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Historical Grammar of the Visual Arts by Aloïs Riegl; Jacqueline E. Jung;
Benjamin Binstock
Article in Studies in the Decorative Arts · April 2006
DOI: 10.2307/40663281
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126 Studiesin theDecorative 2006
ArtslSpring-Summer
construction wheretechnicalaspectsare not visiblein the mostlyanonymousnineteenth-century blacksmiths' work.
associatedimages. Forexample,a fireplacefendersoldfor$5,060,a pairofdoor
Thereis littleto findfaultwithin Fennimore's efforts. hinges in the formof snakes with tulip bud terminals
As a proponentoftheneed to appreciateprocess,however, brought$5,750, and a heart-shapedskewerholder with
I could wishtherewas morevisualand historicalinforma- cutworkdecorationcommandedan impressive$11,500.
tionon forming techniques,as foundin Fennimore's previ- FourlotswerepurchasedbyFennimoreforthe Winterthur
ous,companionvolume,Metalwork inEarlyAmerica:Copper collection.These sale resultsclearlyreflectthe public's
and Its AL·ysfromtheWinterthur Collection.The frequent growing knowledge and appreciationofsuperiorexamplesof
references to rollingmills,mold-making, and puddlecasting artisticallydesignedutilitarianpieces. The messagehere,
throughout thistextmeritfurther explanationthroughthe whichholdstrueforanycollectingfield,is thatqualitywill
use ofperiodgraphics. The one-pageglossary couldbe con- alwayshold itsvalue,and itbehoovesthepotentialbuyerto
siderably expandedto covera hostoffabrication and deco- becomea trueconnoisseur.
rativetermsembeddedin the text,and to includetopics In his foreword,
theauthorconfesses he did not always
suchas chasing,engraving, and patination,to name a few. have a fondnessforiron.Fennimorehas successfully forged
If the readerhas anydoubtregarding the relevanceof ahead,however,and, by the conclusionof the book,con-
theinformation presented throughoutIronat Winterthur, he vincinglyhammeredhome his new-foundenthusiasmfor
or she need look no further than the resultsof the recent thisfunctional and fanciful
material.As a result,thereader,
auctionof the JamesC. SorberCollectionof 694 lots of too, is drawnto thisrivetingsubject.
wroughtironobjects,whichtook place in Downingtown,
Pennsylvania, in May 2005. This greatlyanticipatedand ]ean M. Burks
well-publicized sale drewtheattentionofcollectors, dealers, Curatorof DecorativeArts
and blacksmithsalike and commandedrecordpricesfor ShelburneMuseum,Shelburne,Vermont
NOTE
1. ReviewedbyJeanM. Burksin Studiesin theDecorative
Arts11, no. 1 (Fall-Winter2003-2004): 131-32.
AloisRiegl,HistoricalQrammar
oftheVisual Gruppenporträt (DutchGroupPortraiture, publishedin 1902
Arts, trans.JacquelineE. Jung,forewordBenjaminBin* as an article). AlthoughRiegl's theoriesof art initially
stock.New York: Zone Books, distr.byMIT Press,Cam* focusedon the decorativearts,theyevolvedto encompass
bridge,2004 (1st pub. in German,Vienna, 1966). 495 all visualexpression, an achievementeven moreimpressive
pp., 30 b/wills., index.$36.95. today.1In his professional and scholarlylife,Riegltherefore
participatednotonlyin thefounding ofthedisciplineofart
Overthelastcentury thewritings ofAlois Riegl(1858- historybut also in whatwe wouldnow call the historyof
1905) have challengedand stimulated arthistoriansof all decorativeartand design.
theoreticalstripes.To somehe is a formalistwho grounded Initiallya curatoroftextilesat theAustrianMuseumof
arthistoryin themethodsofvisualanalysis;forothershe is Artand Industry, Rieglbeganworkon Historical Grammar of
an innovatorin therealmofartistic perception;to manyhe theVisualArtsafterbecominga fullprofessor ofarthistory at
broadenedthe otherwisenarrowboundariesof arthistory; theUniversity ofVienna.As BenjaminBinstockexplainsin
and,finally, to a fewhiswritings
disturbingly, embodyethnic his helpfulforeword, Riegl'sappointment to the university
andculturaltheoriesthatfedintothoseoftheFascistperiod. markeda broadeningof his horizonsand ambitions.Riegl
Nonetheless,all would agreeon the importanceand drafted thefirst versionofHistoricalGrammar duringa leave
influenceof Riegl's intellectualachievements.Scholars ofabsencein 1897 and a yearlaterpresentedhis ideasin a
would concede, I think,that he presentedstartlingnew lecturecourseofthesametitle,thenotesforwhicharenow
ideasin his threemajorworks:Stilfragen (ProblemsofStyle, knownas the seconddraft.Both draftswerepublishedin
1893),a history ofornament; Kunstindustrie 1966 and are now available in English,thanksto Zone
Die Spätrömische
(Late Roman Art Industry,1901), and Das Holländische Booksand theefforts ofthetranslatorJacqueline Jung.2 Jung
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BookReviews 111
presentsthemin theirentirety, allowingus to experience subdividesthe "elements"into two categories,however:
directlyRiegl's compressedand streamlinednotes about "Motifs"and "Formand Surface."The difference between
whathe termedthewillofart(Kunstwollen), thethreestages the two is hard to grasp,though"motif corresponds to
of humandevelopment, and propermethodsof analyzing content(the "what"of the artwork)while the "formand
artisticcontentand form. surface"are the form(or "how") of the art.Yet the separa-
The inspiration forRiegl'sprojectcamefromcolleagues tion betweencontentand formbecomesblurredwhenwe
in the fieldof linguistics, who weretracingdifferent Ian- learnthatthe motifsthemselves(the content)can possess
guagesback to originalsources.As the titlesuggests, Riegl two different artisticstyles:a symmetrical, staticone, or a
feltthat he could providea "Grammar"forartisticlan- moving,organicone. Each styleis linked to a different
guages,showingtheircommonlineage.Justas linguists used content,so thatinorganic motifs,suchas crystals,displaythe
specificrootswithinlanguage(phonemes)to discoverpat- symmetrical style,while livingmotifs(plants,animals,and
ternsof linguistic evolution,so too could arthistorians use humans)appearin an organicstyle.According to Riegl'ssys-
visualelementscommonto painting, sculpture, architecture, tem,therefore, thecontentofart,be itan arabesque ora group
anddecorativeartto revealtheirsharedprinciples ofartistic portrait,is a motif,which in turnis renderedin eithera
development.Both draftsof Historical Grammarfollowa symmetrical or an organicstyle.Finally, Rieglconnectsthese
similarexpositionof the material,intendedto reveal the stylesand motifs to his threehistorical stages,explaining that
hiddenlaws governingartisticstyles.The differences be- antiquity blendedsymmetrical motifs withslightlymovingor-
tweenthe two are also quite revealing,however,exposing ganicones;thatmonotheism turned towardinorganic symmet-
faultlinesin Riegl'sproject,which,I wouldargue,led to the whilethemodernerahasassumed
ricalstyles; themostorganic
finalabandonment of the project.3Both draftsare already ofstyles,reveling innature's flawsand imperfections. Thusthe
cursory in natureand anysummary runstheriskofreducing motifis alreadya carrier ofcontentand style.
themto skeletalhistories. Withthisreservation in mind,let Whatthenis leftforthe"FormandSurface" elements to
us now turnto the draftsthemselves. do?Partoftheproblem is thatRieglhas analyzed motifs solely
In the introductions to both drafts, Riegl assertsthat in terms ofaxialsymmetry, abstraction,andmovement. What
theultimatesourceofartistic creativity humandesireto
is a is lackingfromsuch analysesis the three-dimensionality of
compete with nature. Men and women do not wish to materialobjects - theirvisualrendering in space and depth.
replicate it, however, but attemptto createin a manner The sectionon "Formand Surface"is meantto integrate a
similarto that of nature.Over time,the humanurgeto reading ofthree-dimensional formintotheprevious analyses of
competewithnaturechanges,with the evolutionof our periodstyles.In reality thissectiondoesmuchmore,layingout
innatereactionsto thenaturalworldand ourfeelingsabout Riegl'snewlydevelopedperceptual theoryofart.
it. It is withinour changingresponseto naturethatRiegl in on
Drawing part contemporary writings, Riegl ex-
findstheguidingprincipleofartistic development. Drawing plains that the visual impact of artdepends on the viewer's
on Hegeliannotionsof the spirit,Riegl explainsthatour physical relation to it.4 If the viewer stands faraway,he or
relationto natureis mediatedthroughour spiritualideas. shewillperceivetheplayoflightand darkacrossthesurface
Simplyput,humanhistoryfallsinto threestages,each of formonlyifthesehave beenaccentuatedwithstrongstrokes
whichis characterized byitsrelationto nature,itsvisionof and marks,whichminimizedelicatedetails.Conversely, art
God (or the gods), and its artisticstyle.Thus duringthe can withstand close inspectiononlyifitsspatialreliefand
periodof polytheism, artreflects a perfected physicalworld, depthpossessfinelydelineateddetail. Riegl proposesthat
peopled with human-like gods;duringmonotheism, artveers someartisticculturesfavora "near"viewwhileothersfavor
toward greater and
spiritualism abstraction; and in the modern a "far"view; the near view corresponds to a harder,more
era(from theRenaissance art
on), departs from the to
spiritual tactilestyle,whilethe "far"viewcorresponds to an impres-
focuson thetransient of
imperfectionsphysical matter. sionistic,optical style. Between these two Riegl situates
In both drafts,the remainingsectionssupportthis Classicalart,suitedto a middleviewbutable to withstand
initialinterpretation of human and artistichistory,with botha close and farvisualinspection.
examples culled from all periods,countries, and media.Riegl Withwonderful sensitivity, Rieglbroadensthenarrow
his
presents impressive array of visual material in a section canon of "great"artto include"decadent"Late Romanart
called "Elements," probablyintending these "elements" to and the"awkward" artoftheEgyptians. Riegl'sgreataccom-
functionas the visual equivalentsof phonemes.He then plishment here is to argue for an analysistiedto the
artistic
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128 Studiesin theDecorative 2006
Arts/Spring-Summer
cultureitself.Suddenly,artofdifferent periodsand cultures similarly,in architecture the contentis the entirebuilding.
can be appreciatedforwhat the artistsdid achieve- an While thestyleofmotifs withinthedecorativeartstendsto
optical,impressionistic styleforLate Romanartand a more alternatebetweena symmetrical renditionand a moreor-
symmetrical tactile one forEgyptian - ratherthancriticized ganic one, the of
style paintings, buildings,and sculptures
fornot meetingthe standardsof Classical art.Riegl'sper- cannotbe so easilyclassified. Much moresatisfactory were
ceptualinterpretation ofartistic three-dimensionalityallows thevisualcuesofdepthperception, presented in "Forms and
himto speakin a newwayaboutstylistic development. No Surfaces."With the creationof his new methodof formal
longer seen in a linear of
history progress and decline, analysis,Rieglmovedawayfromthe motifto focuson the
artisticstyleis describedas respondingto and expressing formalqualitiesof the finearts (painting,sculpture,and
thatculture'sviewoftheworld.It was thisaccomplishment architecture). In so doinghe abandonedboththemotifand
thatRieglexpandedon inhisnextwork,Spätrömische Kunst- the decorativearts.
a
industrie,spirited defense of Late Roman artin terms ofits The presentvolumeis thusof immensevalue to an
opticalqualities,itsformal of and
play light dark,foreground English-speaking public,revealingRiegl'stheoreticalambi-
and background, and reliefand depth. tionsandfailures, as wellas hisintellectualachievements. In
Yet howdoesRiegl'sinitialpresentation ofthe"motif an otherwise admirableEnglishrenditionofRiegl'sdifficult
with
fit thesenew perceptual analyses of "formandsurfaces"?
prose,however,Jungchooses to translateKunstgewerbe as
In theend it simplydoes not.The tensionbetween"motif "industrialart."The problemis that"industrial art"stresses
and "formand surfaces," I wouldargue,lies at the heartof identificationwith nineteenth-century manufacturing,
HistoricalGrammar, resulting in Riegl'sabandonment ofthe ratherthan the term'smorecommontranslationas "ap-
project.The conflictbetweenthesetwocompetingsystems plied" or "decorativeart."These othertermswould have
of analysesbecomesapparentwhen one looks at Riegl's mademuchmoresensegivenRiegl'sdesireto includeKunst-
earlierworks.The term"motif belongsto the worldof as one ofthefourarts(withpainting,
gewerbe sculpture, and
decorativeart,whereit usuallyindicatesa detailof a pat-
architecture), wherehe is clearlynot referring to contem-
tern,such as a lotusleaf,acanthusleaf,or arabesque.The
poraryindustrial production.It is to be regretted thatBin-
motifsimultaneously functions as theartisticcontent,how-
stockdoesnotaddresstheissueofthedrafts' unfinished state
ever: for instance,the motifof an acanthusfriezeis an
in hisprovocative foreword. Forhistorians ofdecorativeart,
acanthusleaf,whichalso represents the overallcontentof
HistoricalGrammar revealsthe fullextentof Riegl'sflawed
thefrieze.In Stilfragen,Rieglusedthemotifin precisely this
butgrandioseproject:an attemptto demonstrate theshared
manner.By tracingthe visualtransformations overtimeof
evolutionof all the arts.Perhapsunderstandably, Binstock
motifs witha stablecontent,Rieglwas able to establishthe
choosesinsteadto place Historical Grammar withinRiegl's
first
history of ornament.
oeuvreas a whole,seeingthesefragments as aesthetic"ru-
In HistoricalGrammar Rieglalso needsan artisticele-
a
ins," perfect embodiment of Riegl'schallenging andcheck-
ment,commonto all the arts,whose visual changeswill
eredlegacy.
revealthe guidingprinciplesof artisticstyle.As a solution
he seemssimplyto have extendedhisprevioususeof"motif
fromdecorativeartto all the arts.Fora narrative sculpture Isabelle Frank
or painting,however,the contentis a complexscene, of AssociateDean, Undergraduate
Programs
which one cannot take one part and know the whole; The New School,New YorkCity
NOTES
1. Riegl's two earliestworksare Altorientalische
Teppiche(Leipzig,1891), 2. Historische
Grammatikderbildenden
Künste,ed. Otto Pacht and Karl M.
Stilfragen:
Grundlegungen zureinerGeschichte
derOrnamentik (Berlin,1893; Swoboda (Graz-Cologne,1966).
publishedin English as Problemsof Style:Foundationsfor a Historyof 3. I touchon thisin my"Das körperlose
OrnamentimWerkvonOwenJones
Ornament,trans.EvelynKain, with annotations,glossary,and introduc-
und Alois Riegl,"in Die Rhetorik
desOrnaments,
ed. IsabelleFrankand Freia
tion by David Castriotaand prefaceby Henri Zerner[Princeton,1992]),
Härtung(Munich,2001), esp. 95-97.
and his little-knownVolkskunst, Hausfleiss,und Hausindustrie(Berlin,
1894). 4. An importantinfluence
seemsto be Adolfvon Hildebrand'sDas Problem
derFormin derbildenden
Kunst(Baden-Baden,1893).
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