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The nocturnal sky shows glimmering nebulae among the splendidmiracleof starseither old extinct systems scattered throughout the universe,cosmicdusttaking shape around a nucleus, or a condition in between destruc-

tionand regeneration.

They are a suitableanalogyfor similar events on the horizon ofan history.

They signify a world of art passing into the formless, while suggesting at the

same time a new formation in the making.

These phenomena of artisticdecline andthe mysterious phoenixlike birth

of new artistic life arising from the process of its destruction are all the more

significant for us, because we are probably in the midst of a similar crisisas

far as we who are living through it (and therefore lacking a clear overview)

are ableto surmise and judge.

At the least, this viewhas many adherents, and in truththereis no lackof

supporting evidence. The only thing that remains uncertain is whether these

signs indicate a general decline arising from more profound social causes, orwhether they suggest conditions that areotherwisehealthy but that have tem-

porarily caused confusion in those fields and human faculties concerned with

discerning and representing beauty. Perhaps sooner or later they will lead to

happier things in this sphere as well and work to the general good and honor

ofhumanity.

The first hypothesis is bleak and unproductive because it denies artists

who subscribe to it any support for their efforts. If the world of art were

collapsing. Atlas himself would be too weak to hold it up; those who find

pleasure in building do notwarn to restrict themselves to tearing down some-

thing rotten.

The second hypothesis, by contrast, is practical and productivewhether

it is right or wrong.

As long as whoever embraces itguards against the presumption of seeing

himself as the founder and savior of a future art, he will view hisworkmore

modestly as something in theprocess of becoming, or rather, as thebecoming

of art ingeneral, and set for himself the following task; to explore within indi-

vidual cases the regularity and order that become apparent in artistic phe-

nomena during the creative process of becomingand to deduce from that the

general principles, the fundamentals of anempirical theory of art.Such an approach will provide no handbook for artistic practice, for it will

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not showhow to createa particular art-form but rather how itcomes into

being.Thework of art will beseenas a resultofallthe factors involvedin its

creation.Technique will therefore bea veryimportant issue to consider,but

onlyinsofaras itaffectsthe principle of art's creation.Norwill this approach

merely produce a history of art. Inpassing through thefield of history,itwill

notapprehendandexplain theworksofart of different periods andcountriesas facts but rather it willexpand upon them,asit were, by identifying in each

the necessarily different values of a functioncomposed ofmanyvariables. I t

will do thisprimarilywith the intention of revealing the inner law governing

theworld of the art-form. J ust as it governs the worldof nature. For nature in

itsinfinite abundance is nevertheless very sparing with its motifs;itconstantly

repeats its basic forms,modifying them a thousandtimes according to the

formative stage reachedby livingbeingsand thevariousconditionsof their

existence. Itshortens some elements and lengthensothers,developssome ele-

mentsfully, thenmerelyalludes to them elsewhere. Nature hasits own evolu-

tionary history, within which old motifs are discernible in every new form. Injust the same way, artis basedona few standardformsand types that derive

from themost ancient traditions; they reappear constantly yet offer infinite

variety, and likenature'stypes theyhavetheir own history.Nothingisarbi-

trary; everything is conditionedbycircumstances and relations.

An empiricaltheoryof art (theoryofstyle) isneither pureaestheticsnor an

abstract theoryofbeauty. The latter considers form assuch;it sees beautyas

thecombination of individualformsto achieve an overall effectthatpleases

and satisfies our artistic sense-

All the aesthetic properties of formalbeautyharmony, eurythmy, pro-

portion,symmetry, and so onare therefore of a collective nature.

Style theory, however, sees beautyas aunity,asa product or a result, not

as a sum or a series. I t looks for the constituent parts of formthat are not

form itself wratherthe idea, the force,the material, and the meansin

otherwords, the basic preconditions ofform.

This routethrough theworld of art presents enormous difficulties. At best

itwill produce results fullof gaps,emptyrubrics,anderrors.Butthe ordering

and comparativemethodnecessary forthis effort togroup related objects,

andto reduce what is derivedtoits simplest essence, at least helps providean

overall view of a vast field that is still mostly fallowandwaiting to be culti-vated by others. For thisreason alone it will not be totally invain.

Our taskalso includes what [Carl Friedrich] von Rumohrappropriately

calledthe "Housekeeping of the Arts," although he originally meant by this

only the ordering and at the same time subordinateroleplayed by architecture

in the creationof works of high art: sculpture and painting. Architecture, in

itsrelationtothe fine arts as well as initsown right,willbe a major themeof

ourconsiderations. Yet these higher realms of art representonlyoneof the

outer limits of the field to be investigated- Inthis fieldwe also encounter those

simpler workstowhichtheartistic instinctwasfirst applied:adornment,

weapons,weaving, pottery, householdutensils in a word, the industrial arts

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or what are also called technical arts.1Our task will embrace these, will

indeedtreatthemprimarily: first,because theaesthetic necessitywith which

weare dealingismost lucid and comprehensibleinthese oldest and simplest

inventionsof the artistic instinct; second, because acertaincodex of practical

aesthetics was established and formulated here prior to the invention of monu-

mentalart, which (as will be shown) adopted from them a preexisting formal

language in addition to being directly influenced by them in other respects;

and thirdand most importantly, because those arts defined by critics asminor

are most severely affected by our present system of education and by theten-

dencies ofthiscentury, and because nothing is more urgent for theintended

improvement of artistic taste in general (and with it art) than to resistthese

forces, particularly in thefieldofthetechnical arts.Forthere canbe no doubt

thatartadriftwithinthemaelstromof conditionshas lost its rudder, its

course,and, most seriously, its motive power. We will have ampleopportunity

toreturn to these issues in the course of this book, and enough has been said

about the book's general tendenciesits plan isoutlined in theintroduction.Therefore, let me conclude this preface with some observations related to

whathasjustbeensaid.

In times whenpeopleadopt theperspective of artistic culture(aperspective

our philosophers consider antiquated), a genuine public educationisidealis-

tic.Atpresentitis precisely the opposite: realistic.The pure scienceshave

come todominate education. Schoolsnolonger systematically educatehuman

beingsas suchbutare solely concerned with producingspecialists.Thissys-

temin particular affects the working class and those people who devotethem-

selves tothearts,andit starts at the earliest stages of schooling.It effectively

killsthe very facultythat isactively responsibleforthe perception and, equally,

the creationof art. I meanthesenseandthe purely human impulse ofbeing

creative as an end to itself andthe giftso indispensable to the artist as well

as to people receptive toartof direct intuitive thinking.1

Fortunately,the secondaryschoolsandtheiraffiliates, thetechnical schools,

have notexistedfor verylongandhave yettocome to terms with theirown

tenets. Hence the results of purely realistic education are emerging in a way

that promisesanotherrevisionof the educationalsystem soon.Forexample,

pupils enteringtechnical schools fromsecondaryschools havetodevote a large

part of their already overlyprescriptivecourse time to the basic sciences, whichare taught withoutregard for their relevance to thestudents' specialization.

But becausethese students think and feel "practically" as a result of what

has been systematically instilled in themfromtheir earliest years, they seek

that rapport of science and their specialty from their first introduction to its

elements. If they failtofind it,theylose interest inthe course,andneither

pressurenor fearofexaminations can put itback. In asense, theyarejustified

inwanting it, since the educational system does not allow thepursuit of

knowledge foritsown sake and thus excludes many disciplines(especially

those mostsuited toshaping and enriching the mind) because theysupposedly

have nopracticalapplication.

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When formerly the arts blossomed, when every artisan was in his own

way an artist or at least strove to beone, when the mind investigated every

conceivableaspect and approach at least as vigorously as today, schooling

(initiallyreligious) had nothingto dowith practice. Whenit did,itstarted

with practice and not with theory. The creative impulse was stimulated and

exercised earlier than was thestudent's receptivityto extraneous exact knowl-

edge. He thereby discovered himself those things he had to know in orderto

continue being creative.Hethus acquired a thirstfor knowledge thatledhim

to scientific studies that may often have been unsystematic butimmediately

compensatedfor this by assumingthe character of research andactive, inde-

pendent creativity.

Knowledge andscientific explanations gathered in this way are self-

acquired property,immediately yielding high interest and profit. They are not

assets conferredthensystematically deposited in the brain of the immature

student with uncertain prospectsforlater yield. The school of life, attended

bythe majorityof those who achieved fame with inventions or in the arts, wasof the former sort. Andgenerally the public education of earlier dayswasvery

similar, even if it was somewhat inadequate inotherways.Although the

formlessnessofsuchconditionsdoesnot commenditself to direct emulation,

it is still the present author's humble opinion that public technical schools, if

they are toaccomplish even part of whatisexpected of them,should follow

this principle as much as possiblebecause it is a principle of nature.So let us

firsthavehumanistic preparatory schoolsthat aimonlyat cultivating theman

in man anddevelopinghis mental and physical abilitiesthat is,precisely the

antithesis of our present secondary and industrial schools.3This should hold

forthepreparatory schools of all classes of society, however much they mightdiffer, as necessarily they must,inthe range andnature of their humanistic

education. Such teaching is not devoted exclusively to the ancient languages

andclassical literaturebutismerelycharacterized by thistendency.

So the first priority ishumanistic preparatory schools.The second should

beworkshopsin which skillsare taught. And finally the thirdisample oppor-

tunity for thestudent to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, stimulated by non-

compulsory creative work.There should be public lectures like those inParis

given by outstanding experts inallfields, offeredto allspecialists without

exception and inparticularto students of the various artistic ateliers of the

Ecole des beaux-arts,

France owes its greater fame and prosperity moreto this extremely liberal

method ofinstructionthanto those celebrated specialty schools that peda-

goguesin other nations are so keen to imitatejust when the Frencharestart-

ing to think ofreorganizingthem. Theyhave achieved fame and undisputed

preeminence in most branches of the industrialartsand their fine art issecond

to none,whereas their lead is being contestedinchemistry, engineering,and

mechanicsby England and America,where there are no polytechnic schools.

Suchfields depend on a very comprehensive and exactknowledgeandstill

require special facilities,but itshouldbepointed outthat a curriculumthat

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appears suitable for them should not be taken as a model forallbranches and

fields of technology, much less for the arts, including architecture and the

applied arts.

This isconfirmed by the above-mentioned conflicts within the French edu-

cationalsystem, whichhas been considered and imitated only one-sidedly in

the reorganization of the schools in Germanyand other countries. Certainlythe oldartacademies in these countrieshavebeen allowed to continue along-

sidethe so-called polytechnicschools,andnextto themmany so-called trade

schools, Sunday schools, and art schools have been set up to teach craftsmen

andartisans- Yet this arrangement has proven far more detrimental than bene-

ficial to art, which cannot flourish under systematic classroom instruction

and the fracturing of its domainwithout a motive power acting from below.

To avoid repetition on these and closely related issues, the author refers

readers to his brochure Wissenschaft, Industrie und Kunst: Vorschlage zw

Anregung nationalen Knnstgefuhles (Brunswick: Vieweg, 1S52).

These conditions would seem less grave, were it notfortheunfortunatefact

that a certain higher necessity comes intoplay,in which they, in company with

contemporaneousobservations in other fields,havetheir roots.

Purescience, for instance, impinges upon present conditions in other ways

far more effectual than those previously indicated: as the guiding force, or

rather as the spiritus familiaris [attending spirit] of the speculative century.

With itsdiscoveries and inventions, science enriches everyday life and expands

the sphere of influence of a business world bent on profit. Such inventions

usedtobedaughters of necessity but now they help to create need artificially

in order to increase sales and acceptance. Productsscarcely introduced areremoved from the market as obsolete before they can be developed techni-

cally, let alone artistically. Somethingnew, butnot necessarily better,always

takes their place.4

The presenthas neither the time nor the leisure to grow accustomed to

the benefits that are being almostforced uponit, but both are absolutely nec-

essarv for the artistic mastery of these gifts. Consumption and invention

have been handed over to practitioners and industrial capitalists to mediate

as they please, butwithout amillennium of popularcustom tocultivate a

suitable style. It requires far greater artistic sensitivity than is commonly

found amongourindustrialists to hit upon (without the benefitof time) the

rightart-form for all thenew things pressing themselves upon our attention.

Such aform wouldbe one inwhichfree human work appears as a necessityof

nature and becomes the generally understood and perceived formal expres-

sionof anidea,

Capitalismcertainly makesevery effort to have the fine arts serve its ends,

just as itborrowsall its technical meansfrom science. Ithasbrought about

the division oflabor(a practice understandably necessary forcoping with the

vast scale of an enterprise) but in a way that is highlydetrimentalto the hoped-

for success. For example, itseparates the so-called ornamental from the for-mal and technical aspects of art in a purely mechanical way, immediately

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betrayingits lackof feeling for and misunderstandingofthe true relationship

betweenthe various meanschc artistuses to produce his work.

Many giftedartistsare permanently employed by English and French indus-

try ina double servitude.Ontheonehand, they serve theemployer,whosees

themnotasequals but rather as troublesome advisers on taste and as embel-

lishersof form; herarely paysthem well. On the other hand,they servethe

fashion of the day,which is the only thing that ensures the sales upon which

the purpose andveryexistence of the industrial plant indeed everything

ultimatelydepends.

Thus artiststakeabsolutely no initiative in industrial production; they are

just one more category ofspecialists employed by manufacturersin the

same way that clay manufacture requires special kneaders or the furnace

needs a head stoker with his staff. The only difference isthat manufacturers

are aware of the inadequacy of their own technical knowledge and allow

kneaders and stokers a relatively free hand, whereas every jackassthinks he

understandssomething about art. The instructions given by artists are unhesi-tatingly criticized, altered, and distorted when they do not suit a manufacturer's

taste, orifa foreman expresses misgivings about their technical feasibility,

doubtfulprofitability, outlay costs,oranything else.

To thismustbe added the low status of these industrialartists: first with

respect totheacademic hierarchy of artthat snubs them; second with respectto

the firmthat claims the honors of success foritselfalone, and out of jealousy

seldomor never credits the artistwho really createdthe workor at leastput

intellectualeffort into it, and third with respect to thepublic,whichshares the

prejudices of the academy andholds the so-called decorative artsinlowesteem.People involvedinhigh artpainters, architects, and sculptors of repute-

have from time to time been called upon to work in craft industries, for

instance, when [Josiah] Wedgwood's famous faience was partly modeled on

[John] Flaxman'smodels and drawings. The porcelain factory at Sevres also

employs artists of stature, who to some extent keep themselvesaloof from

fashionand a concernwithsales. Yet eventhis influence from the heights

ofacademic art generally lacks apractical foundation, as skilled and highly

talented designers and model-makers are not metalworkers, potters, carpet

weavers, and goldsmithsaswasoften thecase before the academies sepa-

rated the arts. For this reason, products made under the guidance of these

men often contribute little to enhance the industrial arts because the results

come nowhere near the intention. Violence is done to the materials in order to

even partiallyfulfillthe artistic intention,and thus the products do not com-

plywith the artists'ambitiousdemands.

Architecture finds itselfin a similar predicament, as speculation and the

machine have taken it over in the same way thatthey have subdued thetechnical

arts. The architect isoften little morethan aninconsequential adviser in mat-

ters of taste and can expect neither esteem norprofit from his commissions.5

The indirect influence of science helps shape our modern artistic condi-tionsinthe ways indicated, but italsoconcerns itself with art as its actual

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object more now than it oncedid.The amount of materialassembledhy sci-

ence and research in the ever growing number of writings and illustrated

works on art, and everything related to it, is already more than we can man-

age. Itis difficult tofind one's way through suchabundancewhile maintain-

inga senseofdirection.

In order to facilitate this, we have divided the wealth of material into cate-gories, around each of which has evolved a self-contained discipline.

There isan overwhelming mass ofbookson aesthetics and the history of

art, nottomention the many books in related fields; thenumber ofbookson

specific subjects in the arts, especially architecture, is enormous-WeGermans

are tireless producers ofstudies of domestic,rural, andchurch construction,

manuals on timber, brick, ashlar, and so on. TheEnglish andtheFrench, on

the other hand, have treated more successfully the actual technology of the

arts.

These works contain an indispensable wealth ofknowledge and experi-

ence,yet the principle of splitting the material into a numberofsciencesor

disciplines that our artistsareexpected to master separatesmorethan it con-

nectsor compares. It only adds to the bewildering state of modern art, or

rather,this variety is one ofthe symptoms of that higher necessity imposed

uponus and our artistic efforts.

Applying what hasbeen said to architecture, we can see these myriad

directions converging in three main schools, which correspond to the three

ways in which science is applied to art, namely,

a. thematerialists,underthe influence ofnaturalscienceand mathematics;

b. thehistorians,under the influence of arthistory and antiquarian studies;

c, theschematists,purists, and so on, under the influence of speculative

philosophy.

The Materialists

Probably the most powerful influence on our present artistic attitude has

come from those textbooks thatshow how to utilize materials for architec-

tural andstructural purposes.

Such textbooks are consistent with the broader practical tendency of our

timeandaresupported and sustainedhythe major building enterprises, espe-

cially railways. They can be cri ticized in general for fetteringtheidea tothematerialtoo much by accepting the false premise that the worldof architec-

tural forms arises solely from structural and material conditions and that

these alonesupplythemeans forfurtherdevelopment.The materialis in fact

subservient to the idea and is by no means the only factor controlling the

idea'sphysical manifestation in thephenomenal world. Although formthe

idea made visible should not be in conflict with the material out of whichit

is made,it isnotabsolutelynecessary forthe materialas suchto he a factor in

artistic appearance. The first part ofthepresent work will further elaborate

upon this important pointanddemonstratethehistoricalorigins and develop-

mentof materialist principlesinarchitecture.

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Those who favor the so-called naturalistic styles of ornament must also be

counted materialists. They often disregard the basic stylistic and structural

principles of adornment.

The Historidsts

The historical school, which isdisintegratinginto various embattled factions,

eagerlytakes as its models certain works of art from times long past or from

other nations and imitates them with the greatest possible critical and stylistic

accuracy. They try to make the demands of the present fit thismold,instead

of(aswould seem more natural) allowing solutions to develop freelyfromthepremises of the present, taking into consideration traditional forms that have

developed over the course of millennia and stood the test of time as irrefu-

tablytrueexpressions and types of certain spatial and structural concepts.

In a certain sense the historicists and the materialists are opposites,

although bothschools depreciate the present and tradition.

Themanydirections inwhich thehistorical schoolmovesso characteris-

tic of ourtime have their startingpoint inthe countlessbooks thatrecordthe

discoveries and artistic studies of every countryofantiquity, of medieval times,

andofthe modern world. Its practitionersthink that a historically accurate

conception and reproductionof themodel guarantee success, and itmust be

said that their achievements, considered as critical and rational imitations,

makea good impression in comparisonwith earlierattemptsofthiskind.

An exceptionally learned and thoroughly critical method, a highly diligent

and prudent classification, an utterly scrupulous examination of all research

sources (libraries, archives, monuments, and art collections) to document the

names of artists, datesof creation,stylistic criteria, structure, iconography,

liturgy,orany other informationall undertaken with little real artistic feeling

or imagination and therefore hardly stimulating the creative instinctthese

are characteristics of the most recent art historical and archaeological litera-

ture,and they are reflected in the artistic achievements of the historical school.

The neo-Gothic offshoot, now the dominant trend, first appeared only

some fiftyyearsagoandwas initiallyencouraged inGermanyby [Johann

Wolfgang von]Goethe and the Romantic poets. Their first attempts were gar-

denpavilions and small country churches that turned outpoorlyenough. Rut

there are also more extensive projects dating from this time, suchasthetwo

Gothic spires placed ontopofthe (Romanesque)towers of the cathedral in

Zurich. The movement didnot reallycome alive, however, until an interest and

widespread support for preserving oldGothic monumentsarose. The restora-

tion of buildings undertaken as a result of this romantic-antiquarianmove-ment provided training for a number of supervisors and craftsmen who have

since hadthe occasionto apply their virtuosityinthis style to new buildings.

History reveals the neo-Gothic movement to berestorationalin origin and

nature.I thas a large number of technical and lay followersthe vastmajor-

ity of the former are the above-mentioned experts, for whom thecompendi-

aria artis[technical shortcut] created by the Gothic style is a desirable vade

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mecum. The movement also finds numerous supporters among materialists

and industrialistsbecause of the structuralprincipte pursued by this stylewith

extreme logic,andbecause of the ease with which its formal components can

be mechanically produced forthe market.Thisis especially truein England,

where the stylehas remained in use,althoughinamost schematic way.

But there are alsohighly talented artistswho subscribe to this school, and

almost all ofthem were convertedto itafter havingacquired their artistic edu-

cationandproventheir talent in quite different styles. Thisisespecially true in

France, where such artists have adopted anearly Gothic style still capable of

further development, whereas inGermany andEngland they pursue a style

that is alreadyossified.

The more prominentmen ofthe neo-Gothic style are closelyconnected

with avery active political and religious party, the same partythat introduced

the depraved J esuit style (using that age's love of ostentation as a lever for their

propaganda purposes) against which theyare now campaigning. This party is

most active in France, probably because of the artistic influence Paris has

always hadonother countries, although the uncertaintyandinstability of this

fulcrum in Paris seems disquieting. Zealots of this tendentious artists' party

treat northwestern andnorthern Europe as a pagan country to be conquered

anewfor Christianity,and they propose thesamemeans of proselytizingused

once before in France to achieve thesame goal (see [August] Rcichensperger's

Fingerzeige [aufdemGebiete der kirchlichen Kunst}).

The correctnessofthe views ofthose who deny it a future, howeverwell

buildings in this stylemightbe conceived andtheirplans duly considered, is

best guaranteedbythis movement's characteristically deliberateand studiedmannerand hy the principleofservitude expressedclearly and decisively in the

programdrawn up by priests andarchaeologists.

For quite opposite reasons the so-called classical school still holds out

prospects for new activity. Archaeology can scrutinize the past as keenly and

shrewdlyas it likes, but ultimately it is left to the diviningsenseof artiststo

reconstructsomethingwhole from themutilated remains of antiquity. This

places the archaeological approach at a distinct disadvantage and deprives it

of its initiative. These uncritical methods and the need to invent where the

information for a servile restoration is lacking are partly responsible for the

factthat all revivals of antiqueartimmediately achieve something new and are

never socompletely bad as neo-Gothic buildings dating from the beginningof

the century. Even the daintysmallrenaissance oftheperiodofLouis XVI and

thelatestHellenisticmovement whosecoryphaeusis [KarlFriedrich]Schinkel

were creative from the start; what was achieved remains the proud possession

of its time. Yet for very different and moredeeplyrooted reasons,antique tra-

ditions willalways exerttheirnewly invigorating force on us; they will out-

lastall the strange and singular things that the richness of time has called

forth.6As for art history, it willtrulylead art onlywhen it moves beyond its

current, critically divisive andarchaeologicalviewpoint to one of comparisonand synthesis.

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oernper

The Purists,Schematists, and Futurists

Philosophy wants to define the concept of beautyanddelimit itssubconcepts

precisely. Second, it takesup moreandmorespace analyzing beautyaccord-

ingto itsattributes. I f,third, it could turntheseresults intoaneffectivetheory

of art, it would haveaccomplished theaesthetic part of its task. It would have

replaced theconfusionand fragmentation presentlysodominant in artwith a

unity ofpurpose and harmoniousfulfillment. Butphilosophy applied toart is

like mathematicsappliedtonatural science; mathematicscancertainlycalcu-

late differentialsofvery complex functions but it rarely succeeds at integration,

especially in physical cases where forces interact incomplexwaysaccording to

laws that still need tobedefined.Butat least mathematicsattemptssuch inte-

gration; indeed,itsees it as its most important task. Modern aesthetics, on the

other hand, simply rejectsverysimilar tasks and problems of art-physics (if I

may use this rather daring expression as an analogy forwhat takes place

betweenthe effectsof natureand art) anddeclares this point of view to be,for-

tunately, a thing of the past (lAdolf] Zeising,A[esthetische] [orschungen],

introduction, 2). By contrast, aestheticians like[Gotthold Ephraim] Lessing

andRumohr,who (eachin his own sphere)reallyknew something aboutthepractical side of art, considered it the basisfrom whichthe artist should learn.

The philosopher of art is simply concerned with solvinghisproblem, which

has nothing in commonwith that of the artist, "who takes the phenomenal

worldas the purpose andaimof his activity;whereasthe aesthetician believes

ideasarethebeginning and theend, thegerm and seed of everythingthatexists,

the fertile force to which all creation, including beauty, owes its existence... ."7

Forthe aesthetician,theappreciation of art is an intellectual exerciseor a

philosophicaldelight, consisting of tracing beauty backfromthephenomenal

world to the idea, dissecting and isolating its conceptual kernels.8

Thus from thisperspectiveart also appears isolated and relegated to a field

especially marked out forit.The opposite was truein antiquity,wherephilos-

ophyheld sway over thisfield aswell. Philosophywasseen as an artist herself

and a guide to the other arts. But in growing old, she turned to analysis and

deviseddead categoriesinsteadof living analogies.

In just the same way,Gothicarchitecture wasthelapidarytransformation

of thescholastic philosophy ofthe twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Similarly, studies of the anatomy of art are of no use to the arts, whose suc-

cessdepends on reawakening inpeoplethecapacity for the undivided direct

perception of artandthe pleasure therein.Nevertheless, speculative aesthetics has significantlyinfluenced our current

artistic conditions: first through the mediation of so-called connoisseurs and

loversof art, whowith the helpofaesthetics have acquired a schematicand

puritanicalart regimen founded inpure caprice,one thathasproduced a

dreary impoverishment of art-form wherever it manages to intrude. This is seen

in the work of a certain school of architecture in southern Germany that unites

thematerialist and constructionaltendencywith aesthetic puritanism.Despite

its praiseworthyresultsin the area of utilitarianbuildings,theinadequacyof

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its means isapparent as soonas it tries todeal withtrulymonumental an.

Themodern mania for principlehasdeprived itof these means. They are to a

large extent erroneously described as inventions of decadent periods, abso-

lutelyinimical to taste, oras anticonstructionat. And judged by this false

accusation, they have beencondemned.These means, in fact,includesome of

the oldest traditions ofarchitecture,whichare fully consistent with the logicof building and with artistic creation in general and which have symbolic val-

ues older than historyvalues that cannot possibly be expressed by some-

thing new.Thisbook will provide ample opportunitytodemonstratethis.

Another effect of speculativephilosophy in thearts canbe seenin the ico-

nography ofart concerned withtrendsand the future,thehunt for new ideas,

theboastful displays of thoughts,profundity,richnessofmeaning, and soon.

Such moralisticappealstononartisticinterests (to which the ecstasy of art

and the often ludicrous mania of connoisseursand archaeologistsforinterpre-

tation respondwithequal dignity) are typicaleither ofbarbarismorofdecline.

Artatits most sublime hates exegesis;ittherefore intentionally shunsit.It veils

it behind themost general, purelyhumanmotives and deliberately chooses the

simplest, most familiar themes. It considers these, like the material from which it

creates (be it clay or stone), solely as a means to an end that is sufficient in itself,

Den Himmel schufichaus Erd'

Und Engel ausWeiberentfaltung,

DerScoff gewinnt ersT semen Werth

Durch kimstlerische Gestakung!

[Thesky I created from the earth,An angel from a woman's incarnation,

Amaterial only gains itsworth

Through artistic creation!

Hemrich Heine,Neue Gedichte}

In this book, the author takes for granted some basic aesthetic concepts. Since

he interprets someofthese concepts in a particular way, he owes his reader, as

an addendum to this preface, a short explanation of his terms.On a more exalted plane, what we mean by terms like "sense of beauty,"

"delight in beauty," "enjoyment of art," and "artisticinstinct" isanalogousto

those instincts, pleasures, and gratifications that govern the way in which we

maintainour telluric existence. Strictly speaking,these can be traced back to

the momentary removal, numbing,or forgetting of pain. J ust as pangs of

hungermake the purely physical individual want to try to alleviate them

purelyfor thesake of survival, just as frost and discomfort force him to seek

shelter,just asthese and other needsleadhim tovariousinventions,to work

hardto secure continued existence and prosperityforhimself and his species,

so we areinstilled withmental sufferingsthat govern the existence and enno-

blementof the human intellect and the human spirit in general.

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Surroundedby aworld fullofwonder andforceswhose laws wemay

divine, may wish tounderstandbutwill never decipher, that touchusonly in

a few fragmentary harmonies andsuspendour souls in a continuous state of

unresolvedtension, weconjureupin playthe perfection thatis lacking.We

make for ourselves a tinyworldin which the cosmic law is evident withinthe

strictest limits, yet complete in itself and perfect in this respect. In such play

we satisfyour cosmogonic instinct.

The imagination creates these images by presenting, expanding, and adapt-

ing individual natural scenes to our mood, so that we believe ourselves ca-

pable of discerning the harmony of the whole in a single event and thus for an

instant have the illusion of having escaped reality. Thisenjoyment of natureis

not very different from the enjoyment of art, just as the beauty of nature

(because it is horn in our receptiveness and even in our active imagination) is

assigned to the general beauty of art as a lower category.

Yetthis artistic enjoyment of natural beautyisby no means the most naive

orthe earliest manifestationofthe artistic instinct. The former is in fact unde-

veloped in simple, primitivehumanbeings, who already delight in nature's

creative taw as itgleamsthrough the real world in the rhythmical sequence

ofspaceandtime movements, in wreaths, a string of pearls,scrolls, round

dances, the rhythmic tones attending them,the beat of the oar, and soon.

Theseare the beginnings out ofwhichmusicandarchitecturegrew, thetwo

highest purely cosmic (nonimitative) arts, whose legislative support no other

art can do without.

But to thesegeneral phenomena of naturewith their sublime terror,

bewildering charms, and unknown inherent orderthere are more active ele-

mentsthatgripoursouland makeitreceptive to the illusionsof art.A never-ending strugglea frightfullawofthestronger according to

which one eats another only to beeatenin turnpervades nature, but itmani-

fests its full crueltyandharshness in the animalworld, which isclosest to us.

It forms the content of our earthly existence and that of history.Thisnever-

ending process of extermination by the living has no end and no design. The

soul,vacillating between hate and pity, numbs itself with the following discon-

solatesentence:Theindividual iscreated onlyasnourishment for the whole.

Moreover, weencounter the accidental, the nonsensical, and the absurd

atevery step alongourearthly path, and each flies contemptuously in the face

of the lawwe thought we had discerned. Then thereisthe deep, unfathomable,stormy world of our own soul: choruses of passions at war with themselves

andwith fate, accident, custom, law. Imagination opposes reality, and folly

contradictsitself and the universe. There is nothing but discordfromwhich the

arts snatch us away momentarilyby sealing off these battles and conflictsand

placingthem ina tightframework, in the endusingthemaselements of atone-

ment.Thesesentimentsgave rise to the lyrical-subjective and dramatic arts.9

Themagic that affects the soul throughartin its most variedformsand

manifestationsenabling art to captivate the soul completelyis called

beauty.Thisisnot so much anattributeof the work as aneffect,in which the

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most diverseelementsare simultaneouslyactive within and without the object

we call beautiful.

These determinants, when they do not emanate from the beautiful object

itself, must still be reflected in it, must still condition its particular formation

[Gestaltung],

Moreover, these determinants must also derive from and be consistent

with the laws of nature. Although artisconcerned only with form and appear-

anceand not with the essence of things, its forms mustfollow what the natu-

ral phenomenonteaches, even if onlybycomplying withthegeneral law that

prevails inevery realm of naturesometimes undeveloped, sometimes in a

more mature form.

This analogy between the general law of formation in nature and art

appears most clearly in what speculativeaestheticscalls the formal elements

of pure beauty.

A phenomenon can manifest itself as such only byisolatingitself from thegeneral as an individual.

This separation from thegenera!isabsolute onlyinthefirst stagesof for-

mation. Moredeveloped plant and animal forms arc distinctive becausethey

reflect, sotospeak, two determinants of form:first,their relation to the gen-

eralin which they arerootedand based; and, second, theirrelation to the par-

ticular,which setsthemup as objectiveorsubjective opposites.

As theprincipleof individuaUzationissymbolized clearlyanddistinctly by

thearrangement of the parts of every phenomenon that claims to be com-

plete,there arc three determinantsofform thatcanbe active in thegenerationofform.In lowerforms theymay acttogether or one determinant maylie dor-

mant. In cases where all threeareactive, these determinants of form corre-

spondto the three spatial dimensions of height, width, anddepth.

With respect to the three determinants of form, the multiplicityof form

must bearranged threefold into a unity; the following three necessary condi-

tionsof formal beauty then emerge:

1. symmetry,

2. proportionality,

3. direction.

Itis just as impossible to add a fourthhomogeneousproperty to these attrib-

utes of beauty as it is to imagine a fourth spatial dimension. This will become

more apparent in what follows-

Prmciple of Formation for Completely Self-Contained Forms Indifferent

tothe External World

These forms relate directlyand only to themselves, therefore their elements

are arranged around a kernel or central point representingtheunity. The parts

mayrevolve around this kernelorradiatefrom it in regular figures or sur-

round itin a composite, radial-peripheral arrangement, correspondingto the

complexity ofthe formation. We meet the most perfect such forms in themin-

eralworld:sometimesasplanimetric designs, like polygons,stars,composite

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Prolegomena

considered separately, and most clearly in radial forms such as snowflakes.

Here the radials and their branchings demonstrate proportional develop-

ment;they suggest a striving towardseparation and an isolation from the

small universe of the snowflake.Thereis, so to speak, a polarizationof two

forces:the positiveforceof independent development,as showninA,andat

the center of thefigures thenegative force of dependence on the whole.This arrangement of atoms alongtheradials isinaccordancewith the two

effects just mentioned and is aresultof both forces:thecounteracting energy

centers are mirroredandatthe sametime reconciled in the proportionalartic-

ulation of the radials. To the observer, each radial appears to have an inde-

pendentformal existenceonly if

1. it is considered not as part of a wholebutcompletely separated (iso-

lated);

2. it is in a vertical position with respect to the planeofthe horizon or to

a line that represents the horizon.

In the same way, thesymmetricalprincipleisalready present in latent form

in thatremarkable miniature worldofsnowflakes, flowers, and soon.Here

symmetryevolves fromperipheral regularity, fromeurythmy,and from mole-

cules strungin an orderly way around the centerofcrystallization.Itissimilar

to how we traced proportion back totheradial regularityof theformation.

If we break offa piecefromsuch a regular wreath and consideritin isola-tion,weare comfortable with its appearanceonlyon the condition thatthe

parts are equal in number and position orthat there is a balanceof unequal

parts to theright and left of the lineab,atrightangles to a horizontal linerep-

resenting the plane of the earth'shorizon.If thereis a completeidentityof

elements right and leftofthe vertical lineab,this iscalledstrong symmetry;if

thereisonly a balance of masses, it iscalledweak symmetry [Ebenmaf5\.

The symmetrical arrangement ofatomstakesplace along the horizontal

linecd.The last is, as it were, the invisible balancing pole that gives theform

stability.Itcanbecalled thesymmetrical axis,in contrast tothelineah,whichcan be called theproportional axis,because the proportional arrangement of

parts takes place along this line.

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Eurythmy; Frames

Eurythmy isclosedsymmetryand stands in no direct relation to the observer

but only to a center aroundwhich the elements of the regular form are arranged

andstrung peripherally,

Toestablish a rapportwith the eurythmic figure, the observer has to imag-

ine himself at the center of relations. Verticality and horizontalityarethereforenot basicdemands of the eurythmic figure; its nature isenclosure.It expresses

the absoluteconcept of encirclement symbolically and therefore alludesto the

encircled as the actual object, as the centerofthe eurythmic order.

Door and window frames, for example, are eurythmic enclosures of this

kind, very similar to picture frames, except that the framedcontent isthe per-

sonwhoenters or looks out.Theseexamples of frames show clearly thedif-

ference and separation between those partsthat belongtothe frames as such,

and in which the eurythmic law appearsactive,and those other parts of the

frame that are sometimes active symmetrically,sometimesproportionally,

whereby the frame and its content first appear as an object to the outside

viewer. The latter includes pediments,consoles,and similar accessories.

Theframeisoneofthemost basic formsused in art: no enclosedimage

without a frame, noscale without it. Eurythmycomes into play only when

the frame is used: a regular concentric articulation and order of formalele-

ments that form an enclosedfigurearound theframedobject.

Modifications to the Eurythmic Order

The articulation of eurythmic figuresresults from certain laws of repetition

with cadence and caesuras, with elevations and depressions from which, when

interlinked,theclosed figure emerges.Musicalfigures (melodies) and visual

ones are subject tothesame laws,except that the ear is able to follow and

resolve far more complexarrangements thanthe eye, whichhas to absorb

everything at once. Therefore, within the admittedly infinite variationof eu-

rythmic series, scarcely more thanthreemodifications to the articulationof

visual figurescantake place. UndoubtedlytheGreeks devised the canon for

eurythmy as ingeniously as they did formusic andpoetry. We senseitin the

powerful concurrence of Doric columns, in the cadence of the entablature, in

the continual recurrence of thesamedecorativemembersallof which stim-ulateand sootheus but donottire us. This canon was largely forgotten by the

Roman period when Vitruvius confused eurythmy with proportion and,any-

way, confused all the formal-aesthetic concepts that he probably picked up

by misinterpreting some Greekauthor.The relevant passagesbythiswriter

(bk. 1,chap. 2), far from elucidating the Greek principles of beauty, only

spread confusion.

Eurythmy consists of stringing together uniform segments of space to

forman enclosure.

The first way in which this can be done is at even intervals, so that eachelement is identical to the others. Suchsimpleseries include dentils, fluting,

wreaths, the simplest bead moldings (without reels), and several others.

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Prolegomena

Theseries becomesalternatingwhen we separatethe elementswithinter-

mediate elements. This is thecase, forexample, when the simple carved

wreath, in the mannerofthe leaf-and-dart decoration, changesinto a series of

two leaves alternating with one another, or when reels are inserted between

beads.The egg-and-dart molding with its so-called arrowheadsis another

very familiar exampleof an alternating series.Thesame principle of alterna-

tion is evidentinthe wreaths of metopes andtriglyphs.Contrasts in formand

design, as well as color, are necessary to articulate the alternating series. The

principle ofalternation is the recurrenceofunlike parts in eurythmiccadence.

Inaddition to the simple and alternating series, thereisa third,which is

therichest.Itinvolves interrupting a simple or alternating series with periodic

caesuras.

This again wasknownto theGreeks, althoughtheydeliberately used it

sparingly and only on accessories.

Examples: pearl strings with two or more reels (an easily understood alter-

nation of unlike parts), lion heads and masks that punctuate garland deco-

rations in the cymatia of Greek entablatures, Renaissance balustrades, and

especially aspects of barbarian styles as found in Hindu, Arabian, and Gothic

architecture.10Thisintercalationis conducive to the romantic mood and has a

more painterly-musical effect, whilesimpleandalternatingeurythmy corre-

sponds to plastic beauty.

Because intercalation is more painterly than plastic in its effects, it isespe-

ciallyrecommended in polychrome representation and as surface decorations

for carpets, ceramic work, inlaid metal, woodwork, and so on.

More elaborate eurythmic membersareappropriateonlyifarichcon-

fusionor confused richnessshouldappear,such as in curtains,embroidery,

fabrics,shawls,and generally in cases where a strict architectural eurythmy

would looktoo dry and stiff.

The beginning of the chapter ontextiles will provide details on these and

related points. Seealsothe woodcutsin thissection and thecoloredplates in

volume 1, which show instances of all the modifications to the eurythmic

series.

Symmetry

Eurythmy is closely related not to symmetry but to proportion, because sym-

metry ina strict senseisonly a piece, a fragment of a eurythmicwholethat

turns uponitself. Ifone imagines a cut through the earth, the sectionwouldbe

a circular disk, with theobjectson the earth's surface arranged on the outer

edgeinradialformationdirectedtowardtheglobe'scenter. A piece of the

earth's meridian, which the architecturally disposedmindsees aseurythmi-

cally arranged,isasymmetrical series.Itpleases only because we recognizeits

relation to the general, which lends static support to theindividual phenome-

non.Unlikeregular crystal forms that completely isolate themselvesfrom the

universe and are true microcosms, symmetrical forms are not sufficiently con-

sistentin themselvesfortheir form to expressthepossibility of their existence

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beyond the world. Thus they do not have the kind of lower-order perfection

that regular enclosed figures have, yet these are the forms in which organic

nature is clothed, thereby complying with a higher principle of working

together as aunit. Those gracefullyrigidsnow crystalsthatwereso instruc-

tive for the rhythmic lawand its relation to proportion are no longer suffi-

cient for understanding the principle ofsymmetry. The latter's truemeaning

andgreat diversityappear incombination withproportion for the first time inplant forms.

hi this respect it is remarkable that both the beginning and the end of a

plant's life arerepresentedbyself-contained microcosms: globelike plant cells,

flowers, fruit. Buta plant has a macrocosmic relation in itsgrowth; accord-

ingly, a lifeevolves simultaneously that operates in conflict with this macro-

cosmic relation as aprinciple of formation, that is to say,asthe principle of

proportionality.

The application ofthe law ofsymmetry to plants is best dealt with sepa-

rately.The plant, considered as an individual and as a whole, grows vertically

from itsseed alongtheearth's radius. Maintaining this direction dependson

thedistribution of themass ofbranches, leaves, flowers, and fruit aroundthe

stem or, where there is no stem, around a vertical line that defines the center

of gravitytoachieve overall balance. This order is thereforeeurythmic,and its

principle derives from the planimetric property of the ground plane, which

resembles a starlike crystal formation.Only inits vertical projection,that is,

on the retina of the observer's eye, is the image of the plantsymmetrical.The

vertical arrangement of theparts of the formation (the placement of branches

on atree) is independent of the law of balance totheextentthat equilibrium

is notaffected bywhether a ring of branches, balancing each other relative to

the stem, grows from the stem at a high or low point, over or under equally

balanced systems.

It follows that in all plants, and in all natural and artistic forms that obey

the same regular order,there is no symmetry in the form of vertical extension.

Theplantas awholeisactually symmetrical only to the eye; in realityit is

eurythmic. Actual symmetry appears in the individual parts of the plant

accordingto aninherent order that is very instructive, even if its detailsarenot

easily resolved.

A branch may grow out of the stem at right angles wi thout bending

toward thehorizon. I tmay branch out and its twigs terminate in leaves divided

like ferns,whose parts again consist of small leaves. Each part ofthetree,

when taken individually, demonstrates a subordination to the whole in the

symmetricalarrangement of its lesser parts.

Thestem, taken as a whole, is to thebranch what the earth is to the stem:

namely, its closestmacrocosmic relation, evidentin the uniform distribution

of branchings and in themassingofleaves onthe branch with regard to the

stem.Atthe sametime, the branch directly relates to the centerofthe earth,withwhich it shouldcomply in the arrangement and distribution ofits subor-

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P rolegomena

dinate members. Horizontal branchings, becausetheyfulfill this dual condi-

tion, are no longerdistributed eurythmicallyaround the branch(aswas the

case with the mainstem, whichsimplyrelated tothe centerof the earth),but

symmetrically,with ahorizontalsymmetrical axis Intersecting the branchat

right angles.Fortwigs, leaves, and leaf parts, each considered as an entity, the

same dynamiclawalways applies. Thus the determinants of symmetrical formaretwofold:specifically, the relation tothe pointfrom which the individual

partgrows, and the general relation to the earthby virtue ofthe attraction

of masses and gravity." Each of these partshasonlyonesymmetrical axis,

alwayshorizontaland directedat right angles to the part from whichit grows.

Forinstance, the symmetryofa leaf, when projected as a line ona sectional

plane, intersectsthestalkatright angles and runsparallelwith themainstem

(whichisvertical). In thesameway, the arrangement ofleavesfrequently dif-

fersaccording to the type of the plant, but it is alwayssymmetricalaroundthe

twig, and again according to thelaw ofhorizontalandlinearequilibrium. Itfollows from this that atwigand its leaves must form a plane, liketheleaf.

Treesthatbranchout horizontally, like cedars, acacias, and beeches,exhi-

bit thissymmetrical arrangement.But the natural law becomes more complex

when the plant shows a different radiation principlefor instance, whenthe

branchesof poplars and cypresses growoutof thestemat acuteangles.

Herethe symmetry ofthebranches with their twigsandleaves again

approximatesthe planimetric eurythmyofthe main stem, yet without being

present in a pure form. The attempt toproduce an equilibriumof mass and

symmetry under suchcomplexinterrelatedcircumstances spursnature, with

its inexhaustible forms, to the infinite variety that the plantworldoffers; here

weintuit ratherthansee the law of symmetry working with proportionality,

more or less spiraling its way through it. This is partially responsible for the

romanticcharm that plants havefor us.

Although the animal kingdomisinfinitely freerandricherinits creationsthan the botanical world, its formal properties arealso moreapparent and

more distinct in their elements.

The kind of symmetry considered so faris planimetric;with animalsitis

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found only in polyps, radial animals, and so on. The symmetry of higher ani-

mal forms is neverplanimetric,as with plants, but linear. In highly developed

animals, sections taken through any ofthe three main axesof spatialexten-

sion, or projected onto them, are never completely regular. The linear sym-

metrical axis of vertebrates and humans is a horizontal line that meets the

directional axis (which will be discussed below) at right angles.Y et animal

forms arenot subject tothe lawsof symmetry, either from belowupward or

from front toreartheformer for the same reasonas plants, the latterfor avery similar one.

Itwouldbepossible topursuethe law of symmetry even into outerspace,

inrelationto the differentlevels of macrocosmic dependenceofcelestialbodies

on one anotherbutthiswould takeustoofar from the point.

Proportionality and Direction(Unityof Movement)

The principle of proportion can be observed first in radiating enclosed crys-

tals, where the individual radii at times appear articulated. This articulation

seems to follow a definite law that is expressed differently according to thenature of thecrystallized fluid and circumstances.

As was noted, we can observe such forms in some of the snow crystals

illustrated on page 84.

But the lawofproportionality emerges as far more developed in organic

forms.

We must assume that a definite force is at work in the developmentofveg-

etal and animal organisms, which to some extent operates independently of

thegeneral forces of nature (attraction and repulsion of masses, etc.},on the

onehand, andofthe will power of living organisms, onthe other. Thisforce

comes intoconflict with both, however, and the lifeoforganic formsdepends

entirely on the felicitous resolution of these conflicts.

In thisstruggleof theorganic vital force against matter,on theonehand,

and will power, on the other, nature produces her most glorious creations.

This can be seen in thebeautiful elastic curve of a palm, whose majestic

crown of leaves reaches vigorously upward while bending to the general law

ofgravity overall and in itsindividualparts (the leaves of the crown).

This struggle is evenmore vigorous inorganisms giftedwith volition, for

example, inArtemis or Apollo as depicted in antique art. Here freedom of

will and movementare inbalance with the requirements of mass and oflife

the greatest diversity brought into unity that the earthly mind can possibly

conceive.

The vital force (or if one prefers,thephysical force of growth), though it

works inall directions,tendsto follow onemain direction, which inplants is

generally directed vertically againsttheforce of gravity. In mostanimals it is

defined by the dorsal vertebrae, which are in most cases arranged horizon-

tally,and thus it coincides with the direction of thewill.With humans it is

againvertical; it does not coincidewiththe direction of the wi llbut forms a

rightangleto it. Thereforeinorganic formation two or three forces are active,

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of movement13(fitnessof direction), analogous to the way in which symmetry

(dependentongravity)relates to vertical proportion,asin plants. For inertia

and medium resistance must be balanced around the axis ofmovement, so

that no involuntarydeviation from the uniformityof direction occurs as a

result of unbalanced distribution of masses with regard to the axis ofmove-

ment (which is normally assumed as horizontal). The arrangement ofparts

alongthedirectionofmovement, however, would notbeaffected at all bv this

principle, for the reasons stated above. Stability is supersededherebyanotherbasic condition of forma! fitnessnamely, mobility, or capacity for move-

ment,together withspeed of movement.14

With many lower animal forms, such as worms, the life axis coincides

completely with the axis of spontaneity. Like plants, they have only two

attributes of form:symmetry,which in section appears as planimetric symme-

tryfeurythmy),andunityof movement.They almost always lack vertical pro-

portionentirely ornearlyso.

Higher animals, suchasquadrupeds and birds, form a very complex inter-

mediate class between this scheme and human beings, in which all three axesof formationtheaxesofsymmetry, proportion, and directionare clearly

distinct from and atright angles to one another, following the coordinates of

spatial extension.

Art, like nature, displays a similar variety of combinations but cannot

exceed nature'sbounds byaninch;its principlesof formal configuration must

bein strict accordance with the laws of nature.

Onthe Principle of Authority in theOriginof Natural and ArtisticForms

Authority is a termVitruvius uses in several places (perhaps referring to a

Greekauthor since lost whose terminology he translated into Latin as besthe

could) to express something for which there is no equivalent word in the

German language.Ttmeans the emphasis given to certain formal components

ofa phenomenon that stand out from the rest, thus becoming what onemight

call thechorus leaders withintheirrealm, the visible representatives of auni-

fying principle. The remaining elements of the plurality, unified in formal

beauty, relate to the authorities as resonant, modulating, and accompanying

tones do to the keynote. According tothe theory developed above,thereare

three formal authorities, namely,

1. eurythmicsymmetricauthority,

2. proportional authority,

3. directional authority.

A fourth authority of a higher order can be added, that ofcontent. I t con-

sists of the dominance of one of the three modifications of beauty in their

combination.

Eurythmic Authority

As I have shown, eurythmy is either stereometric or planimetric symmetry.

Stereometric regular formsinclude the sphere andallregularpolyhedra down

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Prolegomena

Naturally only deviations from the strict principle endow proportion with

character, which has as many solutions as nature itself.37

Things become more complex where the proportional axis is not rooted

butmoves freely within a medium along its own directional axis, acondition

that in the foregoing was noted as the second possible combination. This isthe case with mostanimalsthat move horizontally on the earth, in water, and

in the air.Thefishisthesimplestexample of this combination. The goal the

swimmingfish pursues, whetheritis a prey oranyother desired object,is a

pointof attraction that exerts a force quite analogous to that which thecenter

of the earth exerts on the tree or on any other vertically directed form. But

gravity opposes a tree's growth, whereas with the fish the direction of willand

direction oflife(of the spinal column) arenotopposites: both striveuniformly

forward.Therefore,noconflict offorcestakesplaceinthisinstance,andthe

lawof tripartite division no longer applies(seeabove). The authority hereisa

dual one: theheadof thefishrepresentsboth the microcosmic principle of

unity for individual existence and its movement.

Thus far theproportionof the fish is indeterminately two-part: a head

with a tailpiece that becomes indeterminately spool-like toward the rear.

There are, however, other determinantsofform that give theincomplete

phenomenon the character of self-containment and unity:the general law of

the inertia of massesand of the resistance of the mediumin which movement

takes place. The fish's shape must yield to and reflectthese macrocosmic

influences. Thisisachieved by means of imaginary sectional planesthat pass

through the axisof direction at right angles and increase in size from front

toback according to a law that cannot be elaborated here, continuing to

increaseup to a point onthe directionalaxiswhere they reach their maximum

size.Accordingto another law, the sectional planes decrease in sizebeyond

thispoint.Unlike thehead,thegreatest diameter of thefishis a reflectionof

these macrocosmic influences.

Butgravity also influences the proportional formation of the fish; its sec-tional plane, whereveri tpasses through the longitudinal axis atrightangles,

issymmetricalinwidth. luheight, however, itconforms to theprinciple of

upright formationand is proportioned like a spindle or aflame.Macrocosmic

influences, wemay conclude, operate less distinctly thantheydo in cases of

uprightformation.

DirectionalAuthority

Like proportional authority, directional authority isneveractiveonitsownbut only in combination with the macrocosmicandsymmetrical authority,or

with that authority and the proportional authority as well.

The latter case was discussed in the previous section;theformer is most

evident in human beings.

just as the head of the fish clearly and distinctly mirrors the convergence of

two principal axes (the living axis and the directional axis), so the human

head expresses intelligibly the normal position of these two axes at right

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P rolegomena

Notes

1. Anexpression that,through itspleonasm, indicatesthefolly of modern artistic

conditions so vividlychat Iam retaining it. It asserts that thereis a broad gulf, unknown

totheGreeks,between the so-called minor arts and the so-called high arts.

2. [Carl Friedrich vonj Rumohr's expression to describe the independentmental

activity that makespossiblethefullconception and apprehension of beauty and crea-

tion in artwithoutthemediation of thecriticalintellect.

3. Bavaria has an ordinance(Ido not know whether ic is enforced), passed by the

artistically learned King Ludwig, according to which no engineer or architect mayenter

stateservicewithout having passedthegymnasium examination.

4. Did it takelong for the masters of the great period toward the endofthe Middle

Ages to learn to use linseed oil to bind paints, to replace older processes they foundtoo

restrictive? Did it take long for the West ro rediscoverthesecret of applying enamelto

faience, which thePersians andSaracensprobably had long known from antiquity?

Not exactly exemplars of Western knowledge and science, [Jan] van Eyck, LucaDelia

Robbia, and [Bernard] Palissy did know how to apply their own discoveries artistically.

Bycomparison, how few modern painters are masters of the means and refinements

in paint offered so profuselyby chemistry.Wesee(completely ignoring actual artistic

matters) the deformation, whitening, and cracking of paintings after only a few years,

whereas those pictures by Italian and Flemish old masters are immortal in thesepurely

technical respects. Eventhough theymayhave darkened andbecomethickly covered

with the sedimentof the centuries, they nevertheless maintaintheir condition andindeed may even have improved with age-

5. The use of architectural competitions,which is catching on everywhere, greatly

encouragesthisunfortunateseparation of architectureas an art from working practiceand

itis(atleastin itspresentarrangement)oneof theleading causes ofarchitecture'sdecline.

6. The danger in continuing with Renaissance architecture, whichalong with the

painting and sculpture of the cinquecento is unsurpassed, is that itunlike Gothicis

incompleteand allows further refinement, and in fact can bepracticed only by a truly

artistichand. Yet when done hastily, as we nowadays demand, it degeneratesinto the

mosttrivial vulgarity of form. The so-called Gothic style, by contrast, insists on unifor-

mity in richness, which makes the difference between the noble and vnlgar less striking.

Even thekind oftaste.thatcanperceive thesedifferencesisstill fairly unreceptiveto

thembecause of the novelty of taking up this style again.

7. A[dolf] F. Zeising,A[esthetische\ F[orschungen],introduction.

8. Words of a poet and connoisseur:

Speculative aesthetics, whichiswidelypracticed, is almost as harmful for theartist

and builderasit isfor theviewer ofart.This aesthetics lacks a concreteunderstand-

ingof beauty. It may have generated much artistic rhetoric but little artistic sensitiv-

ity.Ithas not found the sourceofformal beauty; as a rule it hasto becontentwith

distilling only the abstract spirit of the idea from the full grape.

Sinceart has been placed underthisspeculativecontrol, thesensefor creating a

beautiful space has not revived, nor have the nerves become more receptiveto the

vis superba fomfae [sublime power of beauty]. Direct intuitive thinking is byno

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emper

means encouraged bythis aesthetics. Speculative aestheticsfinds its support in the

inabilityofso many people to find pure enjoyment in beauty as such.Itfeeds this

inabilitybytranslating what is intended fortheeyeortheear,in transforming art

into nonart, forms into concepts, the pleasure of beauty into God-knows-what kind

of pleasure, and artistic jest and humor into pedantic seriousness. But if form, color,

and quantity have tobereduced to categories before they canbe correctly per-

ceived,if the sensual assuchcan no longer make sense,ifthe bodily, as in thisaes-thetic, has to be disembodied inorder to revealits wealth doesn't art loseits

reasonfor independent existence?

Much could also be said about art journals, which more orlessechospeculative

and aesthetic handbooks. They also overemphasizematerial interests. Thewhat

dominates thehow, opinion,theappearance.

Thus speculative aesthetics in many respectsrecalls natural philosophy.Exact

science will succeed naturalphilosophy inthe same way that empiricalaesthetics

willsucceed speculative aesthetics.

9. Art has the same goal as religion: namely, relief from imperfect existence, the

forgetting of earthly woes and struggles with an eye to perfection.Butthe two are

opposites in that faith, through the mystery of miracles, immerses itself in the inexplic-

able,in formlessness, whereas art gives form to the formless and lets the miracle in a

work of art seemnatural, indeed necessary.In the same way, the instinctofknowledge

andthe urgefortruth are a third form of the same striving for perfection. But here the

goal is unattainable; the realm of the unknown stands in contrast with the circle of

what has been exploredinthai it yields no formal support and quantitativestandard-

both of which are partially granted to the workof art inits external aspect. Thus sci-

ence will always remain imperfect and incomplete in terms of form. Knowledgedoes

notsatisfy, only the striving for it does.Yetthe highest in art, as long as it becrays inad-

equateskill and an unfulfilled wish, mustbeinferior tothemost limitedworkofart

when the latter is consistent with the fully attained goal of striving for perfection that

lies at the heart of every work of art. Both religion and philosophy leave their sphere,

indeed surrender theirtruenature, when they accept the art-form.Sucha unity of the

three manifestations ofspiritual striving,however, offersthemost favorable conditions

forartistic creation, which was the case withtheGreeks.10. Christian architecture very early abandonedthe simple columnrhythmof

antique buildingsinfavor of theintercalationofalternating columnsand piers, cer-

tainly as much for aestheticasfor structural and liturgical reasons.

11.Thislaw isespecially evident in the plants of the primeval world and theirsur-

vivingdescendants: ferns, horsetails, palms, and so on. Later plant types more often

show abalance of masses insteadofsymmetry.

12. Only partially,because the plant'sorgansand their mutual relations arefirst

conditioned by their purpose, as tools of nourishment and reproduction.

13. This proportion in che direction of movement or will is different inprinciple

from a proportion inthedirection of vertical formation, for which reason it forms a

specialcategory of formal beauty. But clearly thereis afar closerrelation between both

thanbetween each of them and symmetry.

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Prolegomena

Here an example fromtheheavenly dynamic might be permitted, in whichthe

author believes he recognizes the close link between proportional formation and

motion formation,aswell as the relationship and the difference of the forms resulting

from both of them. It is generally accepted that a comet'stailis an atmosphere that is

created by the partial evaporation or burning of the heavenly body when it iscloseto

the sun. This tail is thus affected in shape and direction hy two conflicting forces, very

similar to or even the same as those mentioned in the text.

If the starwere suddenlytostand still when close to the sunthatis,if itsmovement

around the sun ceasedthe burning caused by the sun would produce a flame likethat

of a burning candle. Thelighter,heated, and giowing exhalations would penetrate the

noncombustible medium that surrounds the core andfillsthe universe, in the shape of a

flame. The direction of this emanation, both luminous and illuminated, would be aStraight line running from the sun through the star. But the movement of the comet is

addedas a form-determining element, through which theaxisand shape of thetail

undergo a change. I t takes the form of a curved, widening bundle of light, with the

lower part nearest the core turned away from the sun radially, a form that can be con-

structed graphically. This direction is probably also modified by the resistance ofthe

ether in which thecometfloats, hi explanation,let meinsert the graphic representation

of thepathof the comet of 1680, from [Isaac] Newton's third book of thePrincipia

philosophic}nat\uralis\mathematicalaccording towhich itstail,atvariousobservedpoints in its orbit, corresponds exactly with the hypothesis in form and direction.

Before coming close tothe sun at pointi thetail isshortand bent in a veryweak

concavecurve against the axis oftheorbit, because the curvature of the partof the

orbit that the comet had previously describedwasonly slight andtheemanations of

vapor proceeded very slowly. The part of the column between ; andkemanated from

the core when it was passing through the section of orbit betweenkand ;, while the

upperpart ofthe tail consistsofvapors that had previously been emitted by the star

beyondk.But at the other side of the perihelion atmthe vapor columnisvery long and

thepreceding section of orbic is sharply curved. Therefore the vapor column (whose

upper regions consistofparts that the comet emitted in the direction of the rays of the

sun when it found itselfon partsof the orbit through which it had traveled long before)

is strongly curved, andindeed at the point dictated by the construction, withthe con-

vexside against the axis of the orbit. If one divides the tailmdinto four sections, then

thelowest belongs to those points on the orbit betweenmanda;the second section

radiates from the comet betweenaandb';thethird emanates from the region between

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