Yale University, School of Architecture

MIT Press

Peter Behrens's Highest Kultursymbol, The Theater

Author(s): Stanford Anderson
Source: Perspecta, Vol. 26, Theater, Theatricality, and Architecture (1990), pp. 103-134
Published by: MIT Press on behalf of Perspecta.
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?o
eq

I. [Link]
ofthe
Vestibule German
SectionattheInternational
ofDecorative
Exposition
Arts,
Turin,
x902.

Peter
Behrens's
Highest TheTheater
Kultursymbol,
1O3

Stanford
Anderson

Friedrich
Nietzsche's
writings a brilliant
mounted attackonthepositivistic
science
andhistorywhich hesawasincreasingly
prominentintheentire
fabric
ofnine-
[Link] Nietzsche a better
envisioned German he
society,
reckonedthatthefirst ofthis
generation newsocietywouldhavetobebrought up
inthe"mighty that
truth" Germany notbuild
could a culture
onthebasisofits
positivistic Incontrast
education. tomereknowledgeaboutculture
(theGerman's
"for
desire theflowerwithout
theroot
orthestalk"), a
artand genuineculture
mustspring a
fromnaturalground:
Lifeitself
isakind
ofhandicraft
that belearned
must andindustriously,
thoroughly
anddiligently
practiced..."Give
melife,
andI willsoonmakeyoua culture
outof
it"-will maninthis
bethecryofevery newgeneration, will
andthey knoweach
other
[Link]
life: Nogodandno man willgive
it-onlytheir
youth.'
Attheendofthenineteenth
century,
manyyoung artists
readNietzsche;
his
influence
andthesearch
heencouraged
werenotrestricted
toGermany,"
butinterest

Thisessayisa slightly
revised
version
ofchapter "PeterBehrens
[Link], andtheNew
Architecture
ofGermany, Columbia
I900-I917," NewYorkCity,i968.
University,
I inthisparagraph
The material isdrawnfrom"The Use andAbuseofHistory" whichfirst
appearedin
I874in Thoughts
OutofSeason(New York:LiberalArtsPress,1949),pp.73-75.
2 vandeVelde,
[Link] 1902),p. 16where
(Leipzig:Seemann,
Laienpredigten theinfluence
of
Nietzscheintherevolutionaryartmovement in Belgiumaround1890is specifically Vande
mentioned.
inWeimar.
Veldelater(I903) designedtheNietzsche-Archiv

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\O
ed

?II
k0

inhiswritings wasespecially strongthere. Theyoung enthusiastsofthenewartistic

movement appropriated Nietzsche'scritiqueofwhatthey felt wasa fragmented,
incoherent andartless Theyfelt
civilization.3 thatthese negative characteristics
were
revealedina divorce oftheartist from societyandthatthedominance ofeasel
paintingandindependent sculpture,meant forisolated
contemplation ina laboratory
atmosphere ofmuseums andsalons, madetheroleofartsubmissive inwestern
civilization.
Aside from thegrand murals anddecorative paintingofPuvisde
Chavannes, eventhemost inventive ofthelatter
artists nineteenth century could
notprovide models forthenewculture. Theyfelt thatthework ofartmust nowbe
removed from itsesthetic, physical,andpsychological evenifthis
isolation,
endangered theindependence oftheartist. Supplyingthedecoration thatwould
createa pervasiveandsignificant environment wasconsidered a higher than
calling
producing individual works which havenosocial [Link] thattheartist might
I05
become anarchitect inorder tocontrol hisenvironment, orthatpainting and
sculptureshould atleastbemadesoastoplaya partina larger program. Theeffort
torealizethisendbrought about anemphasis ondecorative modes ofworking; the
verywords "decorative" and"ornamental" tookonexalted meaning. Evenas
individuals,theseartiststurned from theculturallydivisivefineartsandtookupthe
decorativeartswhich werethen acclaimed forcontributingtotheconstruction ofa
[Link] ofthenewsociety, every grand historical
paradigm
the
(e.g., Greek temple) was understood to havebeen unifiedwith the lifeofitstime.
Toemulate thegreat paradigms wasconsidered a matterofcultural integration
ratherthanmere formal [Link], themotto abovetheentrance of
Joseph Olbrich'sSecession Building inVienna (1898-99;fig.I) reads:
Toeachtime, itsart;
Toart,itsfreedom.

3HereNietzscheisonlya shorthand forthesituationunder discussion.

AtthetimethatNietzsche's
werebecoming
writings common intellectual
property,a bookappeared thatwasextraordinarily
inthewholeofGerman
influential civilization
andespeciallyamong Rembrandt
artists: alsErzieher
(Leipzig,1890),writtenbyJuliusLangbehn butpublished anonymously Langbehn'sthought,
thoughcertainlyinfluencedbyNietzsche, couldhardlycompare withhisbrilliance.
Nevertheless, in
thedecadesaround 19oothethought, advocacy, andinfluenceofthesetwomenwereconfounded.
Thecomparatively shallowandprosaicprogrammatics ofLangbehn, urging thesynthesis
ofanartistic
culture
thatshould resolve
theantinomy ofa lostageoffaith anda spiritless
ageofscience,couldbe
moreeasilyandpurposively grasped thanthe of
writings Nietzsche.
A bookofrelated influenced
significance, byLangbehn, urging anartistic
educationforallGerman
wasKonrad
children Lange,Die Kunstlerische der
Erziehung deutschen
Jugend Bergstrasser,
(Darmstadt: 1893).
Onthefirstpage of hisKulturundKunst (Jena: Diederichs, Hermann
1904, Muthesius mentionsthe work
ofbothLangbehn [Link] goesontocitetheDarmstadt Kunstler-Kolonie
asa demonstration of
theearly
fruitionofthese [Link] 1911,Muthesius citedthegenerativeinfluence
ofLangbehn's
bookinanaddress totheDeutscher Werkbund. Seenotes26and54.
Foranexcellent
consideration ofLangbehn andother stronglynationalistic seeFritz
ideologists, Stern,
ThePolitics
ofCulturalDespair(Berkeleyand Los Angeles:UniversityofCalifornia
Press, 1961).
4Theworkofother deemed
painters worthy suchasVanGogh,Seurat,
ofadmiration EmileBernard,
Maurice and
Denis, Ferdinand became
Hodler, knowninGermany onlyduringthecourse
of
Thebasicconservatism
themovement. oftheGermansituation
iswellillustrated
by the
factthat

Stanford
Anderson

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 Olbrich.
Maria
[Link]
Secession Vienna,
Building,
1899.

i's
rat,
KVWS'r:mei
W~g

--------------

I06

Thenewculture, conceived
asbeingthenatural ofcontemporary
efflorescence life
a reciprocal,
andasexerting effect
uplifting onthatlife,placedartina newposition.
Onceagain,arthadtoattain cultural
a universal [Link] the
efforts
turn-of-the-century ofPeterBehrens, a youngartistjustthenembracing
to
architecture,conceive
the as
theater, architecture
and as cultural
institution,
astheapogeeofthatnew,earnestly-sought
culture.

ThehousesbyVictorHortainBrussels andthefurnitureofHenryvandeVeldein
Ucclewereearly, andunusual
impressive, contributions
totherealization
ofthe
[Link],theseartists
oftheturn-of-the-centuryoften
hadtobecontent withmoremodest workswhichtheymight consider
as steps
towardsanenvironmentalart-thedesign ofinteriors, fabrics,
wallpaper, linoleum,
furniture, ceramics,
glassware, andstained
silver, [Link]
artistic
productionweredecorative murals,
carvings, andevensmallerpaintings
theymade,through their
decorativeframesandinsistenceonsurface,
thegreatest
tothewallsuponwhichtheywereplaced.
concessions
possible
Intermsofmedium andstrictadherencetotheprogram, thelatenineteenth
century
woodcutsbyPeterBehrens 3,
(figs 4) areanextreme extension
ofwhat was
to
acknowledged have environmental butsuchprints
intent, couldbeunderstood
intheprescribed
manner. Theseworkswerereferred toas"decorative
woodcuts."
size( Victory,
Theirgenerous forexample,is86x 61.5cm.)anduseofcolorwere
them
toinsure
intended a placeona wallrather
thanina portfolio.
Yetthefactof
their
multiple andstill
production, moretheconscious ofsurface
exploitation
weremeant
design, todistinguish works
these fromtraditional
easelpainting.
The
andcritic
arthistorian JuliusMeier-Graefe these
praised woodcuts
anddescribed

thepublicationofa quiteunprovocative intheavant-garde

byToulouse-Lautrec
lithograph magazine
crisis
Pan,I (I895),opp.p.196,causedaninternal whichwasonlyresolved
bya reformulation
ofthe
boardofeditors.

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v,
1o

[Link]
Behrens. color
Victory,
woodcut,896-97.
[Link]. orEagle,
Storm,
color
woodcut,
1896-97.

?Io

thepoweroftheir easilyrecognized images asresulting

from Reflexerscheinungen
(empathetic phenomena) causedbythegreatlinesthatcontrol theirsurfaces:what
isconveyed, henoted,isa boldexpression ofmovement whichhasnorealvisual
counterpart.' Butbeyond thisattemptattheportrayal ofcosmicmovement, there
isalsoa relatediconography. Thoughthiswoodcut hasbeenreferred toas Victory,
itseemsobvious thatitportraysPrometheus-he "whoforesees,"thecreatorofman,
hewhostoleformantheholyfirefrom theforge ofHephaestus ontheislandof
Lemnos, [Link] hadappeared on
thetitlepageofthefirst editionofNietzsche'sTheBirth [Link]
formulation ofanesthetic metaphysics,Nietzsche extolsPrometheus, "thegreat
philanthropist,"forhis"Titan-likeloveforman,"andsuggests thatthemyth of
Prometheus "hasthesamecharacteristic fortheAryanracethatthe
significance
myth ofthefallofmanhasfortheSemitic, thatthereisa relationship
between the
twomyths likethatofa brother andsister."'Thisgreatfigureofthe"unseasonable"
Greekmythology, soappropriatelyrelatedtothebirthofa newculture unifying
lifeandart,hadbeenenvisioned byBehrens witha non-naturalistic
lineintendedto
express thecosmicenergy ofthestory,yetachievea flat,decorative
qualityuniting
theimagewithitsimmediate architectural
[Link] which
Behrens chose,woodcut printedfrombroadsurfaces oftheblocks,enhanced the
desiredplayoflineona flatsurface.

s Dekorative
Kunst,II (1898),pp. 70ff.
6 TheBirth
ofTragedy wasa popular
(Levy,ed.,London: Foulis,I909), pp. 3s, [Link]
withthepoetsandartists
figure oftheNeuromantik. As faras I know,Behrens's wood-cutisnota
precise of
illustration anyliteraryversionof [Link] addition to Nietzsche,however,onemight
mention CarlSpitteler's und
epic, Prometheus Epimetheus (Aarau: 1881),wheretheimagery
Sauerliinder, is
suggestiveofsome ofBehrens'sother works. Forexample, the austereand beautiful
goddess whom
Prometheus workis suggestive
servesinSpitteler's forthemeaningofthefemalefigure whodominates
theyoung,nude,sleepingartist inBehrens's decorative
painting Der Traum. ThisDream is thepainting
whichheldthemostprominent in
position Behrens's homes in both Darmstadt and Neubabelsberg
fromi90oIthrough mostofhisproductive career.

Anderson
Stanford

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 , "4,~

'.
'?."'..:

:: ... :: . i. : "..... ..
, i ....
..... l.
-,.,...
............" .
? ,...... ,i . .,
. "
. 4 _.. . . .
, : .. . ... . . ..
? .

41

Io8

Anotherwoodcut, variously Storm

called andEagle(fig. Meier-Graefe's
4),fulfilled
formal
ideaofBehrens's intenteven more With
completely. suggestive
imagery, thespokesman
Zarathustra, forNietzsche's exhorts
theory, thehigher
to
men be likethestorm-windunder [Link]
"TheSeventh Seal"begins:
IfeverI spreadouta still
skyabovemyself andflew
withmyownwings intomyownsky;
I haveswum
if,playing, intodeeplight-
distanceandbird-wisdom cametomyfreedom;
butthusspeaks bird-wisdom:'Behold,
isnoabove,
there nobelow!fling about,
yourself out,
bird!
back,weightless Sing!speak no more!
'arenotallwords madefortheheavy?Do
notallwords lietothelight? speak
Sing! nomore!'7

whohadbeena founding
Behrens, oftheMunich
member maywellhave
Secession,
words:
byZarathustra's
beeninspired
Watch
andlisten
yousolitaries!
Fromthefuture
come
windswitha stealthy flapping ofwings;andgood
tidingsgo outto delicateears.
You solitaries
oftoday,youwho have seceded
fromsociety,you shallone daybe a people: fromyou,
who havechosenoutyourselves, shalla chosenpeople
spring-andfromthischosenpeople,theSuperman.'

Zarathustra
7 ThusSpoke (trans. Harmondsworth:
[Link], Penguin,I96I),pp.306,[Link]
says:"Myeagleisawakeand,likeme,doeshonor
p.334,Zarathustra [Link]'s clawsit
[Link]
reaches animals:I [Link] stilllackmyrightful
men!"
8Zarathustra,
pp.102Ioz-o103.

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ca

ThusNietzsche's Supermanisannounced; thistogether

withthepassagequoted
abovemayhavesuggested Behrens'stheme [Link]
cultural
entrepreneur, indiscussing
KarlScheffler, Behrens'sfirst
architectural
work, his
ownhouseatDarmstadt (fig.6), wrotethatBehrens's wishistocreate
"grandest
highstandard,
a uniform, inwhich
a Kulturmilieu hecouldmovenaturallylikea
birdintheair."9

Itwasthisconcerted,
"unseasonable"desire
notjusttograsplife,
butthroughdoing
sotocreatea newKultur-atotally
integrated as
culture oneimaginedittohave
beenexemplifiedinancientGreece-that settheSecessionsstil
andwhatI would
term the"idealist
faction"
ofJugendstilapartfromcontemporary developments
[Link] thatwastoserveasa model, nottheparti-
cularGreek forms; itwastempting
nevertheless, tousecertainclassical
motifsor
[Link],sucha programmatic
work astheexhibition
Io9 fortheVienna
building Secession 2) wasorganized
(fig. arounda strict
longitudinal
axis,anditsindividual
massesandvolumes areclear
geometricforms. Greekvase
found
painting a recurrent
echoinSecessionist Thevery
painting. online
insistence
wasa classicizing
program. Later,whentheformal oftheJugendstil
ingenuity
became vulgarizedandsuspect,
theground hadbeenpreparedfora retreat
toa safer
andmore conventional
neo-classicism.
Theideaofmaking
thevisual
arts
partofa creative
newlifesuddenly
cameto
publicprominence inGermany [Link] ofcrafts,
showsa complete
Kunstgewerbeblatt, changeofcontent beginningwiththevolume
[Link] exhibitionatMunich's contained
Glaspalast forthe
first
timea section
devoted tocrafts,
andDresden'sgreat introduced
exhibition the
workofvandeVeldetoGermany. Several
newjournalsdevoted tothedecorative
artswerefounded, H. Bruckmann's
including DekorativeKunst(Decorativeart)in
MunichandAlexander Koch'sDeutsche
KunstundDekoration art
(German and
decoration)inDarmstadt. to
Nevertheless, realize
more than overstudied
isolated,
interiors
wasrareforanartist,
andtheentiremovement stoodindangeroffalling
intoa shallowformalism
without havinghadthechancetoattempt toreachitsgoals.

InJuly1899,PeterBehrens's friend
andadvocate,
Julius
Meier-Graefe,theacute
artcritic
andParisianeditor
ofDekorative published
Kunst, thefollowingassessment
oftheinternational
situation
inthedecorative
[Link] ofWilliam Morris
[Link] [Link]
promiseofBelgium hadbeenreduced tovandeVelde,whowasthenmaking his
footholdinGermany [Link]-Graefeconcluded,
"Germany
isinthehappysituationnotyettohaveshownitsstrength...Hereitisindeedthe
earlymorningthatwe [Link]
themid-day canbestowbeautiful
thingsuponus."''

Inthusparaphrasing
theclosing
linesofNietzsche's
ThusSpakeZarathustra,
Meier-
Graefe
wasproclaiming
theimpending triumphoftheGermanartistic
movement

9 [Link],
"Das HausBehrens,"
Dekorative IX (Oct.19oi):pp.1-48.
Kunst,
[Link]-Graefe, Dekorative
"Epigonen," IV (July
Kunst, 1899):pp.I29-13I.

Stanford
Anderson

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 oftheI890'[Link] ofthesourcesofMeier-Graefe's
immediate
enthusiasm
was the
announcement ofestablished
supportforthisnewartistic
movement inGermany.
fora newKultur
Thesearchers neededeithera godora mantohelpgivethemlife.
Thegivermayatfirst appeartohavebeena rather sort:thepatron
unlikely ofthis
apparent
challenge toexisting
values,theKiinstler-Kolonie
atDarmstadt with
isprincipally
whichthisarticle concerned, wastheGrandDukeofHessen,Ernst
[Link] wasdeterminedtomakehisResidenz thecenter from which
wouldradiate
a newlifeformed intheimageoftherevitalizedvisualarts.

BornintheI860s(asweremostoftheother participants inthisstory),Ernst

Ludwighadcommissioned tworesidential
interiors
tobebuiltaccording tothe
designsofthenotedEnglish M. H. BaillieScott.`Withthecontemporary
architect,
awakening oftheapplied artsinGermany,theDuketookanincreasing interestin
thepotentialofthisdevelopment. Withtheadviceandencouragement ofthe
Alexander
publisher, Koch,andthewriter, GeorgFuchs,a planwasestablished to IIo

makeDarmstadt a prominent center

ofthenewmovement beforetheestablished
couldtakeitup. As Fuchswroteina pretentious
"art-cities" volume memorializing
theKiinstler-Kolonie,itisa matter
ofconsequence thatitshould havebeena prince
ofanancient ducalhousewhowasthefirst todevotehispowerandhisperson tothe
of"thegreatthought
realization ofourtime... thecomplete unionoflifeandart."'"
ThatErnstLudwigbecamethepatron andapologist fora newculturalprogram was
claimedbyFuchstobea logicalparallel towhatKaiserWilhelm wasachieving in
therealm ofnationalmaterial andwell-being.
productivity Itwasalsoclaimed thata
creativegroupgathered attheResidenzwouldbethestimulus fora revitalization
of
handicraftindustries
throughout [Link] theprincipals hadgreater cultural
ambitionsthaneither ofthesearguments wouldindicate.

TheGrandDukecalledsevenpainters, andarchitects
sculptors, toDarmstadt
during [Link]-known
thelatter members oftheartcolonywere
thearchitectJoseph MariaOlbrich, designeroftheSecession
BuildinginVienna
anda former studentofOttoWagner, andtheartistPeterBehrens,whohadalready
receivedfavorableattention,
especially [Link]
concertedtaskofthecolonywasa bold,inventive conceived
project, toexplorethe
[Link] weretodesign, build,andfurnish
their
ownpermanent quartersina fine,hillypark,theMathildenhiShe,ontheedge
ofDarmstadt. Thesequarters,a common studiobuilding
anda number ofprivate
dwellings,weretoform thefirst exhibitionoftheworkofthecolony. Thusan
entiresmallcommunity, formed accordingtoartistic
principles-fromthesiteplan
tothesilverware-would beexhibited programmaticallytothenationinthespring
of undertheimposing title"A Document ofGerman Art."
19OI

ii Illustrated
inZeitschriftfur X (1899): pp. I-8.
Innendekoration,
12A. Koch,ed.,Die Ausstellung
derDarmstiidter (Darmstadt:Alexander
Kiinstler-Kolonie Koch,19igoi),
obtainedinDarmstadt
p. 2o. Information andtransmitted byRobertClarkindicates thatthearchiveof
wasdestroyed
theKiinstler-Kolonie byfireonI I-I2 SeptemberI944. Policeregistration in
records
Darmstadt inthatcityfromI November1899to28March1903.
showPeterBehrensresident

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u

Astheonlymember ofthecolonywhohadtrainedandworked asanarchitect,

Olbrichassumedalmost
complete oftheplanning
control andarchitectural
form
of
Hedesigned
thecolony. allthebuildings Behrens's
except [Link]
wereprincipally
buildings grouped a mainaxisthatranuptheslopeof
about
theMathildenh6he
5). Individual
(fig. ofOlbrich's
dwellings flanked
design the
axis,thelowerendofwhich wasterminated
bya dramatically-formed,butshallow
andbroad, temporaryexhibition Olbrich
building. alsodesignedpicturesque
kiosks,
pavilions,andother
temporarybuildings
[Link]
members ofthecolonyjoined
inthedesign
andexecution oftheinteriorsofthe
permanent Thiscomplex
buildings. formedthelargestpartofthecolony andwas
toexemplify forthepublic ofa milieu
thebenefits inwhich artandlifehad
become one.

III

AIJ~o?1400 O?
IT'[Link] A{)Z{) F/R-)[Link]. LO.Iq101.
.F4RE.O BA?TF..bJ.
ororrr--

)rc
/c~uu
O.
1~\uvor
"~ "/ .
~ "'"6"~ ~~~~~~~t .,
ltY
''."

Mostimportantforhisfuture Behrens
development, designedandfurnished
his
ownhouseatthecolony.3"Asthefirst
work ofamannotprofessionally in
trained
itisnotsurprising
architecture, thatBehrens's
houseiseclectic,
butBehrens
showed bothinthesources
aninventiveness ofhiseclecticism
andintheformal
thathebrought
control totheapparently
disparate faith
6). Behrens's
parts(fig. in

13Theprincipal onBehrens's
publications [Link], "Das HausPeterBehrens,"Die
I (Aug.19o01):pp.27-31,
Rheinlande, 48-49;KurtBreysig, "Das HausPeterBehrens,"
[Link],ed.,
Die Ausstellung: [Link],
pp.342-347; Dekorative
Kunst, IX (Oct.190oi):
pp.1-48;andW. Fred,
"TheArtists'ColonyatDarmstadt," XXIV (Oct.1901):[Link]
Studio, Lichtwarkina letter
from Darmstadt datedI4June that
reported
1901o Behrens's house cost Mark.
2oo00,000oooBy comparison,
housewasexpensive
Olbrich's at75,ooo
Mark(BriefeandieKommissionfiir
dieVerwaltung
derKunsthalle,
[Link],vol.i. [ Hamburg:
[Link], 1923],p.456).

Stanford
Anderson

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 [Link].
Darmstadt
siteplan,
Kiinstler-Kolonie,
I899.
[Link],
Darmstadt Kiinstler-Kolonie,
C1 I899-19I.
[Link],
Taufers,
r
Tirol.

r r

~I
II1
v?
t
i
i

,*?
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~u;~FPrr;?j~. I *
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*' ::
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i~rl

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: li?.-.. :~f:; i b
": "' t:l
?:c?r:

~
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;;a E~~
:;???.

ta
.;i -- C ?*.i
I:Q
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r-?. :.* I

rr:
?,....
.~::??
~II
-i!
I
~,~iIr?a-??
Zs?
...:i.,-1:?z?~
???--??
r.

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tl
4-0

theformal ofline,manifest
power inhisgraphics
asintheliterature
ofthetime,
is
[Link] ofthebricksthatmakeup
thelinesofthehouseindicatethesourceofthisarchitectural
useofline,namely
thebrickGothicofnorthern andcentral BoththissourceandBehrens's
Europe.'4
useoftheprofiled
bricksemphasize thelineasanactiveribwhichprovides the
formalstructure
ofthebuilding;thewhitestuccowallsaretreatedas aninfill.
This
notanexposition
is,ofcourse, oftheactualphysical whichissimply
structure, a
masonry box,butrathera stylization,
anuplifting,
ofthatsimplematerialstructure
andofanonymous buildingtypes(fig.7).'

iim7 Z
113
r?? r Mf
iP.~;T~~t/lr ,'_/J
i

DER
SPEISEZiMMER.

"K? "
5 i/ MUSN DREEqRiRE.
.)S S,\<

0.7

14E.g, seeOttoStiehl, inNordeutschland

Backsteinbauten undDinemark
(Stuttgart: Hoffmann,
Julius I923),
p.55andpassim.A specific
buildingthatemploysa similarnetworkofhard,darkbricks
withplaster infill
isthefifteenth
century ofStendal
cathedral theinterior,
(especially butcertainoftheexterior details
are
comparable,too;H. andF.M6bius,Medieval ChurchesinGermany[ Berlin:UnionVerlag(Edition
Leipzig),1964],
pls. Fritz
143-144). Hoeber,Peter
Behrens (Munich: E. Rentsch,
1913),p.I, usesthe
cathedral
ofStendaltocharacterize
boththearchitectureandthepersonality
typeofnorthern Germany;
Behrenswasveryself-consciously
a northGerman.
1s TheTyrolian
cloister illustrated
building isfrom
[Link] [Link],Volkstiimliche
andJ. Kunst
(Vienna:
GerlachundSchenk, 1904),p. [Link],
p.60,seethe"Kroneshaus"
inGrinzing
(the
popular suburb
wine-producing ofVienna),a house
thatappears bothinthepresent
suggestive caseand
perhapsevenmoreforOlbrich's [Link] ofprominent
anonymoushouses
withhigh-pitchedroofs,
ogive-shaped gables,androwsofwindows onlybymullions
separated is
inH. [Link]-Valendas,
illustrated Bauernhiuser,"
"Toggenbiirger KunstundKunsthandwerk,
IX
(i906),pp.1-23.

Stanford
Anderson

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 House,Frau
[Link]
Behrens's room.
receiving
House,planof
[Link]
floor.
ground
House,
[Link] dining
room.
.:.

House,music
ii. Behrens
room.

SLI '!! ,!l I !

:;??
??: ??

S**
i. ..

i- 114
.,
I..-i.
- _ ,.. _

. .. ..

,. :
....jE

Inthemainfront ofthehouse,andintheogivegables,thelinesarecertainly more

thanboundaries;theyhavea forceoftheir own inthesenseofvandeVelde.
Thedining room,too,indicatesthatBehrenswasnotclosedatthispointtotheideas
oftheBelgian([Link]), butneither northeexterior
theinteriors consistently
Forexample,
thisinclination.
reflect attherearofthehousearebrickpiersthatare
simplythebasicstructure Gothicmoldings.
andarefreeofthevitalizing Again,
theunderlying prismaticformofthehouse,anoccasionalexteriormolding,and
someoftheinteriors (eg.,the"Zimmer in
derDame,"fig.8) areexperiments
formsthatwerealientothe"patheticist" [Link]
ofBehrens's development, andcompeting
withitssimultaneous explorations,
theclearestmanifestationofhisownthought isthemusicroom(fig.i1), theonly
formalreceivingroom,whichoccupied themostprominent inthe
position
thisroom
9). Itisbesttoapproach
openplanofhishouse(fig.
moderately after
considering totheopening
contribution
Behrens's oftheartists'
ceremonies colony.

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NO
co
?Q

Q4
41-

CW

[Link]'s ofthe
production
opening ofthe
ceremony
Darmstadt
Kiinstler-Kolonie.
[Link].
EinDokument
;j7
DeutscherKunst
(Munich:
Bruckmann, g190oI),
andfirst
frontispiece page.
[Link]
House,music
room,drapery
[Link].
Lamp,1901-02.
ofPrinz
Collection Ludwig
vonHessen,
Wolfsgarten,
Darmstadt.

C..i
[Link].
Poster
for
the1901o
Exhibition
oftheDarmstadt
W410 IL Kiinstler-Kolonie

1
........
.
iis
'.

TheDarmstadt wasnotonlytheartists'
Kiinstler-Kolonie residence
andplaceof
work,butalsoanexhibition
oftheideallifecompletely
formed [Link]
ceremonyheldon May Isth,i90i,took in
place themainmallofthecolony,
belowtheartists'
studio bothofwhich
building, hadbeendesigned
[Link]
written
ceremony, byGeorgFuchs
and directed
by Peter wascalled
Behrens,
"DasZeichen"(TheSign)."6 I1
Figure showsthemomentatwhich
theformerly
un-knownprophethasdescendedfrom
thegoldenportalaboveandisaboutto
revealtheshrouded Thesymbolism
sign-agreatcrystal. ofthecrystalrelieson
a metaphorical between
relationship transformations
which takeplaceatthe
micro- andmacrocosmic for
levels; example,justas mere carbonunderintense
conditions
assumesa particular structure
crystal andbecomes theprizeddiamond,7
so thepowerofartmaytransform everyday into
life a lifefilled
resplendent
withmeaning.8

16Text,music(by Willemde Haan), anddescription appearin AlexanderKoch,ed, Die Ausstellung der

Darmstidter (Darmstadt:
Kiinstler-Kolonie A. Koch, 1901),pp.5677.
17ThenotedFrenchchemistHenriMoissanclaimedtohaveachievedthisfeatin I893. The claimis
disputed,butthetheory, whichwasolderthanMoissan,was finally demonstratedby F.B. Bundayof
GeneralElectricin [Link] L. W. Marrison, Diamonds
Crystals, andTransistors
(Harmondsworth:
Penguin,1966),pp.6o-62.
I A similarconcernwiththeidealization ofearthly
experience occursin Leonardo:"Thou mustshowin
thytreatisethattheearthisa star,likethemoonorresembling it,andthusprovethenobility ofour
[Link], taking it from MarieHerzfeld,
Leonardo da Vinci(2nd
world."
Diederichs,I906), p. I41. Boththepublisher
ed, Jena: andthegraphicdesigner (E. R. Weiss)for
Herzfeld'sbookwereassociated withBehrensintheseyears.

Stanford
Anderson

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 ..
UI
?: j.:
r~~i),-
.~F~
~
t
"V 1

o -M
lt lam
.....
? X!'W
..~ :,.
1. ?1
"1?.: ,
. ".. _..:....-;..

14:
iww
~?13 .i ..

.
I..
.,"
....

II6

Thetheme oftheceremony andthespecific

symbolwerechosen who
byBehrens,
stones
usedprecious ofhiswork
astheleitmotif atthecolony.'9A meticulously
drafted
diamondformsthefrontispiece
oftheFestschrift
(fig.I3) thatBehrens
wrote
fortheexhibition."
anddesigned ofthenewcultoflifeasart,whoalso
A priestess
asa lampthatBehrens
reappears designed in g9ol(fig.15),holdsalofta gemon
Behrens's
posterfortheexhibition
(fig.16).
Returning tothemusic room ofBehrens'shouse(fig.i1),wefindthecrystal
obsessively
[Link] generatesthedecoration ofthefloorandthe
itispresent
ceiling; inthecandelabra,musicstand,andspecially
designed piano;
ritual
figuresbearingcrystals
appear intheinlayofthewalls;eventhewindow
areperforated
blinds topattern
raysofnatural from
light crystalline
shapes(fig.14).
Withitsredandgray marble itsbluemirrors,
walls, parquet ofseven
flooring
different
woods, itsgilded anddoors
ceiling, ofaluminum-bronze, thisroom was
indeedthegreatspaceandthesymbolic culminationofBehrens'searnestand
~i
o, riivid
i hieratic
household atan
which, everyday and domestic wasa microcosm
level, of
g; ~ theenvisionedcommunity"
asthehouse
Just hadtofinditsculmination
ina soberceremonial
room, soBehrens
proposedthat thecolony-and implicitly,
anycommunity-should haveasits
climactic
experiencesolemn festival of
celebrations noble,
rhythmic total-art
works
performed inaustere,
symbolic on
temple-theaters dominantsites.
Thestage was
!? ,
seenasa sanctuary,
nota [Link] thiscame tobe
atDarmstadt.
realized Yettheopening ceremony ofthecolonyevokes therites
that
weretohavebeencelebrated, andBehrens providedother
documents inthe
advocacy ofhishieratic
theater.

'F
16I,9W[
20
ilhelm] "EinDokument
Schifer,
EinDokument
[Link],
deutscher
deutscher
Kunst,
Kunst,"
Die Rheinlande,
(Munich:Bruckmann,
I (June
i90o).
I90I), p.39.

KarlScheffler thatthemusicroomwaslikea small

suggested [Link]
temple unddiemageren
,. PaulList,I946),p.37.
(Leipzig:
Jahre

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CIO
,o
eq

4.)
4-1
(d
7
cr
1-4
CL4

Evenbefore
hishouse
oropening
ceremonywereknown, Behrenssentforth
from
Darmstadt
a program
whichcombined
hisawakening
interests
inbotharchitecture
andtheater.
Theater
becamethesubject
ofhisthree
earliest
publications.
His
FestedesLebens
booklet undderKunst,
written
inJuneof1900oo, histheories
presented
oftheater,
which werethen inthepublication
exemplified ofanessay
ona proposed
theater
buildinganda program forthedramatic ofRichard
presentation Dehmel's
(MassofLife).Before
poem,Lebensmesse toindicate
attempting themannerin
whichBehrens'ssenseofthetheaterculminated
andtherebydramatized
the
oflifeasart,itisnecessary
program toconsider
thestate
ofthetheater
inhistime.""
Theindictments against andpictorial
theperspectival havebeenoften
stage heard;
itisnotnecessarytodwellontheperceivedfaults
oftheillusionistic,
"peep-show
theater"
composed ofa deepperspective viewed
stage bythespectators,
oftenfrom
positions,
disadvantageous througha kindofpicture Theadvocates ofthe
117
frame."3
theater
naturalistic wereharshcritics
ofthefailings
oftheperspectivestage;their
likea room
idealwasa stage withonewallmissing,a simpleboxsetbehind thepro-
sceniumopening. Bylimitingtheconditions
theysought tosimulate,
theillusion
wasmore butthenaturalistic
successful; too,remained
stage, a picture
essentially

22 Fora general onthetheater

bibliography zur
seeFranzRapp,"EineHandbibliothek
inGermany,
deutschen
Theatergeschichte,"
Monatsheftefiir Unterricht
deutsche Wis.),XXXIV (1942),
(Madison,
See
pp.183-191. alsonote
23below.
created
23Thescenewasusually through atthesides,
coulisses
painted soffits atthe
above,anda backdrop
[Link] werelimited;
possibilities theproper viewwas
perspective
from
attainable onlyonebox,andevenfrom thisboxtheattempted ofa realworld
illusion wasfoiled
by
thetremblingofapparentlymassive wallsandstout treetrunks.
Thedesirethatthetheatershould
providesuchanillusionistic
picturerequiredthattheactorsremainbehindtheproscenium [Link]
latenineteenth
century,forestage
actinghadvirtually hadtheforestage
disappeared-as inorder
itself to
[Link] oftheactorbroughthimintojuxtaposition
withtheperspectivesetstowhichhecouldnotalways theproper
maintain scale.A scenicmodewhich
hadbeencreatedasa backdrop forforestageactinghadthusbeencompletely frustrated
byits
adaptation
unimaginative toa newstaging program.
Stagedesigners andengineers attempted tocorrect theseshortcomings.A moreconvincing corporeality
wasachieved bytheaddition ofthree-dimensional elements whichgradually faded [Link]
increased
further thelength oftimeforscenechanges. Theengineers countered thisproblem withtriple
stageswhichcouldbeusedalternatively, unitsetswhichcouldberolled tothesides,elevator stages, and
revolving stages.A more illusionistic
closingof the stagevistawas with
facilitated half-roundcycloramas
orwitha large [Link] strove toattaintheoriginal
goal-thepresentation onthe
ofa
stage convincing pictorial simulation ofa realworld.
Alsointhelatenineteenth century, stagelightingchanged fromcandles orwicklampstogaslamps and
thentoelectric lighting. But the function ofthe light,exceptfor occasionalattempts attheillusionof
naturallight,remained that of
essentially simple [Link] weakness of had
candlelight
encouraged actorstocomedownstage fortherecitation ofgreatlinestotheauditors. Theglimmer of
candleshadconcealed someofthefaults [Link] ideals,
powerkepttheactors
electric inthepicture andatthesametimecasta harsh lightonthepainted sets.
24Thetheater auditorium hadreceived a significant
newconfiguration through Richard Wagner's demands
thatevery spectatorshould face directly toward the stageandbe abletosee [Link]
resulted,intheWagnerian Festspielhaus atBayreuth (1876),ina theaterwitha single, fan-shaped bank
ofseatswhich looked overa deeporchestra pitinto a deep,framed [Link] modifiedantique seating
arrangement immensely improved simple visualcontact andbecame theprototype ofmostsubsequent
theaterauditoriums. However, theconcept ofanillusionistic
deep-stage behind thepictureframe
remained. Thegulf between actorandviewer wasmadeevenmoreemphatic asa consciousdevicefor
thecreation ofmystic illusion.

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[Link]
theuncomfortable between
disparity thereality
ofthe
canvassetsandthedesired there
illusion, remained anevenmore
unresolved serious
Compared
objection. withthearchitectural,
unchanging ofantiquity
stages andof
thepictorial
Shakespeare, scenewithintheframeoftheprosceniumarchrepre-
a complete
sented divorceofviewer from Thislackofcontact
actor. minimized
communication bytheactor andsympathetic bytheviewer.
participation Itdenied
theunion ofthenewromantic
ofartandlifethattheartists movementsought
throughtheirprogram.24

How,then, plantorealize
didBehrens asthehighest
theater What
Kultursymbol?
werehismotives?Whowerehisinfluences?Asa painter andgraphicartist
during
thei89os, from
hehadevolved luminist-impressionist toevermore
oilpaintings
abstract
linear, accomplished
designs, intheflat
medium ofwoodcut ortempera
butstill
paint, persons,
representing birds
landscapes, andbutterflies.
However,he
increasingly nature
considered unworthy [Link], wasto
nature 118

strong
provide emotional buttheroleoftheartist,
stimuli, thantoapenature,
rather
wastoraise toa new,higher,
experience harmonious,
abstracted, andrhythmic
Behrens's
expression. wasnotsetsomuch
battlefield
artistic against
anyremaining
onhistorical
over-reliance asitwasagainst
precedent naturalism-a progressive
inEuropean
attitude anddramatic
figurative artssincetheI870s.InMayI9oo,

Theyoung Swissmusicstudent turnedstagedesigner, Adolphe Appia,found Wagner's staging

tobeminimal
instructions andthevisual aspectofWagnerian productions tobemerely "arbitraryscenic
schemes."He considered suchstaginganineffectual orevena decidedly disruptive element inwhatshould
betheformidable impact ofmusic-drama. Appiahadfirst presented hisideasinthesmall unillustrated
volume, La mise enscenedudrame Wagnerien (Paris:[Link], After
1I895). almost a decadeofstudies,
Appiapropounded hisideasoftheatrical
andillustrated productioninDie MusikunddieInszenierung
(Munich:Bruckmann, I899),availableinEnglish as Musicand theArtoftheTheatre (CoralGables:
UniversityofMiamiPress,1962).Appiawished toachieve a moreintense andemotional contactwith
theaudience through ofthemovement
a clearexhibition oftheactors,through a stagebeheld asspace
ratherthanasa picture, andthrough anenvironmental [Link] and
pictures,Appiaemphasized thesefactorsattheexpense oftraditional
flats,illusionistic
painting,andthe
general ofthenaturalistic
elaborateness [Link] tohisbook,Appiadescribed hisproposed
stagingofTristan undIsolde.A specific
example ofAppia's isrevealing
analysis forthegeneral intentofhis
[Link] "Liketheheroandheroine
actofTristan: weexperience nothing moreexceptthis
ecstasyofbeingtogether. Thepassion thatisburning intheirsoulsseems tousastothem, muchmore
realthantheir [Link] ofthemusic draws usdeeper anddeeper intothe
world
secret inwhichtheir unioniseternallyconsummated. Onlyonething shocks us: westillseethem.
Webecome awarethatweareforced
painfully toseethesetwowhonolonger [Link]
phantoms of thematerialworld appearagain to usat thesame time that they become apparent onceagain
tothetwolovers, whenthesetwo,whohavetranscended thecorporeal world,onceagaincomeinto
contactwithit,wefeelasthough wehadpracticed a deceptiononthem, andwerepartofa conspiracy.
"Howwillthestagedesigner embody inthecourse
allthissothatthespectator ofthisactdoesnot
whathashappened,
rationalize it but
doesnotanalyseintellectually, is awaybyitsinner
carried emotional
surge?
letmeindicate
"On thebasisofthisanalysis pointbypoint method
thefollowing ofstaging:Picture
ofthestageattheriseofthefirst [Link],
curtain..." TheArtofScenic
Design(NewYork:Harper,
1950), p. 22.
Appia'sactorsremain stage,buttheyperform
ona traditional onsimplified platformsinanevocativelight
whichprovides bothan anda
envelopment heightened awareness of the actors'
presenceandmovements.
Despitethecreationofanemphatically stage,Appiastillspeaks
spatial ensemble."
ofthe"pictorial The
butnotanillusion
ofanillusion,
endisstillthecreation ofreality Itisa mysticillusion
thatshallenvelop
thespectatorandcarry himaway

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NO
I

Behrens
speaks specifically
against inhisearliest
naturalism "Die
publication,
DekorationderBiihne" ofthestage),25
(Thedecoration which wasa preliminary
formulation
emphasizingtheuseofornamental
ratherthanillusionistic for
paintings
ideasweremore
[Link]
stage andsystematically
fully ina
presented
booklet hewroteinJune of1900, FestedesLebens undderKunst:
EineBetrachtung
des
Theatersalshachsten (Festivals
Kultursymbols oflifeandart:a consideration
ofthe
theaterasthehighestculturalsymbol).Two men,theDarmstadt authorandcritic
GeorgFuchsandthenotedlyric poetRichard Dehmelwereimportant influences
onthiswork;liketheir friendsoftheNeuromantik, 6bothwerestrongly opposedto
latenineteenthcenturynaturalisminthetheater [Link],in
theory andinpoeticworks, provided a virile basisfortheexploi-
quasi-philosophical
[Link]'saristocratic
ideals,andtheimplications
ofthoseidealsfor
form
thesocialroleandphysical ofthetheater, shapedBehrens's
directly proposal.
Already in 1899Fuchshadpublished an article
entitled
"Die Schaubiihne-EinFest
119
desLebens"
(thestage-afestival inwhich
oflife)," theceremony ofthetheater;
ofstylized,
theimportance thesiteofthebuilding;
works;
contemporary amphi-
theatrical andan of
seating, expression"heimatlichen Geist"areall
foreseen:
youanedifice
Youseebefore which initsexternal
already forms that
reveals it
isthetemple oftheceremonial
ofaMystery, oftheGood
revelation ofits
Life,
and
Meaning, of its We
Beauty. must erect
theedifice
itself
asa of
witnessthe
creative
vital, oftheGerman
power spirit.8

In1900oo,
Fuchsadmitted wasright
thatBehrens inseeing
thatthisconcept
oftheater
bya mere
couldnotberealized oftheexisiting
reform theater.
Onemust a
create
newstageanda newedifice.

Deutsche
derBifhne,"
25"Die Dekoration Kunst
undDekoration,
VI (May1900oo), Olbrich,
pp.401-405.
withHermann
together a similar
Bahr,wasatthesametimepursuing interest
underthename
SeeH. Kindermann,
"Plakatstil." ed., von
Kritiken HermannBahr Theater (Vienna:
derjahrhundertwende
andspecifically
H. Bauer,1963),[Link], thatofBehrens,werecriticized
byMax
Die
"Dekorationen," Zukunft,
Martersteig, XXXII A
pp.2oo00-208.
(1900oo), criticism
sympathetic is
thatoffered F. Die
by Blei, Insel,II (Jan. pp.141-144.
1901oi),
26 Diederichs himself
considered theleading ofwhatwastermed
publisher theNeuromantik.
Underthis
termweregroupedthoseartists, andphilosophers
historians,
poets,essayists, whosought a compre-
viewoflifesuchastheearly
hensive nineteenth
century hadsought.
Romantics Goethe maybe
asoneofthegreat
mentioned models, wereothers,
butthere too,andofother
eras:e.g.,Paracelsus
[Link]
desire
foranadequate hadbeenlost
Naturphilosophie
inthematerialism,
naturalism, andspecialization
ofthelatternineteenth
centuryE.g.,seeDiederichs'
program in19oowhichisquoted
forhispress neartheendofthischapter
anddocumented innote54.
27 WienerRundschau Seealsoissues
(Sept.I, 1899),pp.483-486. ofMayIS5 andSept.15,[Link]
tonotethattheseparate
interesting number ofWiener Rundschauwith"Die Schaubiihne- EinFest
whichisinthecollection
desLebens," ofthelibrary
oftheTheatermuseum Miinchen, camefrom
ofthenoted
thelibrary theater MaxLittmann
architect notedandmarked;
(article byLittmann?).
derZukunft
[Link],Die Schaubiihne Schuster
(Berlin/Leipzig: andLoeffler,
I905),isa definitive
ofwhathadbecome
statement theFuchs-Behrenstheaterprogram. andendvignettes
Frontispiece inthe
bookarethosedesignedwiththeatermotifsbyBehrens andwhich hehadpublishedinhisDeutscheKunst
undDekoration [Link]
article plansanda longitudinal
section
ofatheaterdesign
byMaxLittmann - thusa preliminary inMunich.
totheKiinstlertheater
design
Wiener
"Die Schaubiihne,"
28 Fuchs, Rundschau:
p.485.

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 Inthatsummer, Dehmel,onreturning
from a Mediterranean choseHeidelberg
trip,
WithDarmstadt
residence.
asa temporary theopportunity
nearby, wasathand
forBehrensandDehmel anddeepen
torenew their Soontwoworks
acquaintance.29
[Link] under
appeared name:Thebook,Feste
Behrens's desLebens
undder
Kunst, article
anda magazine containing fora theater
a proposal andthestagingof
Dehmel'sLebensmesse.3? Wearecertain intheseworksas
ofDehmel'sparticipation
wellas hisacquiescenceintheir
final
form.3

29 older
Fiveyears Dehmelestablished
thanBehrens, inthelastfiveyears
andhisreknown
himself ofthe
nineteenth In a letterofSeptember
century. 9,1899(Ausgewd'hlte vol.I,no.266.[Berlin:S. Fischer,
Briefe,
1922]).DehmelwrotefromMunichto HarryGrafKessler,a fellowmember ofthePan editorialstaff,
requestingthatPangivegenerous coverageto Behrens's at KellerundReinerinBerlin.
exhibition
campaignagainstnaturalism
Behrens's wasno [Link] I892,Dehmelhad
intheMunichjournalGesellschaft
published hislengthy The articlewasentitled
ofnaturalism.
criticism 120

andevolvedfroma criticism
"Die neuedeutscheAlltagstragodie" ofGerhart
Hauptmann's playVor
in 1890,hadbeenstimulated
(The critique,written
Sonnenaufgang. bythe1889BerlinpresentationofVor
bythegreatGermannaturalist-realist
Sonnenaufgang producer,OttoBrahm.)
30Behrens,FestedesLebensundderKunst(Leipzig: Diederichs,19oo),hereafter citedas [Link],
"Die Lebensmesse vonRichardDehmelalsfestliches I (Jan.19oi), pp.28-40,
Spiel,"Die Rheinlande,
hereafter "EineLebensmesse-Dichtung
citedas Rheinlande. appearedinthesecond
fiirMusik"first
editionof Dehmel'sbookErlisungen (Berlin:S. Fischer,1898).See alsoJuttaBoeke,"Theaterund
Jugendstil-Feste desLebens und derKunst," pp.143-IS8 in Gerhard Bott,ed., VonMorris zum
Bauhaus. EineKunstgegriindet
aufEinfachheit(Hanau: HansPeters,I977). Boeke'scompanion
essay,"'Darmstidter Spiele1901'.Das TheaterderDarmstidter pp.g59-i8i inBott,
Kiinstlerkolonie,"
begins with referenceto Behrens,but mainlyconcerns Olbrich.
BehrenssoughtDehmel'sparticipation
31 EarlyinthemonthinwhichFestewaswritten, of
inthecreation
thatshouldbe a "templeofart:"
a theater
"UnserTheaterplan Formenan. IchglaubejetztderSacheniherzu kommen.
nimmtneue,festere
NatiirlichnichtmehraufdemHoftheatermiteinemStabevon'Literaten' undDirektoren. Wirwerden
selbstderKunsteinemTempelbauen,dadrinnen solles [Link] dasund
wollteichkonntemichmitdirdariiberaussprechen, ichweissdu wiirdest zu [Link] mir
baldauchwannichdichwiedereinmalsehenkann...N.B. IstdieLebensmesse in
eigentlich Musik
gesetzt?"[ LetterB287,dated"Darmstadt,io.Juni19oo,"intheDehmelArchivoftheStaats-und
Hamburg.]
Universitats-Bibliothek,
Dehmel'sinvolvement inBehrens's program ina letterto GustavKuhl: "In denletzten14
is revealed
Tagenhabeichmehrfach an Siegedacht,wie Ihnendiebeifolgenden,
lebhaft schonlangeaufIhre
Adresselauernden Drucksachen beweisenmogen(2 Kreuzbiinde [ notebytheeditoroftheletters:
"PeterBehrens:FestedesLebensundderKunst"]vonPeterBehrens,indenenSiewol stellenweise
meineHinterhand entdecken werden).Schade,dassSiegradejetztfortmiissten; inDarmstadtscheint
sichwirklich eineArtOase ausdemgriulichen Fugsandder'modemen' Stilmacherei zu [Link]
denbeidenSchriften werdenSieaberauchvonfernherausmerken dassBehrensunterKulturundStil
etwasanderesversteht alsdieWienerParfumeure unddieInselgigerln etc....; "(Dehmel,[Link],
vol.I, no.302[ Feb.2, 19oI]).
ina letterto R. de Campagnolle,
Further, Dehnelwrote:"... thetreatment byBehrensrelieson myown
I trulyimagined
intentions; Style"(ibid.,no.304,[ Feb.27, 1901]).
a dramaofthesimplest
Dehmel's Ein Tanz-undGlanzspiel (Berlin:S. Fischer,1899)revealsthatDehmelhadalready
Lucifer.
andchoreographic
essayedtheliterary manneradoptedbyBehrensfor"Lebensmesse." At thatpoint,
Dehmel'sideasaboutstaging areno moredevelopedthanthoseexpressed byBehrensinhisapprox-
imatelycontemporary article;thatis, paintedflatsaremodified
first bytheadoptionofmoreabstract
anddecorative
compositions.
totheperceptive
According Dehmel(Leipzig: H. Haessel,1926),pp.240-24I,the
JuliusBab inRichard
current Behrens
alsoranfrom
ofinfluence toDehmel,
citing: passion
Behrens's forsymmetrical
a certain
asincreasing
organization pedantic fororder
instinct inDehmel.

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u
?Q
1,2
u,

Behrens theideathat
treasured theentireformingoflifemustbethehighest
measure theartofa people
for
ofvalue anda [Link],themembers of
strove
theKiinstler-Kolonie tomanifestthebeautyandthepower ofthewhole of
none
life-and ofthem withmore furyanddeterminationthanBehrens.
Conse-
when
quently; Behrensgavehimselftotheexpressionofthese andto
attitudes
ofhisbelief
theproclamation a ceremonial
that istheapexandunion
theater oflife
heelevated
andart, thewhole
andstylized ofthat Behrens's
expression. grandiose
his
proclamation,FestedesLebens
und derKunst,appeared paper,an
onfine in
with
format
elegant multicolor
type-face, ornamentation, alldesigned
andbinding
byBehrenshimself.3"
Behrens's this
theater, tothe
holy
place Kunst,
gesamten ofoursurfeit
"symbol of
tothe"celebration
dedicated
vigor," wasnotbuilt,
ofourculture," andwehave
inDieRheinlande
byBehrens
onlya planpublished 17).Butwiththisplanand
(fig.
I2I desLebens
inFeste
thedescriptions undder andinDieRheinlande
Kunst wecanfully
Behrens's
picture ceremonial for
theater ofthebeautiful
the"cult life."33

Planfora theater,
[Link].
unbuilt,
I9o00o.

17I

\
?\

[Link]-Hestermann,
32Illustrated Stilwende, Mann,1956),[Link]'s
[Link].(Berlin:
withthecharacter
proseisalsoconsonant
pretentious Anadequate
oftheenterprise. of
translation
Behrens's
prosewould be at
difficult and
best, mightevenstrain
the of
credulitythe
reader
33Rheinlande,
I, p.28.

Stanford
Anderson

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 Thetheaterwastobesituatedona commanding siteoverlookinga valley,
itswalls
withcolor,
brilliant itscolumnsringedwithgarlands,
andlong, whitebanners
weretoflutter
from [Link] a
plan, symbol oftheonenessof
actors
andviewers,waseasily from
observable within andwithout. Thegreat main
the"Portal
entrance, oftheSun,"faced
south;itsdecoration,althoughmysterious,
[Link] smaller,theeastandwest
ofthemorning-star
entrances-portals andoftheevening-star-similarlyserved
to
welcome thepartakers
whowould bothoffer
andreceive [Link]
thenorth whose
portal, architectural
decoration
designateditasthePortalofthe
Moon,thepersonnel ofthetheater
couldgainaccesstothebackstage rooms.
Thecupola overthegreatcircular
chamberwaspierced withwindows. Highabove,
wouldstand
trumpeters inglowingraimentsounding callfarovertheland
their
andforests
below.

Onewould enter thefestival

buildingbya ramp underthehighestoftheseats, 122

coming intothehighspaceofthetheater where thecolor

range would bedeeper.
Theseating wasapproximatelythatofanantique theater.
Eachparticipant had
clear,
easy,anddirectcontactwiththebroad andshallowsimplestage.A small
orchestrawastobecentered infrontofthestageandbetween thetwobroad ranks
oflowmarble stepswhichallowedpassagebetween thestageanda processional
[Link]
areawouldserveboththemovements
oftheactors andthearrival
[Link] a symbolic
merging ofthetwoparts [Link],
themost importantpart
ofthestage forBehrens,
wasarchitecturally
unitedwiththeauditorium, for
Behrens belivedthat"wedonotwanttoseparate ourselves
from ourart."34The
breadthofthestage served
therelief-like
orderingandmovements ofthefiguresand
[Link]
wasforBehrens themoststriking,
andmost concentrated
expressionoflineandmovement." Chamber andstagewereonespace, andthiswas
emphasized bytheharmonious architectural
anddecorativehandlingofthewhole.
Themarble ofthestage
floor echoed thepatternoftheceiling
[Link]
stagewaslitbythenaturallightfrom thecupolawindows andbalanced byartificial
Atnight
lighting. aneven,diffuse
illumination theoverall
revealed cooperationof
theartswhilebeingitself
[Link]
nor
soffits
toprovide naturalistic
illusion
[Link]
elevated
rearstage,thevistawasclosedfirst
witha colonnade andthenbya wallthat
wassemi-circular
inplanandpermanent. Thelocaleandtimeofthepoetry were
tobeevokedintheviewers' imagination,notrepresented
innaturalistic
[Link],
themoodofthepiecewastobeemphasized andunderscored through
manipulation
ofthebackground. Greattapestries,
whichmight bearsymbolic motifs,
couldbe
hungbetween thecolumns. Ifonetapestrywereomitted, a portal
wouldopenonto
thewallbeyond whichwouldthenform a second,undifferentiated
background.
Thecurving spacebetween thecolonnade andthewallwouldbeeither darker or

34Feste,p. 19; thefollowing is paraphrased

material frompp. I9-21.
35 Thissuggests
Behrens's
reliance
on theideasaboutrelief inAdolfHildebrand,
propounded der
Problem
Form(Strassburg:
Heitz, 1893).

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\o
eq

k)
Q)
u,}

thanthestage,
brighter andalthough
itscolor
couldbechanged
withwallhangings,
Behrens inmostcasesa puregoldground.
preferred Forfigural thebrighter
relief,
would
foreground [Link] themoving line,a darksilhouette
would
beusedona bright
ground,inwhich casealltapestries
would beomittedanda
brilliant ground
golden wouldascendtothevaultingwithout This
interruption.
spacemustalsoserve
theentrances
andexits oftheperformers, "thepriests
ofthe
word,ofthebeautiful andofthedance;forthis,
gesture, inoneperson, iswhatthe
actorwouldbe."36

Behrensclaimedthatmimeanddanceweretheorigin ofthetheater,andagainmust
[Link]
andthemovement ofthedance
wouldbeenhanced ifonlywhite,oratthemosta single
color,wereusedforthe
costumes. beheldequalinthiscollaboration
Musicshould ofthearts,
eventhough
thereareemotionswhichonlymusiccanexpress.37 Itisthrough theseself-imposed
123 limitations
thateachartwouldcometofullexpression andtogether theartswould
attain
a harmonioustotaleffect.
Faithfulness
torealorhistorical conditions andthe
ofcolorsandlight,
unlimitedjuxtaposition "soartful as [this]maybe,is in
thatis,non-art."
naturalism;
principle 38Naturalism haddisplaced decadent styles,
[Link], forexample, theactor's purpose isgreater
[Link],hisevery
movement shouldbe stylized
andbeautiful,untilallis"Pathos undPose," untilall
conforms ownstrong
totheactor's form,hisidealofbeauty, hisstyle."Theartistry
beginsatthepointwherea phenomenon itself
simplifies tothesovereign form that
canbetheinclusivesymbol forallrelated
phenomena." 39

Behrenscalledforfreeandbeautifulspacesforcommunionamongtheparticipants
duringintermissions.
These,however, werenotaccommodated inhisproject.
Perhapstheplanwassoidealized thata subsidiary couldnotbeallowed
function
todisturb
theabsolute centralization.40
To imaginemostclearly
whatthephysical
appearanceofBehrens's theater
edifice
might havebeen,we canrefertohisonly
work
public ofthistime, fortheGerman
thevestibule section atthefirst
Inter-
national
Exposition Arts
ofDecorative atTurininI902(fig.I).

Inadditiontodescribing
hisreconstitution
ofthetheater,Behrens
alsosetouthis
ideasontheroleoftheaterinsociety.4Highonthehill,inthefestival
hall,every-
thingwastobeorganized tosatisfy
thespiritual
needsoftheparticipants.
Thebold
forms,theorgan, thevictorious
trumpets,allwouldcauseonetoputasideall
secondarymatters andprepareforthegreatartoftheWeltanschauung.
Therewould
bea playoflifeinwhichallparticipants
[Link]
poeticandspiritually
uplifting
dramatic
pieceswereathandforhistheater; he

36Rheinlande,
I, p. 29.
withAppia'sinterest
37Thiscontrasts dramawherethedramatic
ina word-tone bythemusic
linecarried
heldthedominant in
position theartistic As
hierarchy theoriginalstimulus
ofWagnerian operagaveway
inthestage,Appia'sposition
interest
toa moreuniversal on thispointapproachedthatofBehrens.
I, p. 29.
38Rheinlande,
39Feste,pp.23-24.

Stanford
Anderson

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 hadinmindRichard
already Dehmel's"ethical EineLebensmesse-
cantata,"42
Musik
Dichtungfiir (A massoflife-poem formusic).Thecantata wastobestaged
inanextraordinarily
ceremonialfashion.
The"priests" ofthepoeticword,univer-
ofhuman
salizations revealed
types, themassoflifeinnoble and
processions
earnest
declamation.
Symmetry inboththevisual
reigned andtemporal of
ordering
theperformance;Behrens's
stagediagram (fig.18)hinted
attheauraofsolemn
andpathetic Thissolemnity
celebration. wasmore clearly however,
expressed, in
theopeningceremony ofthecolony(fig.12),[Link]
ofsymbolicceremonyappearsagaininBehrens's summation ofhisplanforstaging
theLebensmesse:
Dehmel'sLebensmesse,
throughitsliturgical isa work
quality, which appears
peculiarly forpresentation
predestined insucha newBiihnenstil.
Sincethepoet
wrotewiththisintuition,
thework actually thenew
inaugurates style. Ifdrama
from
hasderived thenI seea great
cults,
religious signfortheevolving
theater
124
inthefactthatagain
style poetslivewhocangiveusandourtimes theformsfora
[Link] fromitsfoundation.
Dehmel's is
Lebensmesse
a cornerstone,
mostsolemnly
formed.43

[Link]
ofRichard
staging Dehmel'rs
Lebensmesse
inthetheater
byBehrens.
projected

5 18

4oHowever, theplansoftheRoyalAlbert
HallinLondon inParissuggest
andtheTrocadero thatthe
realization
ofBehrens's wasquiteconceivable.
scheme Itappears
thatBehrens
hadhisattention
directed
andtocertain
tothesebuildings, acousticprinciplestowhichhisdesignconforms,
through thecon-
venientHandbuchderArchitektur,
Part4, vol.I, Die architektonische (2nded.,Darmstadt:
Composition,
Diehl, I893), pp.275ff.
41Feste,
pp. 12-17.
term
42Thisdescriptive I havetaken
from Dehmel
Bab,Richard
Julius (1926),[Link]'scomparative
musicalimage isthelastmovement ofBeethoven'sninthsymphony
I, [Link]
43Rheinlande, hopedthathistheater wouldbefulfilled
proposal aspartoftheexhibition
"EinDocument deutscher Kunst"atDarmstadt [Link] itwasdecided thatpressing
thisprogram intotheatmosphere ofa summer wasnotpossible,
exhibition andthatsuchanattempt
wouldhaveresulted inmoredamage thanbenefit.
[Link], "AusderVorgeschichte desKiinstler-
DerSpiegel:
theaters," Musik
Literatur,
Blidtterfiir und I
Biihne,(JuneIs, 1908), [Link]
forthe
stagepresentations "Darmstiidter are
Spiele19oI" given inDie Rheinlande, I pp.45-
(April1901oi),
[Link] ofmodern met
plays with total
publicapathy andOlbrich's summer theaterhadtobeused
forlighter
entertainmentandconcerts. Thisisanonymously reportedin A. Koch, ed., Die der
Ausstellung
pp.
Darmstddter, [Link] thesame volume,seealsotheanonymous [ [Link]?] "Ideen
article, zu
einerfestlichen
Schau-Biihne,"pp.300-319.

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 much
Certainly oftheFuchs-Behrens-Dehmel theater-withitsanti-naturalism
and
itsideaofanelite,
anti-democracy, theelementary
stylization,
poetic express-
iveness
ofthedance, andaboveallthereckless onlifeasitsowncreator
grasp of
andmoral
philosophical criteria-echoes
Nietzsche,
despitethefactthatonecan
hardly
imagine Nietzsche caughtupinthenaivete
ofparts
oftheCultofthe
Life."Hewould
Beautiful nevertheless
haveunderstood
theendeavorsoftheCult:
AndZarathustra begantospeakoncemore."O my
hesaid,"youstrange
friends," men,youHigher Men,
howwellyoupleasemenow,
"sinceyouhavebecomejoyful again!Truly,
youhaveallblossomed forth:forsuchflowers asyou,
I think
newfestivalsareneeded.
"A little
bravenonsense, somedivineservice
andassfestival,
somejoyful oldZarathustra-fool,a
125
wind
blustering toblow your soulsbright.
"Do notforget this
night thisassfestival,
and
youHigherMen!Youdevised atmyhome,I take
that
thatasa goodomen-onlyconvalescents devisesuch
things!
"Andifyoucelebrate itagain,thisassfestival,
doitforloveofyourselves, doitalsoforloveofme!
Andinremembrance ofme!"
ThusspokeZarathustra.45

44 InKarlScheffler's study ofBehrens's houseatDarmstadt, DekorativeKunst, IX (go90I),hefirst states

that
Behrens's artandhisworld-view [Link] proceeds todiscuss Behrens'snatural aristocratic
qualities: "He knows nothingofthesocialcompassion thattorments somanyartists andmarsboththeir
livesandtheir works." Behrensdoesnothaveaffinity withTolstoy, Ruskin, andMorris, butrather with
Nietzsche. ForScheffler, Behrens's basicframeofmind isanoptimistic egoisminthebestsense(pp.21-
22). Following a warning ofthepossibilityofa despot,Nietzsche wrote:"This,however, istheother
danger andmyother pity:He whoisofthemobremembers backtohisgrandfather-with his
grandfather, however, timestops./Thusallthatispastishanded over:forthemobcouldoneday
become master, andalltimebedrowned inshallowwaters." /Therefore, O mybrothers, isa newnobility
needed:toopposeallmob-rule andalldespotism andtowrite anewuponlaw-tables theword:'Noble.'/
Formany noblemen areneeded, andnoblemen ofmany kinds,fornobilitytoexist!
Or,asI oncesaidina
parable: 'Precisely thisisgodliness,thattherearegodsbutnoGod!'[Zarathustra, p.22.]
Thisanxious search fora revitalized before
aristocracy thethreat ofa democratic deluge illuminatesthe
motives oftheGrand-Duke aswell;theArtists' Colony wasmorea lastminute attempt tofight fire
with
fire thana whole-hearted pursuitofmodernity
ThatBehrens, andtherefore alsothe"Modern Movement," hasroots other thanMorris hasbeenobvious
from thebeginning. Complementary tothematerialdiscussedhere,Friedrich Ahlers-Hestermann in
Stilwende (p.79)aptly introducedtheterm precisely
"Zarathustrastil" inconnection withhisdescription
ofthesplendor ofthemusic-room inBehrens's Darmstadt house(igoo-oli). Behrensemphasized the
symbolic importance ofthetwostepsthatledintothisceremonial roomwithitselaborate materialsand
crystal
prolific symbology.
Rudolf [Link], inHelmut Seling, [Link]
ed.,Jugendstil. (Heidelberg/Munich:
Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, I959),p.426,extended theterm "Zarathustrastil"
toBehrens's prose
inFeste desLebens undderKunst.
pp.325-26.
45Zarathustra, Julius Bab, inRichard
Dehmel (Berlin:GoseundTetzlaff,
1902), pp. 1-2,sawthe
following astheleitmotif
verses ofDehmel'slifeandpoetry:"UndderMensch willseligwerden auf
Erden-weisst
Du noch,wiemandasmachen muss?"(And manwants tofind
blissonearth-doyou
knowhowoneshould dothate)

Stanford
Anderson

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 InI9oo,whenBehrens wrote hisFestedesLebens undderKunst, Adolphe Appia's
proposalswithin the Wagnerian traditionwerethe revolutionarybutunrealized new
theoriesofstagecraft.46
Although theyurgeda freedom ofsceniccreation,they
benttoward anintensification
ofthedramatic lineandanabsorption oftheactors
andviewers intoanillusion,
andintoanemotional, non-rationaltotalexperience.
Behrens, too,claimed thathistheaterwastogiveanillusion. Butviewed
rather
theatrically, thantheorized metaphysically,Behrens'sproposals,ratherthan
wereintended
illusionistic, fora sensateimmediacy between theactor andviewer.
Theshallow stagewiththeconsequent emphasis onforestage acting,theproximity
ofseating andacting thelackofdefinition
areas, between theseareasandtheir
inclusioninonearchitectonicspace, thesimplicity andarchitecturalpermanence of
thestage background, theemphasis ondanceandmovement, andthesimple
illuminationallservedtoestablish contact
thattheatrical which became theprime
ofrevolutionary
interest twentieth centurystage andtheater desginers. Thetelling
I26
differenceisthatwithBehrens, althoughthe"offering andreceiving partaker" is
presumedto dressandcomport himselfasa true intheCultofthe
Mitkiinstler
BeautifulLife,heneverthelessparticipateswithout anemotional submissiontothe
enacted [Link]'s theater,theincreased contactservestoeliminate illusion
andtoprovide clearpresentationoftheindividualarts;Appia(andlater Gordon
Craigandmostsucceeding designers)availedhimself ofthevarious techniques for
increasingcontact withtheaudience, buttoa different [Link],
especiallythrough controlled
elaborately evocative tocreate
lighting, a spaceforthe
actorandtoimmerse boththeactor andtheviewer inanambiance anda [Link]
thattheviewer
desirable bea participant,buta participantinthepresented work.
There isa temporary submission ofone'sself
totheemotional force
ofthepiece.
WithBehrens, onefreelyandexaltedly participatesinthehigh massofthecultto
whichoneisperpetually
submitted.47

Weseektheharmony ofourspirit withtheUrnatur- reflectingNietzsche, theovercoming ofthelittle

reason ofourintellectbythegreat andpowerful reason ofourentire bodily existence(Zarathustra,
p.61).
Babuses"Die Lebensmesse" asthemostpotent example ofDehmel's central theme. Wemaynotein
passing thatZarathustra's"O Man!Attend!" forms theclimax ofDelius'"MassofLife." BothDehmel
andBabareanxious topointouttheindependence ofDehmel's thought andpoetry from Nietzsche. Bab
seesthisdistinction
stemming from the"Germanentum" ofDehmelascontrasted tothe"slavic-
romanisch, humanistisch" spiritofNietzsche (Bab,Dehmel [I902],p.12). Nevertheless,Babwrites: "So
Dehmelhasbecome thestandard-bearer intheprogress ofa newRenaissance, ofa newplanting ofhuman
cultureinthecolorful ground ofthismaterialworld;thestandard ofhisartquivers inthezephyr ofa new
erathatmorejoyfully celebrates thearts,andhisboldfigure rises
head-high aboveallhiscomrades. Only
oneother towers intothesameproud heights, hewhomarches attheheadofthishost:Zarathustra-
Nietzsche."Ibid.,[Link]. SeealsoZarathustra,p. i i i.
46 InthearticleinRheinlande,p.28,Behrens criticized Wagnerian stagingforits"plasticpainting,painted
architecture,illustrative
music andsimilardevices whichcontrive tocounterfeit orartinananti-
nature
stylistic
mixture." Astheseremarks arespecfically directed againstBayreuth, itisnotcleartowhatextent
Behrens wouldhavepressed hisargument against [Link] knewAppia's workiscertifiedby
E. Bruckmann-Cantacuzene, whopublished anarticle inherhusband'sjournal onthenecessity foran
artistic
reform ofthetheater (DekorativeKunst, VIII [April 1901],pp.271-78).Shewrites warmly of
Appia'srecentlypublished book,andpromises topublish Appia'sdesigns plusa discussionofBehrens's
theaterproposals inoneofthenextnumbers. Apparently thissecondarticle didnotappear;but,
considering Behrens'srelationshipwiththeBruckmanns, wecanbesurethathelearned ofAppia's book
nolater thanAprili9oi-probably muchearlier.
47Fora briefacount
ofrelated
German inthetheater
initiatives seetheAppendix.

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Q,
cis
el

u2
0.4

Appia'sstatement
quoted abovemakes clear
hisendeavortoadapt allvisual
means
fortheunderscoring
ofthedramatic Thevisual
line.48 realization for
exists
thepoetry;thewordstands pre-eminent [Link],
oneofthecharacteristics
oftheJugendstilattemptstobringarttothewhole of
lifewasthedisappearance
ofanyhierarchy [Link] worthless
oftextscouldreceive
painstaking anddecorative
typographical treatment. The
pictureframe intheexpression
participated ofthework thatitenclosed,andoften
thewholewasintended tobesubservient tothedecoroftheroom inwhich itwas
[Link]
couldbecome a mere fordecoration.
scaffolding Behrens's
theater contained
proposal thegerm ofthissameunordered,[Link]
Lebensmesse
wasclearly
ofgreatimportance toBehrens. Nevertheless,hisinsistence
ontheindependentbeauty ofeachpartofhistotalartform-of thespace,the
thedecor,
materials, thestagefurniture,thecostumes,thedance, thegestures,the
declamation-couldonlyimply a relative intheimportance
decrease oftheword.
127 Georg Fuchsrepeatedly
emphasized theimportance ofvisual
factorsattheexpense
oftheliterary
element;thegoaloftheater,ashesawit,wastoachieve artistic
not
effects, literary
effects.49

In1909,
throughthesupportofanavidpatronofthearts,thebanker,KarlErnst
Behrens
Osthaus, theopportunity
received toproducea theater
work to
according
hisprinciples.
Theproductionwastobepartofa festival theopening
celebrating
oftheStadtgartenhalle
inHagen,[Link] chosetostage an
Diogenes,
verse
uncompleted comedybyhislatefriend
OttoErichHartleben.s Theplay
hadnotbeenstaged anditwasanaptworkfortheBehrens
previously, program-
atleastinitsthematic ifnotinitsdramatic
implications, possibilities. "the
Diogenes,

48Seenote24.
49 Fuchs,"AusderVorgeschichte [Link]
desKiinstlertheaters," should
notbea
"Schankstitte furLiteratur;"onthecontrary, weshould havetheater thatisnothingelsebut"Theater:
l'artpourl'art,letheatre pourletheatre"(p. I47).
Behrens's friend,thepoetandessayist OttoJulius Bierbaum, describedtheNeuromantik theaterwhich
bothheandBehrens sought inthisway:"Weenvision astheidealajuxtapositionoftheartsinwhich
noneofthemholdsa position ofsuperiority"[Link], Die vernarrte EinFabelspiel
Prinzess: indrei
Bildern,miteiner Vorrede
iberdasmusikalische
Biihnenspiel(Munich: Langen, 1904),[Link].
On Dec.28,19oi,Bierbaum hadopened hisTrianon-Theater inBerlin,anattempt ata lyric
theaterthat
didnotsurvive theopening [Link] symbolic aswellasa physicalfactthatoneofthe
elements contributing totheTrianon-fiasko wasthepunctuation oftheversesof"thelittle
Muse"bythe
rumbling ofthe [Link] presents theevening'sprogram and makes hisexcusesinDie
Insel,III (Jan.1902),pp. I19ff.
Inhisarticle of1907,Scheffler spokeofthedanger oflossofhierarchyamong theartsandplacedthe
blameonGordon who
Craig, personified instagecraftwhat Scheffler
feltwere therecognizeddangersof
theEnglish cultofarts-and-crafts.
SchefflerproteststhatforCraig theword isone with movement, line,
color,andrhythm. "Ifthisattitudewinstheday,thenthereform ofthestagemustnecessarily endin
superficial theatricalism."
(Scheffler,
"Biihnenkunst," citedinnote47above,pp.220-21). Scheffler's
summary treatment of is I it
Craig inadequate;presentonlybecause Scheffler's
argument pointsupa
relevant problem ina context which would have beenknown toBehrens.

SoThefirst
twoscenes
ofDiogenes
werewritten
in1896andpublished
inPan,IV (Dec. 1896),pp.223-232.
Scenes3,4,and5werewritten
atthesametime;thefirst
scenewasreworked [Link]
never but
completed was inits state
published fragmentary (Berlin: [Link], Theworkwasa
I90o5).
free of
adaptationDiogenes
byFelix and
Pyat(Paris Leipzig,I846).

Stanford
Anderson

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 dog,"graspslifeatitsmostelementary
andsensual levelandshocksthecitizens
of
Athenswithhisrejection ofallconventions
[Link]
Aspasia,beloved bythenoblesofAthens,iswonfrom bothhersuitors
andher
loveofriches
superficial bythewordsandexample [Link]
[Link]
unaffected oftheattraction
ofDiogenesand
Aspasiaforoneanother isnotgiveninHartleben's
fragment, thedirection
itwould
[Link] theacceptanceoflifeandthelove
ofbeauty-forward totheCultoftheBeautifulLife!

Thisproductionreflects
thetoneofBehrens's 1907statement ratherthanthatofthe
undderKunst:theemphasis
FestedesLebens isspecifically
onthestageproblems;
thesocialimplications
arelesspresentherethantheywerewithFuchsatthesame
[Link],Behrens stage"[Link]
pusheshis"relief
oftheproductionshowthetinyshelf onwhichtheactors performed ina highly
manner.
stylized Hereatlastallis"Pathos
undPose"(figs.I9, 20). Yetthisapparently 128

unpromisingproductionmerits consideration.'

Theodor Lessing'scritiqueinDie Schaubiihneminimizes valueof

theartistic
Hartleben'scomedy andsuggests thatBehrens chosea workofinsufficientgravity
andquality fora trialofhistheater [Link]'s personalcomm-
itment totheSymbolist theater (andtheinadequacies oftheHagenexperiment)
blindedhimtosomepotentially excellent ofBehrens's
qualities program,buthis
[Link] makeslightofBehrens's exaggeratedstyliz-
of
ationand the on
insistence genuine and
objects [Link] also
theideathattheauditorium
criticizes [Link] accusesBehrens,
asa manfrom thevisualarts,ofconsidering merely
staging [Link]
visually-orientedstagingresultsina stagespacewhichisnot,according toLessing,
[Link]'twanta naiveillusion ofnature
inthetheater, we muststilldifferentiate
between understanding thesymbol asreal
andsymbolically understanding WhereasBehrens
reality. properlyavoidsthe
former, heimproperly [Link] isanover-emphasison
visualfactors attheexpenseofthedrama.

Nevertheless,
theseverity
ofBehrens's
relief-stage
production
ofDiogenesmay
reflect
hisconsideration
oftheproblemofthetheatrical
depreciation
oftheword.
He wishedtoretainthebeautiful
word,yethedidnotwanttosubjecttheother
artstoa subservient
theatricalism.
Behrens's
resolution
wastoexercise
hisoriginal

s51Forcontemporary andcriticisms
descriptions see: ErnstSchur,"PeterBehrensund
ofthisproduction,
dieReform N.F. XXII (Dec. i91o), pp.41-44;Leipziger
derBiihne,"Kunstgewerbeblatt, (June30,
Tageblatt
1909),pp. Io-II; Theodor Hannoverscher
Lessing, Kurier,Beilage"Welt undWissen,"(July7, 1909);
Lessing,Diisseldorfer (July17, 1909);Lessing,Die Schaubiihne,
CGeneralanzeiger V (Aug. 1909),pp. 145-
15I; WilhelmSchifer,Die Rheinlande, IX (Aug. 1909),pp.265,267-271;[Link], Die neueRundschau,
XX (Aug. 1909),pp. [Link] the
toJolles, presentationdidnotfulfill
thepotentialofeither
thedramaorthestagetheorySee alsoKraft-Eike Wrede,KarlErnstOsthaus [Link]
Behrens's
Inszenierungdes'Diogenes'vonOttoErichHartlebenfiirdieHagener Sommerschauspiele
(1909)
(Hagen: KarlErnstOsthausMuseum,1984).Withparticular referencetoOsthaus,butalsowitha
oftheBehrens-designed
facsimile announcement forthe"Diogenes"production, see5 V, "DasJahrdes
Theaters,"pp.59-65,ofWalterErben,"KarlErnstOsthaus,LebenswegundGedankengut," inHerta
Hesse-Frielinghaus, Osthaus.
et al.,KarlErnest LebenundWerk (Recklinghausen: A. Bongers,1971).

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10

ill.??vr-ir????
?

x r'
ic.;
ii
i :-:P:
i ii
t
1i

t1i:i i
ii

fI
I
1
ii .rr
:~
:r
- Rh~Cr*rrCS~(h~ ii
I iIi
si II

-------
-~?rY.??-r~~l*.-*.lllI~l~irU?i~L
li~illL*l*ll~lll
I?N~?C?III~Ci~~??V-??e*-??e~l~l*11111~??
I9

129
programwithin
themostrigid Inthiswayhisbeautiful
limits. contracted
production
until
thewholeperformance
became a recitation
virtually infinebutsimple
surr-
withrhythmic,
oundings, movements
expressive andgestures For
bytheactors.
andtheperformers
theaudience wasa spatial
there immediacy;thephysical
andthesensations
impediments oftheatricalism
werelargely
avoided;andwith
thedramatic
actors,
adequate andimaginativecreationofthepoetcouldberecreated
Thiswould
intheauditor. beatleastthepotentialofBehrens's
[Link]
however,
production, atoncestylizedandyetsimple enoughtogivetheproper,
unified relies
tothepoetry,
emphasis foritseffect.
ongreatliterature In 1907,
thattheclassics
hadsuggested
Behrens beusedfortheinitial ofhisprogram.
trials
Whether monumental
wassufficiefitly
Diogenes tosucceedinfulfilling
Behrens's
isdoubtful;
program hadnodirect
theHagenexperiment successors.2

WhatthenwasBehrens'sachievement?Thecontemporary Benno
critic,
wroteofthegoalsandthepromise
Ruettenauer, oftheDarmstadt Until
activity.
intheartshasconcentrated
now,hesaid,thenewactivity toomuchonparticulars
[Link]
andnotenough asanentirety.
It
must itsvitalpower
manifest the
byinfluencing whole
of augmenting
life, life
andstrength.
beauty
through anda timemust
A people bemeasured
finally in
terms [Link]
totalformation
oftheir be sought in
mainly
individual inthebeautiful
butrather
works, ofallthatiscreated.
harmony The
2 Forthe"dramatic"achievement ofsheerrecitation
seethecommentary onKarlKraus'Theatre
ofPoetry
(inVienna,first
decadeofthe2othcentury) inErichHeller, Mind(NewYork:Farrar,
TheDisinhereited
Straus
andCudahy, 1957), pp.242-243.
inhisinteresting
Asindicated final ontheater
statement ("BerdieKunstaufder Frankfurter
Biihne,"
[March2o,I9Io],pp.I-3),Behrens
Zeitung hadcometorespect inrecitation
whatcouldbeachieved or
inrehearsal.
He insisted,however, berecited
thatverseshould asverse,
andwithproper soon
gestures;
hewasattheposition discussed foranarchitectonic
inthetext:a desire oftheseveral
structure arts
intheunified
culminating rhythm ofaproduction [Link]
whichdidjustice and
ona relief
gesture stageremained Behrens's theme.
principal
Behrensspecifically workofJacques
citedtheadmirable Dalcrozeandhisstudents Itwas
ineurhythmics.
Tessenow
atjustthistimethatHeinrich designedandbuilta theater school
andassociated andresidential
complex wastheelevated
[Link] communal cultural ofHellerau
center near
Dresden, citythatwascreated
a garden byKarlSchmidt's
andsustained Deutsche ftir
Werkstitten
Handwerkskunst-important tothedevelopment
contributors oftheDeutscherWerkbund.

Stanford
Anderson

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 ?C?
??'?
J~?-'?
i..- ?'
" ? 1.'.*u?FI.~'.*~?'~';*rr?.
? r?-?r?
r -*?-?e *+?~?' Behrens.
Productionof
-;e '?~?~ '-?"; rz~'r I9.
Hartleben's
Diogenesatthe
~?4
z??~*~
"'? , Stadtgartenhalle,
Hagen,
26June I909; the Prologue.
i?r;~
.? '*?*?
[Link].
Productionof
,,
Hartleben's
Diogenes;
iIiti: iic...,
... ....
sceneI.
i ;1

tr~a~:ij! jiI i
~LL11 aur
t?i~k~i~ 1 1111
i I: r.
ii ir

i'iV9~--b I Ir~ Il s- ~~1- ---1 -w IIIi

~C I ~ ~e~c~rrs~---- -- ?i;l
?i i I ;?

.rr?r~.)?-*
UI?.*I*?~YC? I
20

time, itsownart,willagain
encompassing have"style"
constituent
partswill 130
befound
tobe necessarily
astheyare,andtheimitation
ofthatwhich
isforeign
in
timeorspacewillbeunthinkable.
Thatistheidealofthenewart;thatiswhat
thenewcenturymustachieve."

Theseendeavorspursuedonepossible
coursetowardthegoalofculturalintegration.
They were in
general
sufficiently their that
origins themovement received
itsname"Jugendstil"
only its
after andwithout
appearance a formal
manifesto.
Theclosest toa manifesto,
thing tomyknowledge, wastheProgramm issuedin
19oobytheEugenDiederichs house,
publishing which hadalsoaccepted
FestedesLebens
Behrens's undderKunst forpublication.
Diederichsproclaimedthe
intentions:
following
Astheleading publisheroftheNeuromantik, I would liketoemphasize thatthis
movement isnottobeconfused withthatofthedecadents [Link]
cultural
directiondoesnotfavor norunrealistic
primitivism, dreams; rather,
succeedingtheageofspecialization andone-sided itwillsto
intellectualization,
observeandenjoy theworld assomething [Link] the
itovercomes
worldintuitively, thematerialism
andnaturalism thathavebeenthe
ofintellectualism.
fruit TheRomantics oftheearly nineteenth century opposed
thecoldsmoothness ofantiquityandbelievedthatthey would finda morenatural
manintheMiddle Ages,towhichtheyreturned insongandlegend. We
modems, however, seek
our idealsinthetimewhen theenergy ofthepeople
expresseditself
intheunfragmented ofthehumanistic
personalities [Link]
monographs onthehistory ofGerman culture
areintended tobea landmark on
thiscourse,andina fewyears theeraofthefifteenth andsixteenth centurieswill
haveitsplacenotonlyintheminds butalsointhoseofthepeople.
ofscholars,
TheoldRomantics stroveformuch knowledge, fortheuniversality ofman;and
inasmuch astheysought notonlytothink theiridealsbutalsotolivethem, they
gavelifetotheirknowledge. The Neuromantik willfollowthesamecourseifit
goes backto andcontinues the the
naturalness,originality, theart,andthejoy of
existencecommon tothemenoftheageofParacelsus andDiirer. Thecultural

53 B. Ruettenauer,
KunstundHandwerk
(Strassburg,
1902), inthechapter"Ein Dokument
pp.71-72,
deutscher
Kunst,"actuallywritten to
prior the 19olexhibition.

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 whomerely
philistine himself
decorated withpatches
ofculture, andwhom
Nietzsche hasrightly willbe
criticized, overcome, andthe new movement will
himintheartistic
instruct ofthetwentieth
culture [Link] ofthesoul
forsomething thatwillgivemeaning
andcontenttolifeleadsdirectlytothe
deepening of theindividual.
Fromthis man
profunditydevelops, asshown by
31 Goethe, toharmony withhisenvironment;
theapperceptive lifeleadstothe
ofthelatent
fulfillment andtalents,
energies tothehealthyandjoyous man
whose lifeisanunconscious [Link]
work deadknowledge, butartshall
transformthesoulandthefeelingofmanandleadhimtopractical activity.
Only
inthiswaydidRuskin leadEnglishculture
toitspresentinfluentialposition.14

ThetimesofDiirerandofGoethe,recalled arethetwoBliitezeiten,
byDiederichs,
thetwo"springs,"
ofGerman civilization, theflowering
nourishing ofculture
inwhichtheintegration
oflifeandartwillfind
itsorigin
[Link]
wastosearch
"Jugendstil" forandenvision
anartful without
life needtocheck
I31 artfulness
[Link]-Kolonie
atDarmstadt
wasthemost
center
productive forthisendeavor;
Behrens's
theater themost
proposal, ambitious
ofitsprinciples.
application Itmakes
overt
whatotherwise
mighthavebeen
onlyimplicit.
Primitiveacceptance ofthesymbol orimage asreality however
itself, importanta
roleinlifethisattitude
might giveto the seemed
arts, an obviousanachronism
in
thelatenineteenth [Link],
thesymbolic ofreality,
understanding
too
placed much emphasisona realitywhichwasjudged nottodeserve
this
primacy Furthermore, symbolicunderstandingwasthought inthecase
tooprivate
oftheartist,tooabstractinthecaseofthescientist.
(TheNeuromantik didnot
knowFreud.) A remaining alternative
wastomakereality Theinvention,
symbolic.
energy,power, andself-consciousness
ofmodernmancouldre-unite and
reality
symbolism bytransforminglifeintoart.
Theendeavortodramatize
theworld,tomakethewholeoflifeartistic,
tomake
everyactsymbolic,
wasa [Link]
inconstantdanger of
thatwhich
destroying itmosthighly Allhierarchy
valued. threatenedtodisappear;
theframebecameasimportant
asthepicture.
Whatwasmeant tobeartfulrisked
beingonlyartificial.
Thestepfrom everything achievingsymbolicmeaning to
being"merelysymbolic"SS wasdiscovered tobedangerously [Link]
modelofa newcultural era,theDarmstadt colonyturned outtobea hugestageset.
Housesweremerecoulisses; monumental buildingsandevenpeopleformed a
backdropbefore
whichdancedthemostartful creationofall,a Neo-romantic,
modernZeitgeist.
Almost immediately thesachlich
("objective,""matter-of-fact,"
"downtoearth")reaction [Link]
totheproblem ofcultural
54Eugen Leben
Diederichs. undWerk, [Link]-Diederichs(Jena:Diederichs,
1936),
pp. Also
52-53. quotedin E. Aus
Diederichs, meinem
Leben FelixMainer,
(2nded.,Leipzig:Verlag 1938),
pp.27-28.A longseries
ofstatements anda fullbibliography
byDiederichs wereedited byWaltherG.
Oschilewskiandpublishedasa Beilage
inserted
after
p.32inImprimatur,
IX (i940).Seealsonote26above.
ssAccordingtoNikolausPevsner inhisPioneers
ofModern Design(Harmondsworth: Penguin,1960),pp.
theEnglish
138-149, [Link]
architect-designer inI893"declared
realismtobeunsuitable
for
hewasinclined
decoration, toadmit andbeasts
plants inpatterns
onconditionthattheybe'reducedto
meresymbols."'

Stanford
Anderson

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 tofind
theendeavor
integration, ofanewartwithin
theseeds theproblem
situation
oftwentieth nowtook
life,
century [Link],
thebook
that
hadbeena bookfor became
everyone, a book
fornoone.
hadforeseen
Nietzsche this
condition:
Theunhistorical
[the
powertoforget]
andthesuper-historical
andreligion]
[art
natural
arethe antidotes the
against oflife
overpowering byhistory;
theyarethe
for
cures thehistorical Wewho
disease. aresick
ofthedisease
may suffer
alittle
fromtheantidote.
Butthis
isnoproof
that
thetreatment
wehave chosen
iswrong.
here
And oftheyouth
I seethemission that
forms
thefirst offighters
generation
itwillbring
anddragon-slayers; a more
beautiful
andblessed and
humanity
butwill
culture, haveitself
nomore thana glimpse
ofthepromised
landof
andwondrous
happiness beauty Thisyouth willsuffer
bothfromthemalady
andyetitbelieves
anditsantidotes; instrengthandhealth andboasts
a nature 132
tothegreat
closer Nature than itsforebears,
thecultured
men andgraybeards
[Link] totheir thepresent
foundations
conceptionsof"health"and"culture,"anderecthatredandscornintheplace
of
[Link] signofits
own and
strength health
is
justthefact
thatitcanusenoidea, noparty-cryfrom thepresent-day
mintof
wordsandideas tosymbolizeitsownexistence; butonly claims
conviction
from
thepower initthatactsandfights,breaks and
up destroys; andfroman ever
heightened oflife
feeling when thehour Youmay
strikes. deny this
youthany
culture-buthowwould youth countthata reproach.?
6
WasDarmstadt, justthesuffering
then, ofthefirst
stageofconvalescence?Could
Nietzsche's
treatment,withcontinued indeed
application, bethecure?Perhaps;
butI think
itisworth thattheNietzschean
indicating problemalsosuggests
a quite
different
[Link],andmost ofthemenmentioned here,wereaware of
thelimitations
ofnineteenth
centuryscience which
(Wissenschaft) theysawas
andpositivist.
empirical WithRanke hadcomealsoanempirical, positivist
history
Now
(Geschichtswissenschaft).there
was alsosuchart and
history theory (Kunstwiss-
Thesesciences
enschaft). havetheir
materialtriumphs,itwasacknowledged, but
against
thispositivistic
intellectual
worldonemust assert
the"unhistorical"
andthe
"super-historical."
History
andart,andwiththem life,
must bepulledawayfrom
thematerialist
graspofpositivism.
Newtriumphs, itwashoped, would beachieved
throughthisfreedomfrom Wissenschaft.
Thehubris ofthepositivist
wasmatched
[Link] treatmentmighthavebeena non-positivistic
reinter-
pretation
ofWissenschaft.
Failing
anysuchre-interpretation
ofscience,
theNeuromantik-Jugendstil
move-
ment wasnomore abletocometotermswiththeincreasingly
importantintellectual
andsocial
roleofsciencethanwasthesociety
against
which theseartists
hadrebelled.
Consequently,
themovement wasneverasfarremovedfromitsnineteenth
century
predecessors
asithadsought tobe.

essaycitedinnoteI, p.77.
s6Nietzsche,

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u
1o

Appendix
Thefirst
yearsofthetwentiethcenturysawa great
activityininventive
theater
ideas.(Seethe
bibliography to
referred innote22 From
above.) 1900to 1903,GordonCraigdevelopedhishighlyabstract,
cubist,
virtually in
stageproposals Londonbefore to
going Germany whereheassociatedwiththe avant-
gardeartistic
groupformed around Graf
Harry Kesslerin Berlin
andWeimar. the
Through good offices
ofKessler,
Craigwastoproduce Dasgerettete
Venedig( Venice anadaptation
Preserved), byHugovon
Hofmannsthalofa tragedybyOtway, for
Otto Brahm's Lessing-Theater.
Craigsoonfellintodispute
withthefamed German Naturalist and
producer, Venice wasnotstaged
Preserved according toCraig's
However,
designs. a series
ofexhibitions
ofhistheatrical
designs, inBerlin
starting inDecember 1904,
madeCraigandhisworkfamous theGerman-speaking
throughout world.
Martin Zickel,withothers whoincluded MaxReinhardt, hadfosteredanti-naturalism
inBerlin,
beginning withMaeterlinck'[Link], theirinfluenceonstaging wassmall,
limitedtotheideaofmoresymbolic anddecorative [Link] 190o, MaxReinhardt'ssmall house"Schall
undRauch"opened inBerlinandthenevolved from cabaret totheater-namelytheKleines Theater,
whichopened withFrank Wedekind's DerErdgeist (TheEarth inDecember
Spirit) [Link]
KleinesTheater, inJanuary 1903,MaximGorki's Nachtasyl (Na dyne;TheLower Depths), a realistplay,
wasstaged withfresh fantasybyRichard Vallentin.
Financially andpopularly,
thisproduction might be
133
consideredthebeginning ofthenewtheater inGermany; itenjoyedfivehundredperformances intwo
[Link] 1902IsadoraDuncanmadeherfirst sensationinParis,andsoonherdancing wasfamous
throughout [Link] rosetoworld reknown withhismultifarious
productions atthe
NeuesTheater and,beginning onOctober I9, 1905, atthe Deutsches TheaterinBerlin. (There isan
extensivebibliographyonReinhardt. A special
number ofTheatre V, no. 3 [1963], isdevotedto
Research,
Reinhardt'sentirecareer.)
Thefoundation oftheSchauspielhaus inDusseldorf (opened withFriedrichHebbel'sJudithinOctober
1905) by LuiseDumont and Gustav Lindemann already pointedtothepost-Jugendstilclassical
reaction
[Link] dream ofrealizing
Schiller's butit
Nationaltheater,
continued thesearchforimaginative theatrical
production. Repeated requestsaddressedtotheDumont-
Lindemann-Archiv inDusseldorfhave failed
tobring anyinformation onBehrens's withthe
relationship
SchauspielhausduringthetimeofBehrens's directorship oftheKunstgewerbeschule inDusseldorf (1903-
07). [Link], Dekorative
Kunst, XVI (1913),P. 308,saysBehrens gave"instructions"fortheHamlet
[Link] alltheindividualsinvolved sharedsimilar
backgrounds, andtheirtheo-
retical
positionsappeartohavebeencongenial. LuiseDumont tothetheater
referred asthe"Tempel und
Tabemakel desGeistes"andusedsuchphrases as"dieBiihne alsH6chste SeeKurtLoup,
Kultstatte."
undFreiheit
Scho'nheir (Dusseldorf: Stern,1959), p. 179. Forcontemporary comments bytheprincipal
person involved,seeL. Dumont, "Das Schauspielhaus inDiisseldorf,"
Die Woche(Oct.7, I905), pp.
[Link]"Hausordnung" ofthetheater wasprinted usingthefirst
type-facedesigned byBehrens
(seeplatebetween pp. 88and89ofLoup).Oneofthemajor stagedesignersfortheSchauspielhaus was
Eduard Sturm,who,according toinformation supplied [Link] Kordt ofDusseldorf,
emphaticallydeclaredhimselfa "Behrens-Schiiler" Forsixillustrations
ofSturm stagedesignsseeDas
Schauspielhaus EinViertelfahrhundert
deutscher published
Biihnenkunst, by the Freihochschulbund
Diisseldorf:
(Dusseldorf,1930).
Craig's
influential i9-5 in
appeared
TheArtoftheheater (alsoasDie Kunst Fritz
desheaters).
Schumacher strove
unsuccessfully tomakethenewtheater,
andespecially
Craigproductions,
a reality
at
thethirdDeutsche Ausstellung
Kunstgewerbe [Link]'s
Wandlungenim
(Hamburg:Toth,1948).
Biihnenbild
In 1907,KarlScheffler
wrote a lengthyarticle
summing uptherapidly
changedsituation
ofthetheater:
Kunst
"Biihnenkunst," uhdKiinstler,V (March1907),pp. 217-244.
Hisdominanttheme wasanappre-
ciation
ofReinhardt.
SchefflergaveBehrenstheopportunitytoexpress
histheater
ideas;thedetails
[Link]'s
presentation
isnowstrictlydescriptive
ofthephysicalproposals
fora relief-like
stage-thereisnoneofthepompous proseandnoneofthe
philosophical
andsociological
scaffolding
oftheearlier
descriptions.
WhileBehrens wasengrossedinteaching
andinthebeginnings ofhisarchitectural
career
atDusseldorf,
GeorgFuchscontinued topursuetheideasofstageandsocietywhichhadevolved
from theDarmstadt
[Link] I905Fuchspropagandized
thereliefstageinDie Schaubiihne
derZukunft,
a workwhich con-
tainedtwoplansanda section
byMaxLittmann fora proposed
theater
withtheprescribed
shallow
stage.

Stanford
Anderson

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In1906,intheseries Flugblitter kiinstlerischer
ftir no.6, Fuchsdescribed
Kultur," theroleofthedance
fora culture inwhichthewholeoflifeisgivenform: DerTanz(Stuttgart: StreckerundSchroder, 1906).
Atthissametime,under thepatronage ofRupprecht, Prinzvon Bayemrn, Fuchscreated theKiinstler-
theaterinMunich together withthestagedesignerFritzErlerandthearchitect MaxLittmann (19o7-08).
Littmann was animportant theaterarchitect
of the who
time, had builtboth thePrinzregententheater
andtheSchauspielhaus inMunich attheturn ofthecentury [Link], MaxLittmann. 1862-1931
[Munich, I93I].TheKiinstlertheater, whichwasdestroyed inthesecond World War,hadopened with
a production ofGoethe's FaustonMay17,[Link] wassetabovetheTheresienwiese ona site
intheexhibition park;alongthepathswhichledtheBavarian nobilitytothefestivalperformance were
rowsoftorches. Theplanofthebuilding wasrectangularandthere wasa modified, broad, andsimple
proscenium opening. Inother thetheater
details, reflected
many ofBehrens's [Link]
oftheaudience, thebroad forestage almost
reaching tothefront seats,theslightterracingofthecom-
parativelyshallow stage(approx.I3'x 33'),thesegmental background againstwhichtheactors appeared
eitherinrelief orsilhouette (thebackground washereformed byoneoffour interchangeable,differently-
colored cycloramas), [Link] ofsetsandcostuming approximates thedemands
ofBehrens. Fuchswas,infact,theonewhocarried onastheactiveadvocate ofthe"reliefstage"andthe
socialprinciplesthathadbeenassociated withitatDarmstadt. Nonetheless, thearchitect,Max
Littmann, inhisDas Miinchner (Munich:L. Werner,
Kiinstlertheater 1908),doesnotmention Behrens as
heevokes extensive precedents inantiquity,
theOrient, andthroughout thenineteenth centurywith I34

suchfigures asGoethe, Schinkel andSemper. Tojudgefrom thedescriptions oftheKiinstlertheater

production of Faust,itwas mainly theevocativeuseof that this
light separated staging from Behrens's
andwhichrblated ittothemaintrends oftwentiethcenturystagecraft. Foran evaluationofthis"first
symbolist of
productionFaust," seeM. New Old
Gorelik, 'heatresfor (New York: Dobson, 1948),pp.
[Link] alsoindicates theimportanceofthetheater building(p. 289)andgivesa brief accountof
Fuchs'monarchist politicalactivities.
Gordon Craig's visittotheKiinstlertheaterinI9O8madehimanecstatic enthusiastofallaspectsofthis
theater [Link], OntheArtoftheTheater (London:Heinemann, 1911),andthefirstofhistwo
letterstoJohn Semar.
Foranincisive
studyoftheKiinstlertheater seeWalter
anditsinfluence Grohmann,Das Miinchner
inderBewegung
Kiinstler-theater derSzenenund7heaterreform
(Berlin:GesellschaftTheatergeschichte,
flir
I935).SeealsoLenz Die
Priittig, Revolution
des Studien
Theaters. iiber Fuchs,
Georg Beitrage
Miinchener
[Link] (Munich,1971).
zurTheaterwissenschaft,
Further:Fuchs,"AusderVorgeschichte citedabove,n. 43;G. Fuchs,
desKiinstlertheater" Die
desTheaters
Revolution (Munich/Leipzig, inEnglish
1909),available asRevolutionintheTheatre,
"condensedandadapted" byC.C. Kuhn(Ithaca:ComellUniversity Press,1959); Gertrude Rudloff-
HilleinSeling, E. Stern,
i, pp. 397ff.; bei
Biihnenbildner Max Reinhardt(Berlin, 1955)pp. H.J.
92ff.;
"Modern
Birnstingl, Theater Architectural
Design," Review,LII (1922):
pp. 134-139.
Whatheseesasthefirst importantexhibition
of modem theater art
(Mannheim, 1913)isreviewedby
[Link], "Die neueBiihnenbildkunst,"
DekorativeKunst,XVI (I913): pp.297-312. Appia,Craig,
andBehrens areseenastheprincipalinitiators
ofthemovement.

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