Art and the German Bourgeoisie : Alfred Lichtwark and Modern Painting in Hamburg, 1886-1914

Heino Rose of the Hamburg Staatsarchiv was a friendly and enthusiastic guide to the sources on Lichtwark, and I was very glad for his assistance. At an early stage of the work, Hideko Secrest read over selected chapters and suggested important stylistic changes, and Helmut Walser Smith asked some tough questions about Lichtwark's views on art and the nation, forcing me to think again about my approach. Andreas Pickel of Trent University has also checked over several difficult translations from the German. My thanks to all these friends. I am especially grateful to my colleague Joan Sangster, whose encouragement and advice during the long process of writing this book kept me going at tough times. For the University of Toronto Press, editors Kristen Pederson and Judy Williams provided expert advice; furthermore, several anonymous readers who evaluated my work recommended changes for further research and revision that strengthened the manuscript. I wish, too, to express my appreciation for my first university mentor and teacher, Modris Eksteins, who intro-x Acknowledgments duced me to German cultural history at the University of Toronto and inspired my passion for German art and modern German history. When I was a doctoral student at Yale and began investigating the subject of Alfred Lichtwark and modern art in Hamburg, I visited Peter Paret at the Institute for Advanced Study to ask for his opinion as to this topic's feasibility. From that point on he became a crucial source of criticism, knowledge, and advice: he read thesis chapters and suggested many changes, and through his own exemplary work he showed me how art could be used as a document of the past. I am very grateful for his support and for his superb guidance at a critical time in my work. Finally, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Peter Gay. From the beginning of my long journey from graduate student to professional historian he has offered encouragement for this topic, carefully following the progress of my ideas. His thorough comments on the various drafts of my thesis were instrumental in the development of my argument, and his stylistic suggestions helped me to refine my writing. Furthermore Gay's innovative work on the bourgeois experience of the nineteenth century inspired me to rethink the history of fin-de-siecle European culture and society. Most of all, I am thankful for the excellent direction he gave to this study over many years.

In this new study of art in fin-de-siècle Hamburg, Carolyn Kay examines the career of the city's art gallery director, Alfred Lichtwark, one of Imperial Germany's most influential museum directors and a renowned cultural critic. A champion of modern art, Lichtwark stirred controversy among the city's bourgeoisie by commissioning contemporary German paintings for the Kunsthalle by secession artists and supporting the formation of an independent art movement in Hamburg influenced by French impressionism. Drawing on an extensive amount of archival research, and combining both historical and art historical approaches, Kay examines Lichtwark's cultural politics, their effect on the Hamburg bourgeoisie, and the subsequent changes to the cultural scene in Hamburg.

Kay focuses her study on two modern art scandals in Hamburg and shows that Lichtwark faced strong public resistance in the 1890s, winning significant support from the city's bourgeoisie only after 1900. Lichtwark's struggle to gain acceptance for impressionism highlights conflicts within the city's middle class as to what constituted acceptable styles and subjects of German art, with opposition groups demanding a traditional and 'pure' German culture. The author also considers who within the Hamburg bourgeoisie supported Lichtwark, and why. Kay's local study of the debate over cultural modernism in Imperial Germany makes a significant contribution both to the study of modernism and to the history of German culture.

In this new study of art in fin-de-siècle Hamburg, Carolyn Kay examines the career of the city's art gallery director, Alfred Lichtwark, one of Imperial Germany's most influential museum directors and a renowned cultural critic. A champion of modern art, Lichtwark stirred controversy among the city's bourgeoisie by commissioning contemporary German paintings for the Kunsthalle by secession artists and supporting the formation of an independent art movement in Hamburg influenced by French impressionism. Drawing on an extensive amount of archival research, and combining both historical and art historical approaches, Kay examines Lichtwark's cultural politics, their effect on the Hamburg bourgeoisie, and the subsequent changes to the cultural scene in Hamburg. Kay focuses her study on two modern art scandals in Hamburg and shows that Lichtwark faced strong public resistance in the 1890s, winning significant support from the city's bourgeoisie only after 1900. Lichtwark's struggle to gain acceptance for impressionism highlights conflicts within the city's middle class as to what constituted acceptable styles and subjects of German art, with opposition groups demanding a traditional and 'pure' German culture. The author also considers who within the Hamburg bourgeoisie supported Lichtwark, and why. Kay's local study of the debate over cultural modernism in Imperial Germany makes a significant contribution both to the study of modernism and to the history of German culture "In this new study of art in fin-de-siecle Hamburg, Carolyn Kay examines the career of the city's art gallery director, Alfred Lichtwark, one of Imperial Germany's most influential museum directors and a renowned cultural critic." "Kay focuses her study on two modern art scandals in Hamburg and shows that Lichtwark faced strong public resistance in the 1890s, winning significant support from the city's bourgeoisie only after 1900. Lichtwark's struggle to gain acceptance for impressionism highlights conflicts within the city's middle class as to what constituted acceptable styles and subjects of German art, with opposition groups demanding a traditional and 'pure' German culture. The author also considers who within the Hamburg bourgeoisie supported Lichtwark, and why. Kay's local study of the debate over cultural modernism in Imperial Germany makes a significant contribution both to the study of modernism and to the history of German culture."--Résumé de l'éditeur Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 11 1. Alfred Lichtwark and Modern German Art 19 2. The Petersen Portrait: The Failure of Modern Art as Monument in Hamburg 51 3. The Scandal in 1896 over the 'New Tendency' 80 4. Lichtwark and the Society of Hamburg's Patrons of Fine Art (the Gesellschaft Hamburgischer Kunstfreunde) 110 Conclusion 127 Notes 133 Bibliography 157 Index 169