Journal of Art Historiography (Dec 2011)
‘A dialogue about the art of portraiture’ Originally published as ‘Gespräch von der Bildniskunst’, Österreichische Rundschau, Volume 6, 1906, 502—516, and republished: Julius Schlosser, Präludien Vorträge und Aufsätze, Berlin: Bard 1927, 227—247. Translated with an introduction by Karl Johns
Abstract
In an unusually popular and readable dialogue form, Schlosser alludes to the classical education he takes for granted in any reader approaching his favourite ‘thorny’ questions from aesthetics and history. These involve the problems of naturalism, impressionism, portrait likeness, psychology of perception and numerous others being bandied around academic circles at the turn of the century. It is of further interest in directly referring critically to his recently deceased friend (Alois Riegl), and being written just at a moment in his career when Schlosser had been casting around the ideas of Ernst Brücke, Konrad Lange, even Henri Bergson, but had discovered the recent contribution of Benedetto Croce, which would colour his approach with an increasing intensity for the remainder of his life. He became what might be seen as the archetypical art historical theorist, but continues to distinguish himself from his successors by his greater consistency.
