layers of paint on top of each other may help explain the abrasions seen in ground and paint layer in this particular area. In the lower, left half of the cloud the ground and the substratum of green paint have been scraped off all the way down to the canvas. The abrasions should, however, be regarded as original insofar as the uppermost pink paint layer was applied on top of the exposed canvas. The majority of the abrasions can be dimly made out in a photograph sent by Rump to Matisse s art dealer, Charles Vildrac, on 27 September 1920 [fig. 2]. 30 Due to the properties of distemper the artist may have found it more difficult than expected to apply a second layer of paint on top of the first layer, for distemper demands that you work at a rapid, even pace in order to create a uniform paint layer. Furthermore, distemper remains water soluble after it has dried, and so it is difficult to apply an additional layer of paint without dissolving the layer underneath. Thus, it is possible that Matisse, having experienced some difficulties, elected to reduce the scope of his adjustments to this area of the painting. As described, Matisse painted most of his paintings in oil. Only a limited number of works have been executed in other media and presumably these were all Fig. 13 Fig. 12 done in distemper. Matisse painted the four paintings executed in mediums other than oil during the period The fact that Matisse only tried his hand at distemper for a very brief period suggests that the technique did not meet the artist s requirements. Matisse s paintings often underwent a wide range of different stages before they could be regarded as finished works. The many stages were part of a working process that regularly saw Matisse making changes to the painting s colour scheme, composition, etc. One example of such a process would be the painting Gran desnudo recostado/desnudo rosa from 1935, 31 which belongs to The Baltimore Museum of Art. Over a period of six months the painting was changed 22 times. Matisse had each of the painting s stages photographed as documentation. 32 Oil paints cross-link as they set. This means that the paint layer is not dissolved when a new layer of paint is applied on top of it. Oil allowed Matisse to continue to add to and adjust his works. The properties of distemper did not allow for a similarly layered approach. Contours As has been described, cross-sections and visual analyses showed that the contours have been outlined on top of the paint layer. However, deviations from this overall approach can be observed in places. At first Matisse chose a dark brown for the contours. The colour was identical to the colour chosen for the hair of two of the women featured in the painting. Originally the majority of the contours of the running women had been painted using the dark colour. Similarly, the forehead area of the kneeling woman and the red mountain in the background were also outlined in this colour. Matisse subsequently chose to outline the contours in grey instead. Nevertheless, the dark brown remains visible because the artist was not entirely exact while tracing the new lines [fig. 13]. Only the eye area of Le Luxe II s central figure is still done in dark brown. For the rest of the woman s face Matisse chose to use grey for the contours. Conclusion Photographic analysis and visual studies of Le Luxe II revealed that Matisse employed a grid to transfer the motif to the canvas. The grid was executed in reddish chalk, while the underdrawing itself was outlined in dark grey. The underlying preliminary work undertaken on the painting was largely painted away during the subsequent painting process because the chalk line was water soluble. This is why it is only possible to observe english version 154

155 fragments of the original underdrawing today. It was also ascertained that an undated preliminary drawing owned by Centre George Pompidou corresponded to the original grid and underdrawing of Le Luxe II. At the SDU s laboratory the painting s ground and paint layers were analysed by means of SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS. The results showed collagen and traces of keratin in the samples. We could thus conclude that Matisse used distemper to paint Le Luxe II, and that the distemper was based on bone glue. Art historical studies showed that when painting, Matisse only used a medium other than oil on four separate occasions. In addition to Le Luxe II the study showed that the three other paintings of this kind are presumably all executed in distemper. Studies of paint cross sections showed that Le Luxe II is mainly composed of ground and a single paint layer on which the contours had subsequently been outlined. There were, however, local deviations from this general structure. Matisse changed the colour of the contour outlines, and the large pink cloud in the top right of the painting had a green paint layer underneath. Original abrasions to the paint layer in the area suggested that it was not easy for Matisse to work with multiple layers in distemper. The conclusion was that Matisse presumably sought to limit the extent of any adjustments to Le Luxe II. The limitations inherent in the distemper technique may be the reason why Matisse only used that particular medium on very few occasions during his artistic career. Thanks to Kate Tierney Powell and Stephanie D Alessandro from the Chicago Art Institute for their ongoing collaboration and assistance over the course of this project. We would also like to thank Cécile Debray, Geraldine Guillaume-Chavannes and Per Jonas Storsve from the Centre Pompidou in Paris for information about Le Luxe I and the sketch; Hélène Vincent and Gilles Barabant from the Grenoble Museum of Art for supplementary information about the painting Intérieur aux Aubergines (1911); Marina Guruleva from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg for information regarding the work Le café Arabe/ Café marocain (1913); Søren Andersen, Lene Jakobsen, and Martin R. Larsen from the SDU in Odense for assistance on mass spectrometric analysis; Mads Chr. Christensen from the National Museum of Denmark s Department of Conservation in Brede; and Mikkel Scharff and Esben Segel for their comments and proofreading. 1 Matisse s works often have several titles. Furthermore, the original French titles will be used in some contexts while other works are best known under their translated English titles. The present article uses the original French title or titles. 2 the confusion regarding the painting s provenance is partly due to the fact that Matisse s painting Luxe, calme et volupté (Luxury, Calm, and Pleasure) ( ) was missing for many years. Due to similar titles Le Luxe II went by the wrong name for a number of years; Barr, A.H., Matisse, his art and his public, Museum of Modern Art, New York 1951, p For an in-depth account of the history of Le Luxe II, see Kasper Monrad, Henri Matisse. Fire store samlere, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 1999, pp Flam, J., The Man and his Art , London, Thames and Hudson 1986, p Monod-Fontaine et al., Oeuvres de Henri Matisse, Musée national d art moderne, Centre George Pompidou, Paris 1989, p Conversation with Cécile Debray and Geraldine Guillaume-Chavannes from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, 18 September Bois, Y.-A., Et de luxe-eksperiment. Le Luxe II, in: Aagesen, D., Monrad, K. & Warming, R., Matisse. Mesterværker på Statens Museum for Kunst, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 2005, p Ibid., p It has not been possible to ascertain when or how the damage was done. A photograph of Le Luxe II sent by Rump to Matisse s art dealer Charles Vildrac on 27 September 1920 shows no signs of the damage [fig. 2], confirming that the water damage is not original to the work (the Letter Archives, the National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen). In the catalogue for the Rump Exhibition of 1929 the water damage is visible, Swane, L, Katalog over J. Rumps Samling af moderne fransk Kunst, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 1929, p. 86. According to a grandchild of Rump, the painting spent the period between 1920 and 1929 on the wall of a children s room in Puggaardsgade, Gottlieb, L., Johannes Rump. Portræt af en samler, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen 1994, p the recipe for the glue-paste can be found in the conservation department s collection of recipes and in the restoration report of Swane, L., (1929), p Unfortunately it has not been possible to obtain a copy of the questionnaire, but A.H. Barr refers to Questionnaire IV in: Barr, A.H., (1951), pp. 95 and Mayer, R., The Artist s Handbook of Materials and Techniques, 3 rd edition, London, Faber and Faber 1972 [original edition 1951], p Barr, A.H., (1951), p Spurling, H., The Unknown Matisse. A life of Henri Matisse. Volume one , London, Hamish Hamilton 1998, p the recipe is believed to be lost. 17 Correspondence with Gilles Barabant and Hélène Vincent from the Grenoble museum of art, 13 July Correspondence with Marina Guruleva from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, 22 April Bois, Y.-A., (2005), p Infrared photography was conducted by Kathrine Segel using an Artist PRO camera (Art Innovation, Hengelo, Holland) fitted with a CCD progressive scan image sensor (1360 x 1036 pixels) and a Schneider Kreuznach Xenoplan 23 mm F/1.4 CCTV lens in near Infrared 2 with a long wave pass filter 1000mm. The images were taken using Artist software (version 1.2). 21 Carlyle, L., The Artist s Assistant: Oil Painting Instruction Manuals and Handbooks in Britain , London, Archetype Publications 2001, p ammonium hydrogen carbonate is commonly known as hartshorn or ammonium bicarbonate. 23 alternatively the glue can be made of plants such as seaweed or various types of cereal, using the starchy flour to produce a glue paste. 24 SDS-PAGE is short for sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 25 kda is a unit used within biochemistry. Proteins are large molecules, and so their mass is indicated using kda. One kda corresponds to 1,000 Da. Da (dalton) is another name for the unified atomic mass unit (u) used to indicate the mass of particles on an atomic scale. 26 Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (tandem MS) is frequently abbreviated LC-MS/MS. 27 the presence of casein cannot be ruled out altogether because the materials involved have been broken down. However, the results of the analysis point unequivocally to bovine collagen alpha It is possible that some of the glue from the glue paste used for the relining in 1966 may have seeped up into the paint layer during the process. 29 Serifix from Struers A/S, 30 the Letter Archives, the National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen. 31 the painting is known by the two titles. 32 andre, L., Seeing with Fresh Eyes. Matisse in the Cone Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art english version

156 The Abandoned City. A reading of Palle Nielsen s etchings k a s pa r thormod The Danish draughtsman and graphic artist Palle Nielsen ( ) may be the single greatest interpreter of the urban landscape within Danish art. At the same time he is one of the most important interpreters of ruins. In Nielsen s work, lying in ruins appears to be a permanent state applying to the modern city: façades are crumbling, the houses are abandoned, the city stands before a fall. The question is: what meaning and significance is associated with such urban decay? The studies conducted over the last 20 years have predominantly viewed the decay in the light of Nielsen s biographical details and his era, e.g. his experiences in connection with World War II or the Cold War. 2 It can, however, be argued that there cannot be simply one, ultimate biographical or historical explanation behind the decay expressed in Nielsen s work. Quite the contrary: the significance of urban decay is given many different forms in the various series. Consequently, this essay will aim to shed light on a particular Nielsen series: the one entitled The Abandoned City ( ). The series is characterised by a distinctive structure where perspective-less renditions of industrial debris in the first part of the series are juxtaposed with empty urban landscapes staged with an almost exaggerated use of perspective in the second part of the series. Rather than following in the footsteps of the limited literature published about the series so far which either ignores or rejects the heterogeneity of the series this essay will examine how The Abandoned City in spite of a range of differences in etching technique and spatial construction nevertheless achieves a sense of cohesion by virtue of its title, by the fact that the individual images are devoid of people, and by the visually destabilising nature of the etchings. The divided nature of the series lets us associate it with the work Opere Varie by the Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi ( ). A comparison to Piranesi allows the contours of Nielsen s ambiguous culture-critical rendition of decay to emerge with greater clarity. Structure and reception The first pressing question arising when studying The Abandoned City is the issue of accurately identifying the works that constitute the series. Compared to the english version 156

157 Fig. 1 widely accepted inventories of Nielsen s work, studies of archival materials have allowed us to expand the scope of the series to include 11 etchings from the period Nielsen himself applied the title The Abandoned City to these etchings, which have never been published in book format. Nielsen used consecutive opus numbers for his works, and these tell us that the series etchings fall into two parts: The first seven etchings are from 1973 and bear the opus numbers , and the last four etchings are from 1976 and have the opus numbers This division of the work can also be observed at a motivic level, as the first part depicts enlarged sections of dilapidated industrial fragments such as pipes and machine parts, while the second part shows views of two kinds of urban spaces: the train tracks and the square. The combination of close-ups and views give rise to a double gaze on the city. In what follows, this double gaze will be of crucial significance to our understanding of the series. Let us first, however, consider how the series was received. The Abadoned City is mentioned in three different places within Palle Nielsen literature: in Kristian Romare s Den fortryllede by. En bog om Palle Nielsen, in Jørgen Gammelgaard s Palle Nielsen. Temaer i hans værk, and in Jytte Rex Palle Nielsen. Timebog. 4 Romare addresses the series in connection with Nielsen s small-scale urban series created from the late 1960s onwards, concurrently with his main series The Enchanted City. Romare particularly notes that Nielsen works with delicate and accurately descriptive line etching 5 in the second half of The Abandoned City, whereas the first part of the series the industrial debris is characterised in the following terms: [Palle Nielsen] homes in on the ruins left behind after the disasters of Pandemonium, portraying sundered piping and smashed ventilation systems. They become the modern city s torn limbs and slashed arteries, evoking an unsettling effect similar to that of guts spilled in a bullring. 6 In addition to linking the imagery of The Abandoned City with another series from the same period, Pandemonium, Romare also believes that the series first part expresses an acerbic criticism of culture. This double approach can also be found in Gammelgaard. He, too, links The Abandoned City with the series belonging to the same era, Pandemonium and Necropolis, while also connecting the 1973 etchings to a dawning social awareness of the impact of excessive consumption in the Western world, consumption which began to escalate in earnest in the early 1960s. 7 This means that the 1973 etchings become linked to the landfill as the ultimate metaphor of the excessive consumption of a mass civilisation. 8 Gammelgaard is, however, also aware that The Abandoned City presents certain difficulties in terms of interpretation; these difficulties are related to the iconographic split in the series where the first part seems to address abandoned things, while the second part refers to abandoned or empty spaces. According to Gammelgaard, this means that spectators must relate to two very distinct and separate experiences of abandonment. 9 The final piece of literature to feature a mention of The Abandoned City is Rex book, in which three etchings (opus 138, 155, and 157) are reproduced. In keeping with the book s overall structure the only text accompanying the images is a fragment from Palle Nielsen s own, unpublished notes: The Abandoned City is about that which has already come to pass, about the space left behind after events have gone by nothing, an empty mould, the non-visible I gazed into something completely unknown and alien. 10 This condensed fragment can be associated with the theme of abandonment introduced in the title. The first part of the quotation points to the abandoned spaces that appear when an event is over. Such a perspective makes sense in relation to The Abandoned City, but it does not add significantly to the basic theme indicated in the title. The subsequent statements about an empty mold, the non-visible and the visionary overtones of I gazed are difficult to understand in relation to the series. The non-visible might be related to Nielsen s interest in the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who addresses the concepts of the visible and the invisible, but the connection here is most unclear. 11 This brief presentation of the scant literature about The Abandoned City not only says something about the series; it also makes it possible to observe some common features in the reception of Nielsen s work. First of all, the use of a fragment of Nielsen s text in connection with The Abandoned City serves as an example of how the work is often read through the artist s own texts. Romare, Gammelgaard, and Rex all refer to the fragment, either directly or indirectly, e.g. when Romare states that he [Palle Nielsen] has explained that The Abandoned City is about what has come to pass, about the space left behind when something is over, 12 or when Gammelgaard refers to the topic of the series as that which is left behind when you leave a place. 13 Here, no critical approach to the actual statement made in the text fragment is in evidence. Secondly, Romare and Gammelgaard 157 english version

158 Fig. 2 attempt to forge connections between The Abandoned City and the series that surround it. Romare considers the 1973 etchings alongside Pandemonium, and Gammelgaard groups The Abandoned City, Pandemonium, and Necropolis together as a trilogy about the decay and destruction of the city, primarily because these series are linked chronologically. 14 However, the depiction of decay evident in The Abandoned City differs from that of the adjacent series in at least two respects. First of all, as the title itself suggests, there are no people in The Abandoned City, and secondly there is a marked tension between how the series addresses the industrial debris and the urban landscapes. Both are atypical traits compared to series such as Necropolis and Pandemonium. Finally, the available literature also tries to read The Abandoned City as an expression of a heavy-handed cultural critique, as seen in Romare s associations of the torn limbs of the modern city and Gammelgaard s sense of perceiving a tale about industrialism s exploitation of the Earth s resources. 15 Yet, as the following will make clear, such descriptions do not fully capture The Abandoned City s special structure and ambiguous meaning. Industrial landscape The first part of The Abandoned City is characterised by featuring an abundance of debris and industrial fragments scattered in landscapes dominated by rocks, pebbles, and water. In what follows this landscape will be designated as an industrial landscape. The formats employed for this series of etchings are among the largest used by Palle Nielsen, but this does not permit an easier overview. 16 Rather, the etchings are enlarged sections of the same landscape, a landscape that cannot be taken in at a glance and whose composition and significance is not immediately revealed. Here, the initial mode of steadily progressing narrative has been replaced by a serial mode Fig. 3 english version 158

159 Fig. 4 of expression: the images seem to be variations on the decaying industrial fragments found in a single landscape. Most of the etchings share the compositional feature of having the terrain incline from the left to the right. This overall movement is accentuated by pipes and machine parts; they can be seen everywhere placed in toppled positions that make them look as if they might fall over to the right. One example of this can be seen in opus 133, where a punctured pipe is hanging above the abyss to the far right, or in opus 137, where a giant structure reminiscent of a ventilation system is precariously balanced in the background. Much of the industrial debris has also been depicted in a uniform manner in the different etchings. This is true of e.g. the ubiquitous black pipe openings seen in the characteristic undulating pipes (opus ) or the use of distinctive elements such as an aeroplane motor or turbine (opus 136 and 139). It appears, then, that these etchings depict variations on the same universe of abandoned things a universe characterised by a tension between static, abandoned landscapes and the impending fall of a range of twisted fragments. Despite the uniform composition and subject matter the first part of the series also shows some development. In opuses the varying depths seen in the etchings form a relatively consistent perspectivic space which is, however, dissolved in opuses 138 and 139. In opus 138 a number of different pipe formations rise out of something that may be water or smoke, but which is also mixed with rocks, stones, and bits of wreckage. Even though it is possible to Fig. 5 make out wreckage and pipes that are joined up or disappear behind each other, it is no longer possible to establish a single point of perspective. Rather, the images accentuate many different heterogenous grids and levels that join up or interweave without, however, logically forming part of the same space. A similar sense of dissolution can be 159 english version

160 observed in opus 139, where surrealistically interwoven and seemingly floating industrial debris destabilises perspective. Thus, it is possible to see an emerging dissolution of perspective in the series. Railway track, square The second part of The Abandoned City depicts a recognisably urban landscape that focuses on two specific urban spaces: railway tracks (opus 156 and 157) and squares (opuses 155 and 158). The railway track setting is depicted almost identically in opuses 156 and 157 with dangling overhead lines and houses on either side. In these etchings the vanishing point of the perspective appears to centre on a point located down between the tracks themselves. Here, the tracks and overhead lines are used to direct our gaze out of the city and to render explicit its prominent central perspective. The overhead lines continue out towards the horizon, stretching beyond the houses and forming their own, grid-like space that marks a difference between the tracks and their surroundings. It would appear that the city we look out from has no suburbs, industry, or organic countryside. There is, as Romare also notes, something eerie about this perspective centred on the railway tracks. 17 The central perspective, accentuated by the railway tracks, creates an illusion of accelerating speed as the distance between Fig. 6 the masts holding up the lines seems to grow ever shorter as they recede from view. This evokes a sense of depth that sucks you into the two-dimensional paper plane. Central perspective is also a dominant feature of opuses 155 and 158, where the square takes centre stage. In opus 155 the square is a space whose boundaries are suggested by a range of scattered buildings. Here, the square is partially obscured behind a three-storey tenement building placed in the foreground. To its right stands a dome-shaped building, and in the background the far sides of the square are marked out by large buildings in the middle and to the left. It seems as if these buildings were originally part of larger blocks or complexes, but that they are now strangely isolated. The terrain is entirely flat; its surface is made up of thin, horizontal lines a kind of grid imposed on the urban space, accentuating its geometry. In the foreground to the left and right we see the suggestion of a low pavement whose lines run parallel to the houses towards an explicit vanishing point on the horizon. The depth of the geometric space is further enhanced by two parallel lines extending from the etching s foreground out towards the vanishing point. When comparing opuses 155 and 158 one might think that the works show the same square viewed from different angles, just as you would think that opuses 156 and 157 show the same tracks. Closer inspection, however, reveal that the domed buildings are not identical; that this is not the same square. This is evident in e.g. the way that the square in opus 158, which leads up to a monumental church building, is clearly defined. To the left and right of the church two six-storey buildings demarcate the sides of the square. Paper, rubble, and debris are strewn across most of the square even though there are no signs that these fragments come from the houses. The paper and rubble is accentuated by the perspective which, by taking its point of departure very close to the surface of the square, also emphasises the monumental qualities of the buildings and the high, toneless sky. A city of contrasts As we have seen, The Abandoned City falls into two distinct parts, thereby making it difficult to make any overarching statements about the series. Even so it is necessary to maintain our focus on the issue of how one might understand the series overall staging of the city s abandonment and decay. Let us first consider the series graphic presentation of the three urban spaces. Even though the etchings constitute a single series, the two parts employ widely different graphic modes of expression. In the first part of the series Nielsen works with rich detailing and strong contrasts in the densely described picture planes. In opus 133 the slanting terrain is constructed out of a plethora of local contrasts between areas of clearly distinct lines, where the white paper remains visible, and black shadow-like spots with dense hatching. 18 The result is a richly modulated and complex mode of depiction that, particularly in opus 138, contributes to destabilising the sense of perspective. Here, the dark areas in the upper middle seem to suggest a black space behind the collage of pipes and rocky landscapes that undermine their position. In the second part of The Abandoned City the etching technique is used in a very different manner. Opuses are characterised by sharply delineated lines and a subdued tonality restricted to shades of light grey. The only exceptions are the black windows seen in the tenement block and the domed building in opus 155 and the church building in opus 158. A english version 160

161 contrast between the façades and windows, seemingly revealing a darkness or emptiness inside the houses, makes us question the realism of the depiction. By etching the façade areas only very briefly during the etching process Nielsen achieves the effect of having them look as if they are hit by light of varying intensity from all sides at once. This makes the city appear bathed in an almost scenic light, which in turn helps elevate the depiction of the tracks and the square, transforming these spaces into an unreal urban universe. One might say that in the first part of The Abandoned City Nielsen employs the etching technique to depict a complex, richly modulated and at times destabilised space, whereas in the second part of the series he accentuates and overexposes almost in a photographic sense the city s rigid geometric structure. Having considered the graphic differences between the two parts of The Abandoned City, it is also possible to point to a range of differences at a motivic level; differences that have been indirectly addressed in the above. Whereas opuses seem to address a fragmented, abstract, chaotic space that distorts perspective, opuses are dominated by a panoramic, figurative, rational space governed by a central perspective. There are, however, also certain traits that link up all the works in the series. First of all there is the theme of abandonment, which is introduced in the overarching title that binds the series together. As Gammelgaard has observed, the series addresses two different kinds of abandonment: Opuses are about abandoned things, and opuses are about abandoned spaces. 19 In both cases the concept of abandonment seems to refer to a loss of function for the urban and industrial spaces alike. The objects portrayed in the first part of the series can be said to testify to an industrial area that has been abandoned and hence become dysfunctional. The sense of abandonment also manifests itself in the second half of the series where the unnaturally black windows seem to reveal the fact that the buildings are empty and uninhabited. Abandonment also rears its head in opus 158, where the square in front of the monumental church has gone from being a central meeting place for people to being covered in paper, stones, and rubble. Fig. 7 Even though none of the buildings seem damaged they have lost their vital function: to house and shelter life. Another element that binds the series together is the way in which it addresses various forms of limitless, destabilising spaces. As we have seen, the first part of the series is a veritable tour de force of landscapes whose boundaries grow increasingly uncertain. In the second part of the series the destabilising effect arises by virtue of the etchings perspective and their orientation towards a vanishing point on the horizon; in all four etchings the vanishing point has been positioned in the same place, causing the images to become four variations on the same perspective. The strong accentuation of the vanishing point shows that these urban spaces have an endless depth that can, in a certain sense, be said to break down the barriers of the spaces. This lack of boundaries ties in with Romare s description of how the joined-up perspective of the tracks [hurls] us far out into the unknown. 20 The limitless space is a fundamental condition of The Abandoned City series in its entirety, regardless of whether such a space is created by the endless depth of central perspective or by the formless spaces that mark a break with logical boundaries. Nielsen and Piranesi In spite of the argument outlined above it is still possible to raise the contention that the two parts of The Abandoned City are so different that they cannot constitute a single series. Indeed, Gammelgaard believes that the series is a retrospective construct that Nielsen may only have grouped together as late as in However, the merging of the two parts of the series is not simply a result of an whimsical categorisation carried out by Nielsen at a late point of his career. First of all, Gammelgaard s claim is erroneous, for the series is in fact grouped together in Romare s inventory from the late 1980s, and there is nothing that precludes this categorisation from dating all the way back to the 1970s. 22 Secondly, the series seemingly arbitrary juxtaposing of blown-up close-ups and urban views is laden with greater significance than is immediately apparent. This becomes clear if you seek to understand The Abandoned City in relation to two series by Giovanni Battista Piranesi appearing in a volume published in 1750 under the title Opere Varie di Architettura, Prospettive, Grotteschi, Antichita. What follows will demonstrate how a link can be established between The Abandoned City and Opere Varie; a link based on a range of similarities in terms of structure, 161 english version

162 motifs, and meaning between the two works. It is, however, important to state that such similarities are not necessarily based on intentional references to Piranesi on the part of Palle Nielsen even though Nielsen was presumably familiar with Opere Varie; a central excerpt of the work a suite of four so-called grotesques can be found in the Royal Collection of Graphic Art, where Nielsen was a frequent visitor. A first edition of Opere Varie can also be found at Danmarks Kunstbibliotek, the library at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where Nielsen was a professor during the period Let us begin by taking a closer look at Piranesi s work. The title Opere Varie proclaims that the series contains various works, and indeed the 27 consecutively numbered sheets include a reworked version of the series Prima Parte Di Architetture, E Prospettive Inventate (1743), 23 the so-called Grotteschi suite ( ), and a couple of prints that might be viewed as the precursors of the imaginary prison scenes known as Carceri d invenzione from Even though Opere Varie has a title page signalling that the individual works are presented here as a single series, Piranesi literature has mostly addressed them separately. However, the following analysis takes as a fundamental premise that Opere Varie should be viewed as a single work in which the juxtaposition of the Prima Parte and the Grotteschi suite is of particular significance; these two parts of Opere Varie contrast imaginary views and perspective-distorting close-ups in a manner similar to that found in The Abandoned City. Prima Parte is dominated by perspectival views through urban spaces monumental pillared halls, atrium yards, bridges, and squares whose architecture can be described as a mixture of ancient Roman and Baroque, a style that Piranesi created himself, as is indicated by the word Inventate in the title. 25 An example of a prospect from Prima Parte can serve to illustrate Piranesi s distinctive staging of the city. In Campidoglio antico we see one of the seven hills of Rome, the Capitol, and in Piranesi s rendition the site takes the form of an imaginary square encompassing different levels with steps, temples, obelisks, and a triumphal arch. In the 1743 version of Prima Parte the etching s full title was Forma ideale del Campidoglio antico, which, as has been noted by Richard Wendorf, illustrates how these prospects can be read as an ideal form inspired by the past. He elaborates: The buildings Piranesi offered his public were not, strictly speaking, replicas or precise reconstructions of other structures [ ] What he offered, rather, were contemporary conceptions that, while they may be inspired by and blend in harmoniously with other edifices, would stake out their own claim to monumentality in the Rome of the 1740s. 26 In order to understand Piranesi s staging of the city in Prima Parte it is important to be aware of how he takes his point of departure in Rome s ancient architecture which, to him, represents an acme of civilisation that far surpasses ancient Greek architecture. 27 By using elements from the real-life city of Rome, combining them in new ways and transforming them beyond all recognition, Piranesi ends up not only portraying Rome; he also turns the Roman heritage into an ideal or vision for the Eternal City s present and future. 28 At this point one might suggest the first link to the four views or prospects from the second half of The Abandoned City (opuses ); the way they are staged can in many respects be compared to Piranesi s work. Piranesi s and Nielsen s prospects are both characterised by using the etching technique to depict a range of extremely geometric urban spaces in painstaking detail. They both work with perspectivic views through the city that can often be mirrored along a central axis, and which are arranged around one or more vanishing points. Furthermore, in Piranesi s and Nielsen s work the city is not a place whose function is to house life. Even though human figures appear in Piranesi, they are not integrated into the city they do not inhabit it. Rather, they serve as staffage, as props that indicate and establish the monumental scale of the architecture, mediating the experience of such architecture to those who view the etching. 29 Thus, one might say that in Piranesi and Nielsen alike the prospects are staged in a manner that transforms the urban landscape and its architecture from a place where you live to a place where architecture is the primary focus. However, the most important parallel between Nielsen s and Piranesi s works is this: Just as the prospects in The Abandoned City are juxtaposed with a decaying industrial landscape, the prospects in Prima Parte also have a counterpoint in the form of a range of scenes of decay in Opere Varie, specifically the Grotteschi suite. The suite consists of four large etchings bearing the subtitles The Skeletons, The Triumphal Arch, Nero s Tomb, and The Monumental Tablet. Those etchings all depict scenes of ruin and decay in which objects from the realms of nature and culture tombstones, toppled pillars, ancient statues, bones, skeletons, ivy, snakes, etc. are arranged in a single image. With their chaotic feel these grotesques are markedly different from Prima Parte s geometric spaces. This is also apparent from the graphic mode of expression, which is far more experimental in this suite than in the Prima Parte. 30 In the suite the strictly geometrical space typical of the Prima Parte prospects is replaced by a space in which the central perspective is dissolved. Not only do the objects portrayed meet and merge; the various spaces in the etchings are also dissolving and merging to form a hazy whole. An example would be Nero s Tomb where the background with its dilapidated buildings, rocks, and trees is not part of the same space as the main motif in the foreground (an open sarcophagus); the two motifs are divided by a mist. Overall, then, the geometric and monumental qualities of Prima Parte is contrasted with a focus on decay and a dissolution of space in the Grotteschi suite. Here we can once again establish a connection to The Abandoned City, this time to the first part of the series (opuses ), which is similarly characterised by an expressive etching technique, a focus on decaying landscapes and a dissolution of perspective which as is the case in the Grotteschi suite provides a contrast to the prospects. In what follows, this thought-provoking structural coincidence will form the starting point for exploring the significance hidden in the contrast of prospects and grotesques in Nielsen and Piranesi. english version 162

163 Social Critique and Ideal In order to investigate the relationship between prospects and grotesques we must first clarify what these concepts mean. Prospectus is Latin for view, and within the arts the term denotes a perspectival image of a landscape here, an urban landscape. According to Corinna Höper the designation Grotteschi in Piranesi s work can be compared to capricci, i.e. architectural fantasies, often based on decaying or ruined elements, that combine architecture in ways which destabilise the spectator s gaze. 31 This is precisely what we also see in Nielsen, where the destabilising effect takes place in The Abandoned City s collage-like and boundary-less space. One can also speak of a destabilising of meaning in both Piranesi and Nielsen. In The Abandoned City and Opere Varie the spectator is confronted with a range of recognisable fragments: tombs and pillars or sewage pipes and machine parts. Yet even though these fragments are presented under the overall heading of the series, which seems to indicate that they relate to its meaning, the exact nature of this meaning remains a mystery. Part of the enigmatic qualities of the grotesques resides in how they undermine the spectator s attempts at interpretation. As regards Piranesi s Grotteschi suite this relationship has, over the course of time, given rise to a range of different and frequently contradictory readings that run the gamut from emphasising their possible vanitas symbolism to cosmological and mystical interpretations. 32 At first glance the iconography of the suite points towards themes of transience and mortality, but it has proven difficult to construct a consistent vanitas reading. For this very reason, it has been pointed out that by virtue of its enigmatic nature, the Grotteschi suite refers equally much to the transience of interpretation as to the fleeting nature of life itself. 33 Viewed through this lens Piranesi s work not only points to the melancholy introspection prompted by being confronted with vanitas symbolism, but also to an interpretational melancholy arising out of a failure to decode the images. 34 Such interpretational melancholy can also be tentatively linked to The Abandoned City. The crumbling, wrecked debris in the first part of the series may not only testify to an abandoned industrial area whose fragments might symbolise the passing of all things, but also to the futility inherent in our attempts at understanding these scenes as part of a wider context. Having said that, it is important to establish that this pessimistic interpretation of the grotesques is not the only possible reading. As regards Piranesi s work Francesco Nevola recently pointed out that the iconography of the Grotteschi suite can be linked to the Greek poet Hesiod s (circa BCE) 800-line poem Works and Days. 35 Without delving into the minutiae of Nevola s argument, the consequence of the link between Piranesi and Hesiod is that the Grotteschi suite can be viewed as a reinterpretation of Hesiod s so-called Five Ages a mythical tale of mankind s fall from a Golden Age civilisation to increasingly lower and more morally corrupt stages: Piranesi like Hesiod identifies man s greatest epoch as an era lost in the remote antique past, and rather than accepting his own age as an era of Christian triumph as Vico postulates in his Scienza Nuova Piranesi with this image bitterly criticises the present as a time ruled by envy, violence and injustice. 36 To Piranesi the Golden Age is in the past while the present is corrupted. There is, then, an aspect of social critique hidden within the Grotteschi suite, as Piranesi according to Nevola uses vanitas symbolism for a kind of critical meditation on contemporary Rome. Here, the transience of human life or of readings are not the only themes addressed; the work is also concerned with the decay of contemporary civilisation. In this sense the decay seen in the Grotteschi suite is both physical and moral. Here, too, it is possible to compare Piranesi s work and The Abandoned City. Even though the first part of the series does not contain elements with such overt symbolic significance as tombs and skeletons, the industrial debris in the barren, rocky landscape can nevertheless be viewed as a kind of cultural critique. However, the main point of interest is not the fact that The Abandoned City contains such criticism. Only when the ambiguous underlying structure of this cultural critique in Piranesi is compared to that of Nielsen does its meaning truly emerge. Let us return here to the fundamental tension between grotesques and prospects. Once again, this peculiar structure comes into play as we unfold the cultural critique in Nielsen and Piranesi. While the Grotteschi suite represents a criticism of culture in Opere Varie, the prospects of Prima Parte can be said to offer an alternative or ideal that contemporary civilisation should pursue. In Piranesi, then, the fundamental structure of his cultural critique is that the deplorable state of his present civilisation is criticised in the grotesques, but he also offers a monumental alternative: a perfect, ideal vision for resurrecting the Eternal City while drawing inspiration from Roman antiquity. Thus, Piranesi not only presents a diagnosis; he also offers up a cure. If we turn to The Abandoned City one might say that a shift has occurred in the relationship between the cultural criticism of the grotesques and the ideals presented by the prospects. Insofar as the first part of the series represents a sombre criticism of contemporary culture, it does not find a correspondingly clear resolution in the prospectuses of the second half of the series. In Nielsen, the resolution is far more ambiguous. As the analysis of opuses demonstrated these prospects depict abandoned spaces in a city that appears to have lost its function as city. The prospects are characterised by absence an absence of people and an absence of environs. As was noted in my close reading of Nielsen s images above, it seems as if the buildings were originally part of larger blocks or complexes but are now left strangely isolated. A sense of emptiness and a disturbing lack of boundaries pervades all. The square, usually a place for gathering in any city, is empty, as are the railway tracks, the city s supply system. The very houses seem hollow and empty. Having become isolated, these houses have lost their function and become placed within a brightly lit urban scene, and it is difficult to view them as an ideal alternative in contrast to the decay of The Abandoned City s first part. They stand before us, ambiguous, empty, and silent. In Piranesi s Opere Varie the architecture of Roman antiquity forms the point of reference for the ideal city, the foundations of a future Rome. Palle Nielsen s work does not possess the same notion of identification with a glorious past. The 163 english version

164 architecture depicted in The Abandoned City can be described as European Historicism a category that includes e.g. many of Copenhagen s biggest institutions. It also encompasses many of the tenement blocks that followed in the wake of the wave of urbanisation in the second half of the 19 th century, e.g. to house the new working class. The main motif of opus 155 might be such a block, whereas opus 158 shows a domed building that shares certain traits and features with The Marble Church (Frederik s Church) in Copenhagen. Such buildings can be said to represent a memory of the industrialisation movement and the flowering of modern Europe before the horrors of the world wars in the 20 th century, and as such they can be regarded as alternatives to the decay exemplified by the grotesques in the first part of The Abandoned City. They may represent the optimistic outlook on the future that suffered a fatal setback with the outbreak of World War I, and in that sense they provide a nostalgic comment on the artist s own disillusioned time. If, however, we take a closer look at how the prospects are staged, one might argue that The Abandoned City represents a memory of a city after a war situation rather than before. In opus 155 large parts of the tenement block are gone leaving only a corner standing and in opus 158 the domed building is isolated while the square is covered in paper and rubble as if a section of the city not visible in the etching lies in ruins. These abandoned buildings could be read as a city after the bombs have fallen and after the ruined houses have been torn down and removed. In this context it is tempting to incorporate Nielsen s own experience of the ruins of Hamburg after World War II, as has indeed been done by several scholars. 37 Pointing to such a parallel would, however, cloud the fact that in Nielsen s work nothing indicates that the city is a geographically specific city referring to a personal experience. Rather, The Abandoned City s anonymity seems to raise the prospects out of the realm of concrete experience, thereby making their abandonment a universal urban matter. It is also important to emphasise that the series does not conclusively show a war-torn city. The reason behind the abandonment and the isolation of the houses remains an open question. Obviously, however, the ambiguity means that the prospects cannot embody a monumental ideal which contrasts with cultural critique of the grotesques in the same manner as Piranesi s Opere Varie. Quite the contrary: the tension between grotesques and prospects remains unresolved in The Abandoned City and at the same time the series continues to fascinate and challenge the spectator s interpretative gaze. 1 thanks are due to The Danish Institute for Art and Science in Rome and to associate professor Henrik Reeh, University of Copenhagen, for having supported my work on this article and on Palle Nielsen s work in general. 2 See e.g. Kristian Romare: Den fortryllede by. En bog om Palle Nielsen, Copenhagen 1990, p. 8, or Michael Wivel (eds.): Palle Nielsen in memoriam, Kgs. Lyngby 2002, pp. 14f. 3 Cf. Romare 1990, p. 273, Jørgen Gammelgaard, J.: Palle Nielsen. Temaer in hans værk, Humlebæk 2006, p. 245, and Jytte Rex: Palle Nielsen. Timebog, København 2008, There are also eight drawings and four sketches at the Clausens Kunsthandel gallery in Copenhagen that can with some degree of certainty be linked to The Abandoned City as preliminary studies. This material will not, however, be included in what follows. 4 Romare, 1990, p. 167f, Gammelgaard, 2006, pp , Rex, 2008, p Romare, 1990, p Ibid., p Gammelgaard, 2006, p. 127f. 8 Ibid., p Ibid., p Rex, 2008, p In the text Sort lys og hvidt mørke ( Black Light and White Darkness ) from 1990 Nielsen paraphrases passages from Merleau-Ponty s essay L Oeil et l Esprit, but it is debatable whether his understanding of this essay reaches beyond a sympathy for Merleau-Ponty s central positioning of art as a locus where our perception of the world is marked with particular clarity. 12 Romare, 1990, p Gammelgaard, 2006, p Ibid., p Romare, 1990, p. 168, and Gammelgaard, 2006, p For example, opus 139 is 345 x 310mm. A typical Nielsen etching is approximately half that size. 17 Cf. Romare, 1990, p It is difficult to agree with Gammelgaard s claim that Nielsen has, generally, pursued a strategy where [t]he industrial debris has spent very little time in the acid, causing it to appear pale and whispery.. Gammelgaard, 2006, p Ibid., p Romare, 1990, p Gammelgaard, 2006, p Jf. Romare, 1990, p For a treatment of the series, see Corinna Höper et al (eds.): Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Die poetische Wahrheit. Radierungen, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, pp Also see Francesco Nevola: Giovanni Battista Piranesi: the Grotteschi, Rom 2009, pp See Nevola, 2009, and Höper, 1999, pp Richard Wendorf: Piranesi s Double Ruin, Eighteen-Century Studies, vol. 34, 2, 2001, pp , Ibid., p Cf. Carsten Thau: Piranesis rummets agoni (working paper), Aarhus 1992, p Michel Makarius: Ruins, Paris 2004, p. 98. Also see Wendorf, 2001, p. 163, and Cara Denison et al (eds.): Exploring Rome: Piranesi and His Contemporaries, New York 1994, p. xxxvi. 29 Wendorf, 2001, p. 176, Thau, 1992, p See Höper, 1999, p. 120, and Myra Nan Rosenfeld: Picturesque to Sublime: Piranesi s Stylistic and Technical Development from 1740 to 1761, in M. Bevilacqua et al. (eds.): The Serpent and the Stylus. Essays on G.B. Piranesi, London 2006, p Höper, 1999, 120. As the present article is intended as a comparative close analysis of Nielsen and Piranesi, space does not permit further delving into the origin and historical development of the ruin motif. For a good Danish introduction on the subject, see Maria Fabricius Hansen: Ruinbilleder (Copenhagen 1999). Also see Chris Fischer: Ruinmani (Copenhagen 1995); Michael S. Roth et al (eds.): Irresistible Decay: Ruins Reclaimed (Los Angeles 1997); Michel Makarius: Ruins (Paris 2004); Robert Ginsberg: The Aesthetics of Ruins (Amsterdam 2004); Julia Hell and Andreas Schönle (eds.): Ruins of Modernity (Durham 2010). 32 Ibid., p. 121, and Rosenfeld, 2006, p. 86ff. 33 See Höper, 1999, p Compare to Thau, 1992, p See Nevola, 2009, p. 185ff. 36 Ibid., p Nevola elaborates on the consequences of this reading p. 201ff. 37 See e.g. Gammelgaard, 2006, p. 126f, or Nina Damsgaard: Ruin Vision. Ruinmotivet i sidste halvdel af det 20. årh., Vejle 2008, p. 20. english version 164