The Leopold Museum and Good Company

August 26^th, 2009

Today’s trip to the Leopold Museum was a nice change from the sadness that we encountered yesterday. Dr. O is probably one of the smartest women that I have ever had the pleasure of taking a tour from. She is extremely knowledgeable and well versed on so many different forms of art history, and she has lived in Wien for over 40 years.

The museum is located in the MuseumsQuartier of Wien, one of the ten largest cultural complexes in the world. The collection itself is the personal collection of Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold who consolidated over 5,000 works into the museum. Both the website and Dr. O say that The Leopold contains “the largest Egon Schiele collection in the world, together with major works by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Gerstl, Albin Egger-Lienz, and paintings and prints by Herbert Boeckl, Hans Böhler, Anton Faistauer, Anton Kolig, Alfred Kubin, and Wilhelm Thöny.”

We focused a great deal on Gustav Klimt, one of the most well known artists in the world. He was born in to the Ringstraße project. He studied at the applied arts academy and studied to be a goldsmith. Klimt, when he applied for his first passport, put his occupation down as a decorator. He considered himself a decorator of buildings. The Ringstraße era ended with the university scandal, which in a nutshell was caused because his paintings were refused. This ended Klimt’s career as a Rinstrasse decorator and he became 1^st president of the Secession. Klimt went through 3 periods: The Ringstraße, his most famous art nouveau (where works with gold and silver) and then was influenced by young painters like Schiele and turned to painting portraits like The Bride. He likes intertwining features but now uses colors and more designs. In this style he moved away from gold and towards expressionism.

I like how Dr. O conducted the tour by allowing us to sit in front of the picture and answer her questions. This made the tour seem more engaging and allowed us to really look at all of the detail within the painting. While looking at Klimt’s Death and Life we definitely picked up some stragglers on the tour. She has one of those personalities where when she walks into a room people take notice. At first people might be taken aback by her, but when they hear what she is saying they tend to tune in! Death and Life was changed after five years to bring the element of death, the skeleton, closer to life.

Egon Schiele was also an artist that we spoke about in great length. He was a protégé of Klimt who led an incredibly difficult life. He paintings are incredibly intense and known for his twisted body shapes and perverse forms. They have distinct sense eroticism and pornographic characters. Schiele’s wife died of the Spanish Flu while pregnant with his child, and he followed shortly after.

One of the things that I enjoyed the most about my day at the museum was hanging out with Kathy and Dr. O after it was over. We drank coffee at a café and ate an amazing dinner at a really nice restaurant in the MuseumsQuartier. Kathy was nice enough to make this my “going away meal” since I was going to be leaving the trip before the final dinner. I had grilled lamb, potatoes and ratatouille. This was probably one of the best meals that I had while in Wien because of the conversation and the company. We talked a lot about politics, which is normally a no-no, but with Kathy is a given! Dr. O really impressed me in that she wanted to hear both sides of the Obama issues since her family on the east coast completely dogged him out. Kathy, who is wayyyyyy on the left, made sure to correct any confusion! ;)

Mauthausen

August 25^th, 2009

They laugh in the back of the bus and I wonder how I could laugh with a pit the size of an orange in my chest. I’ve just reached the city of Mauthausen, with its beautiful fields, homes and scenery. It is hard to imagine that a little more than 50 years ago this complex was being used to work and murder countless ethnic groups, political “threats” and the “sexually perverse”.

The actually complex of Mauthausen looks a lot like a castle, which is strange. There is only one gate that leads into the detention camp, and I think of people pulling down the Nazi insignia from the top of its perch. From previous knowledge I know that every piece of rock that I am looking at on the structure and on the path has been laid down by a prisoner of the Nazi regime. It feels strange to walk around the complex when nothing looks like the pictures or video that I watched on its liberation. It’s eerie to know that you are walking around in a place that housed so much death.

The tour guide of our group was awesome because he was both knowledgeable and insightful yet quiet when he had to be. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. He showed us the “Wailing Wall” where the SS would line up new prisoners to the camp. Along this wall people would be shot, attacked by dogs, belittled and told, “This is the way in, and that’s the way out (pointing at the incinerator).” If it was cold out than the SS officers might take water and throw it on the prisoners, leaving them outside to turn literally turn into ice cubes and freeze to death.

From this wall the prisoners were led to the shower, where they had their body hair shaved off with rusty blades. They would then stand together, six to a showerhead. People were mass murdered in this shower by various means.

From here we were taken to one of the last remaining barracks, where sometimes up to 2000 inmates were held. It was meant to accommodate 300. The bunks would hold six people; three per bed. 

The crematorium of Mauthausen as an extremely solemn place, with pictures and place cards remembering those who had died. A couple was wondering around and taking pictures in front of the oven, which I thought was incredibly inappropriate. How do you smile in front of something so horrible? The kids were also running around the memorial and trying to hit each other, which was distracting. You are basically standing in a graveyard, there needs to be a certain level of respect. I wonder if this behavior is what Kluger was talking about in her book…

The gas chamber is, of course, quite eerie as well. It is set to look like a real shower so that the prisoners would not riot. These prisoners were conditioned not to riot, although I am sure that it happened. Apparently people have been stealing showerheads and scratching Nazi insignia into walls. In Austria if you are found to be stealing from a concentration camp or distributing Nazi insignia you could get ten years in prison. Below you can see that the shower heads have been stolen and the man on plaque has been taken off. You can't see it well, but a swastika has been etched in his place.

The barbed wire fence that surrounded the camp had a charge of 380 V. People would commit suicide by running into the fence (like Kluger’s mother suggested) or die through escape attempts. Prisoners were also pushed into the wire by SS agents for no particular reason other than the fact that they were there.

The Stairs of Death are particularly chilling because they were used by the SS agents to play “games”. Prisoners that were wasted away to nothing were forced to carry large granite rocks up the stairs, and many times they were over 100 pounds. SS agents would push people down the stairs, which in turn would cause a horrific domino effect. Hundreds of prisoners would be on the stairs at a given time. They also had a game where they would have prisoners race up the stairs and line them up on “Parachute Jump”. The person who won would have to choose whether to push the person off in front oh him/her or be killed.

I think coming to at least one concentration camp is important because it gives you a sense of what went on in the last century. It is, however, only a sense. Nothing will or ever should compare to the way that the prisoners were treated in the camps again. The reason the camps are important is that they remind us of the atrocities that we as humans can create. Our guide said that he has continued to give tours because it is an important part of his nations history but also because he wants to warn people of what can happen under a Totalitarian regime. There are warning signs that all people need to be aware of so that the horrors of the Nazis and the SS do not happen again. 

Jüdisches Museum and Habsburg Mortuary Ritual

August 24th, 2009

I got lost in the city today. I wasn’t really lost, per se; I just got on the wrong tram and didn’t turn around! I felt like this would be a good way to see new district of Wien that I probably would not have seen otherwise. I ended up going into a district with a lot more housing and local shops. I like to see the way that other cultures live, and in the inner city of Wien that is normally in apartment buildings. These buildings seem rather large, 10-15 stories, and most of the windows have colorful foliage growing out of them in various directions. Even though the apartment building are relatively “city” look for American standards they still give me a home-ier feel than I get from apartments in the States.

I decided to get off the tram at a cool looking church to try and look inside. Unfortunately it was closed, so I was only able to take pictures from a little viewing area. From there I walked to the first subway that I could find because I actually had a lot of different activities planned for the day.

One museum that I really wanted to check out was Palais Elkeles, the Jüdisches Museum. Fellow students were giving me a lot of negative impressions of the museum, and one guy in particular told me that he only spent fifteen minutes in it because of how small it is. Even with the negative comments I wanted to check out the museum because it has obvious close ties with my Jewish history and I don’t always trust everyone’s opinion.

I am really disappointed that my fellow classmates did not get the message of the museum, since I was in there for two hours! The first floor is dedicated to stereotypes in all cultures, which I think confused people. There is a wall of noses, where prominent Jews were asked to take a bust of their nose to show that not all are large (a major stereotype). The Barbie doll collection through students for a loop, but what the exhibit was saying is that the only characteristics than define a person (in a Barbie world) is their hair and skin color. There was also a picture of Michael Jackson that SO MANY people got caught up on! It makes me sad that they not only missed the message of the exhibit, but also failed to see the other Jewish history that was around them.

In a small, clear box off to the side I saw the original fabric that was sewn on to Jew’s clothing to distinguish their heritage. It is a yellow Star of David and was a fixture in many people’s lives during Nazi occupation.

After taking the elevator upstairs, and getting in trouble for taking pictures, I came to a room full of holograms. Someone who was not paying attention the tour could easily pass it, but it was actually very interesting. Each hologram was a different story and depiction of a Jewish person, and as you would walk by the figure would fade in and out of view. The reasoning behind this is that it mirrored Jewish culture in Wien, one minute it’s present and the next it is being extinguished. An interesting story that I learned was that the man who brought the world-famous Ferris Wheel to Wien was a Jew and he subsequently got run out with the Nazi occupation. It’s ironic that such a tangible staple of Viennese culture was preserved while it’s origins, the Jewish people, were cast out.

On the third story of the tour there was a room full of treasures from various synagogues.  I unfortunately was not able to take any pictures, but some of the gold was blackened. I found out through the tour that this is because they survived Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass" when a large amount of Jewish synagogues, homes and businesses were destroyed. It saddens me that some of my fellow students did not take the time to learn about this important history. In Ruth Kluger’s memoir, Still Alive, she talks about how people go through the actions of trying to care, or feeling like they should care, when they are at Jewish memorials. It is disappointing that some of my peers were falling into her stereotype. The trip to Mauthausen is tomorrow and I am interested in seeing the reactions that people are going to have after gauging their reactions at the museum.

After the trip I decided to completely switch things up and check out the Kapuzinerkirhe. The Kapuzinerkirhe is an imperial tomb of the Habsburg monarchy and holds the remains of such legendary rulers as Maria Theresa, Josef II and Franz Josef. I felt strange taking pictures while in the underground tomb because it felt like I was being disrespectful to the dead. I mentioned this before, but I have had problems this entire trip of deciding what is appropriate when being a tourist and what is unacceptable behavior. I eventually gave in because I saw other people taking pictures, so I joined the club.

The mortuary ritual of the Habsburg monarchy is quite interesting. Their entrails have been split up in various places across the city because, basically, everyone wants a piece of them! This is the same with saints because their entrails are considered sacred and will bring fame upon the church or tomb they are at. People make pilgrimages to see the sites so it is common to have a deceased person spread throughout a given city. The Kapuzinerkirhe is impressive because it was built to house the deceased monarchy in a way that equates them with being almost God like. They have an ornate shrine and coffin where people can come in lament their passing. Normal people get buried in a graveyard, if they are lucky! There were some absolutely beautiful and grandiose coffins in the Kapuzinerkirhe, of which are some shown below. 

Maria Theresa’s was one of the most ornate and resembles a bed where she is looking into the eyes of her deceased husband. Apparently, although he had many mistresses, she wanted him to be the first person she looked at in the afterlife. This sarcophagus is in stark contrast to her sons, the enlightened monarch Josef II. His coffin is small and simple while hers is this grandiose baroque structure. It was quite interesting too look at the difference.

I also saw the tomb of Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of Austria and King of Bohemia. Today his coffin is still highly decorated. He died at the age of 86 and was one of the longest ruling and most beloved emperors in Austrian history.

 

LATER THAT NIGHT…

I feel nauseous about going to Mauthausen tomorrow. If I didn’t feel like it was so important to go then I wouldn’t. After reading Ruther Kluger’s memoir, Still Alive, I understand that she feels that the concentrations camps across Europe have become nothing more than modern tourist attractions meant to “whitewash” the past. One of the parts that stuck out for me was the two students who were doing their service to the community by giving guided tours of former concentration camps. They seemed startled by the fact that Kruger argued against the tours and against the public viewing of the death camp. She believed that the Holocaust needed to have a name, so that by default holocaust would suffice, but that to show people a cleaned up version of a death camp was like showing them nothing at all.

Without sounding pompous, and without having viewed the camp yet, I believe otherwise.

So soon people forget the horrors of only sixty-four years ago. Sixty-four years, like in the big scheme of life this is any time at all! Even in my generation people have issues trying to grasp the anti-Semitism that was, and in many ways still is, focused at Jews. They spend fifteen minutes at a Jewish museum in the heart of Vienna; a city filled with the rich history of the “chosen people”, and all the students can do is focus on the Michael Jackson exhibit at the beginning of the museum that was based on cultural clichés. It’s like they didn’t even try to understand. Or didn’t care.

My point is that without these “tourist attractions” people will forget the atrocities that have gone over the last century. They will forget because they won’t take the time to look them up. Even a whitewashed concentration camp is better than not remembering that anything was there before. 

 

 

 

 

The Third Man

August 23rd, 2009

I am such a fan of The Third Man! Not only is it a well acted and well-shot movie, I loved the fact that I could pick out individual places of interest in the background. I was sitting next to Natalie in the movie theater and we probably interrupted each other 8-10 times trying to tell each other that we recognized a church, statue, or monument that was being shot. One of the important things that I took out of the movie was the "feeling" of what it was like living in Wien post-World War II. It was interesting to see the portrayal of the militarized zones and the officers that were keeping "order" in their individual part of the city.

In many ways the "Cuckoo Clock Speech" is a metaphor for the way that people felt after going through the Great War and trying to survive in a city like Wien. When Lime compares the people to dots he is acting like an air force pilot on a bombing raid. In many ways his profession is like an air raider in that he sets off the bomb (bad drugs) and doesn't watch the innocent suffer the consequences. His speech reminded me of the countless civilian bombing campaigns that what on during the Great War and how people justified it. Maybe they are black dots. If they don't have faces do they actually count? There were times in the movie that I actually understood where he was coming from, which is frightening. I think that he was just trying to make quick and easy money, but who can say what you personally would do if you were stuck in post war Wien. It seemed like everyone in the movie except Sgt. Pain had some kind of backwards motive to them, and he was the one in the end who suffered the consequences.

I really liked the score to the movie, composed by Anton Karas. What I liked is that the plunky/catchy tune was so NOT what I envision for Wien today. I'm sure that was done on purpose (no waltzes) and shows that at that time in Wien's history she wasn't actually herself. Wien was in a much darker place after the war, evident by the bombed out streets and blatant mistrust amongst the four sides within the city.

One aspect I did catch onto was the way that the "Soviet Zone" was referred too. The soldiers often talk about how Harry could easily escape into the Soviet Zone and there is little cooperation between the parties involved. There is still talk in Wien about the distaste of the Russians during the occupation and the horrors and savagery that they brought to the people as payback. Knowing this I still wonder why the Viennese haven't torn down the monument to the Russian Soldier, although Dr. O says it is because the Viennese don't like change.

The Schatzkammer

August 22nd, 2009

I have been waiting for some time to visit The Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) of the Habsburg monarchy, and I was not disappointed! This chamber holds the crown jewels and treasures of the Habsburg monarchy during its glory days as head of the Holy Roman Empire. These treasures are the epitome of the pomp and excess of the Habsburg monarchy as well as the ideal of Absolutism.

Absolutism is the unchecked rule of a king over his subjects. It is the consolidation of power by a given monarch that has no checks and balances through legislature or the church. An absolute monarchy has complete control over its subjects' lives and claims to have the power to do so by divine right from God. Louis XIV of France is a prime example of absolute monarchy and shows how the elite would parade their wealth through extravagant means. (In his case it was the Palace of Versailles.) The idea that one individual has divine right over all others is the corner stone of Absolutism, and this is the ideal that the Habsburg monarchy followed. This to falls in like with the dramatic and religious Baroque style of art, which I have talked about throughout the blogging process. The artistic style and "way of life" was perfect for the monarchs to use as a means of impressing visitors and drawing awe from their subjects. The lavish style of art was the personification of the Habsburg Monarchy who in many ways viewed themselves in that way.

The crown jewels of the Habsburgs fall in line with the extravagant nature of both the Baroque style and Absolutism. The globus cruciger (aka the orb) that monarchs like the Habsburgs would carry represents Christ ruling the world in the hands of a single supreme ruler. The scepter is a form of a staff, thought by many to hold special powers that are denoted from God (think Moses). In A Concise History of Austria Beller describes how the pomp and grandiose excess of the absolute monarchy made a subconscious barrier between the Habsburg rulers and the peasantry. This helped to legitimize the authority of the rulers while keeping the peasants "in their place." Below are the Austrian Imperial Crown Jewels: The Crown of Rudolf II, the orb and the scepter.


I really enjoyed the clothing of the knights, of which there were three orders. The highest honor that any person could receive by the Habsburg Monarchy was to become a member of "The Order of the Golden Fleece", which is also shown below.


There are also some items at the Schatzkammer that really stood out to me. The baptismal ewer and basin christened the archdukes of the 17th century and was a gift commemorating the marriage of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria.


This golden cradle was a gift from Paris to the Empress Marie-Louise, the wife of Napoleon. This cradle, which is too extravagant for words, was meant to legitimize the couple’s son as "The King of Rome."


The Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire (minus the Glove from Palermo).


Reliquary with a Nail from the Cross. This is supposedly the nail that was driven into Jesus's left hand.


These are just some of my favorite pieces. There are more that I would mention but the space would be crazy for this one blog.

Karlskirche

August 21st, 2009

I realized this morning that by visiting Stephansdom twice at the beginning of the trip I have failed to visit the scheduled Karlskirche, one of the more famous churches within Wien. Just looking at Karlskirche will tell you that the Greeks, Romans, French and Italians heavily influenced the architect, Johann Bernard Fisher von Erlach. The columns at the front of the church are similar to the Trajan Columns in Rome, and the dome at the top of the church has a distinct Italian flare. The reliefs on the front spiraling columns explain the life story of Saint Carlo Borromeo, as does the fresco on the ceiling of the church. Fisher is also the architect of the Schönbrunn Palace.


Karlskirche was built after Emperor Charles VI made a plea with his patron saint (Borromeo) that if the plague would end in Wien he would erect the church as thanks. The plague in 1713 was destroying the population of Wien, and many times rulers will partake in great acts of patronage towards saints if their "prayers" for salvation come true. There are a lot of things about this church in particular that I liked. The high alter is one of my favorite so far on the trip! The alter painting shows the ascension of St Borromeo, and I really liked the gold work on the top. After some research I found that the piece is a symbol for Yahweh, which is "the personal name of the one true God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave the Ten Commandments."


While I was walking in the church the sun was streaming in from the alter at the perfect angle, so it was quite beautiful to look at. One of the cool things about the Kalskirche is that you can take an elevator and stairs to the church's ceiling to check out the famous fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr. I thought that it was amazing that they would let anyone so close to the ceiling without checking for pens or paint to vandalize it with. It is kind of sad that that is where my mind wanders, but I could picture some anarchist bringing in red paint and destroying the fresco! The artwork shows the intercession of Charles Borromeo, supported by the Virgin Mary.


It was funny because everyone who went on the initial trip to the church was telling me how "scary" it was to climb up the steps to the ceiling. After climbing up the steps of the south tower of Stephansdom nothing can scare me!

Schönbrunn Gardens

August 20th, 2009

The German word of the day is gesund, which translates to "healthy." 

I have started hitting a roadblock internally on the trip: Exhaustion. I am so tired that all I want to do is sleep! Having something to do everyday really takes everything out of you, especially when it is hot and muggy. I stayed in for the most of the day today but then felt guilty since there is not that much time left on the trip. To make up for that Jan, Anthony and myself decide to take the subway to Schönbrunn Palace to go to the Z00. By the time we got there (5pm) the Zoo was going to close in an hour, so definitely not worth it!


Instead the three of us decided to check out the gardens that were situated on the beautiful estate. Looking at The Great Palm House you don't even have to go inside, you can marvel at the fantastic iron structure standing in front of you! It has two 28-meter high central pavilions and two lateral pavilions that are three meters lower. This allows for circulation that helps keep the building at four climatic zones, allowing for multiple species to flourish.


The Dutch-Botanic Garden was set up in a tropical environment, which actually made me want to be in the air outside! I love walking around in gardens though. I like to see plants and flowers that I would never get the chance too. An inventory of the entire stock of the Dutch-Botanic Garden dated 1799 lists 4,000 plants of nearly 800 different species.


We also walked into the Wustenhaus, which is a scene out of Arizona. Lots of cacti, birds and scenes close to home. More humidity.



The Baroque gardens were some of the most beautiful that I had seen in Vienna. It was particularly lovely in the back of the palace looking up towards the Gloriette from Schönbrunn Palace. Below is a picture of the palace and some of its gardens.