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2020 BOKFÖRLAGET STOLPE
Bokförlaget Stolpe
Craftmanship, Scholarship and Quality
W
Contact us for any question regarding rights elcome to Bokförlaget Stolpe. We produce specialist
or distribution. books of the very finest quality, which means we
place great emphasis on design, reproduction, printing
Simon Hohn and binding, as well as high-quality scholarly content.
Head of Marketing We offer a wide range of publications, and the subjects are often timeless.
simon@stolpepublishing.se The publishing house works in close collaboration with the Swedish
+46 70 789 13 00 foundation The Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public
Benefit. Their vision is to support individuals, ideas and projects in the
Erica Karlsson humanities and social sciences. We publish books based on the foundation’s
Publishing Coordinator research projects, seminars and grants awarded to talented writers and
erica@stolpepublishing.se scholars, and we ensure that the books are available in Sweden and around
+46 70 772 55 21 the world.
Cover: The Dove, nr 2, by Hilma af Klint
Design: Patric Leo
HILMA AF KLINT
Visionary
Hilma af Klint’s works have taken the international art world by storm
more than one hundred years after they were created. Around the turn of
the 20th century, the new spiritual and social movements of theosophy and
later anthroposophy came to inspire the pioneers of modernism and abstract
art – Kandinsky, Mondrian, Malevich – and Hilma af Klint. What was the
zeitgeist that inspired such an artistic explosion?
This anthology is based on a seminar held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum in New York at the opening of its highly-acclaimed exhibition
Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future in October 2018.
Tracey Bashkoff, Senior Director of Marco Pasi, Associate Professor in the
Collections and Senior Curator at the History of Hermetic Philosophy and
Salomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Related Currents at the University of
New York. Amsterdam.
Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic director of Julia Voss, has studied German Literature,
Acute Art, London. Former roles Philosophy and Art History in Freiburg,
include Director of Moderna Museet in London and Berlin. In early 2020
Stockholm. her biography on Hilma af Klint, Die
Linda Dalrymple Henderson, the David Menschheit in Erstaunen versetzen,
Bruton Jr. Centennial Professor in Art was published in Germany.
History and Distinguished Teaching
Professor at the University of Texas Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
at Austin. Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Isaac Lubelsky, has studied at the School Foundation for Public Benefit, and
of History, Tel Aviv University, where he Louise Belfrage, Project Manager at the
received his PhD in 2005. Foundation.
ISBN: 978-91-63972-03-4. 60 illustrations. 29 x 23 cm (portrait). 128 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Published in 2019.
Five Things to Know
About Hilma af Klint
Julia Voss
One of the key events in the life of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint happened on a day
whose date is lost to history. We only know that it was in the early 1930s, and af Klint
was almost seventy years old. To summarise the event simply: she destroyed many of
her original notebooks. Other details remain speculative. Did she burn them? Rip
them apart? Cast them into Lake Mälaren, where she had her studio, on the island of
Munsö? Was she alone, or did someone try to stop her?
The act could have been performed in many different ways. Perhaps it was the
result of a sudden decision, hurried and impulsive, amidst a tornado of papers. But
the opposite is quite possible too: those who knew the artist described her as sober,
reserved, eventempered, and friendly. She was not prone to emotional outbursts.
Thus, af Klint probably pursued this act of destruction in a planned and cool man
ner. She copied passages of the notebooks she considered important. The rest was
sent into oblivion.
This is what we have to keep in mind: af Klint was the editor and publisher of her
own archive. The readership for whom her work was destined was not yet born. She
created work for a future in which her own present would be long gone. She left
behind more than 1,000 works of art and around 13,000 pages of text.
Who is this woman? In this essay I will try to answer this question as succinctly as
I can. The following will contain a lot of new research on af Klint. Things that have
not been known before, but things, I believe, one should know about the artist.
1. Hilma af Klint painted – and exhibited – some of the most original abstract works of the
Hilma af Klint, The Ten Largest,
20th century.
No. 7, Adulthood, Group IV, 1907.
Following pages: Hilma af Klint,
Hilma af Klint’s evolution as a painter of abstract works starts in 1906. She is forty
The Ten Largest, No. 1, Childhood, four years old. She lives in Stockholm, and shares an art studio in the artistic centre
Group IV, 1907. of Sweden’s capital. She is unmarried, and has no intention of changing this.
For decades she has listened to voices and seen visions. Now she starts with a series
Hilma af Klint, The Ten Largest, of notebook sketches. Next, she transfers them to canvas. This first series she titles
No. 3, Youth, Group IV, 1907. Primordial Chaos, and she restricts herself to the colours blue, yellow and green. In the
21
HILMA AF KLINT
Seeing is Believing
This volume presents seven series of works by the pioneering artist Hilma
af Klint. They were all created in the first half of the year 1920, and are the
last paintings af Klint made before turning to watercolour and adopting a
recognisable style of painting taught by Rudolf Steiner and his disciples.
The anthology is based on a seminar held at the Goethe-Institut London in
conjunction with the exhibition Hilma af Klint: Painting the Unseen, which
took place at the Serpentine Galleries during the spring of 2016.
Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic Director of David Lomas, Professor of Art History at
Acute Art, London, UK. Former roles the University of Manchester.
include Director of Moderna Museet in Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of
Stockholm. the Serpentine Galleries, London.
Briony Fer, Professor of History of Art at
University College London. Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Branden W. Joseph, is the Frank Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Gallipoli Professor of Modern and Foundation for Public Benefit, and
Contemporary Art in the Department Louise Belfrage, Project Manager at the
of Art History and Archaeology at Foundation.
Columbia University.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-18-3. 95 illustrations. 29 x 23 cm (portrait). 152 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Published in April 2020.
HILMA AF KLINT
The Art of Seeing the Invisible
In this, the most exhaustive book on Hilma af Klint published to date, twenty
specialists in Modern Art, Art History, the History of Ideas, and Religious
Studies use their expertise to explore af Klint’s unique artistry. The topics
range from early Abstract Art and the impact of Darwin and Goethe’s Colour
Theory, to the importance of occult religious movements such as Theosophy
and Anthroposophy which influenced the early modernists. Excerpts from
Hilma af Klint’s personal notes and research are also included. The book is
based on the seminars held in the years 2013–2015 in conjunction with well
received exhibitions worldwide, many of which set records in attendance.
This book is a new edition of The Art of Seeing the Invisible (2015), with an
afterword written by Daniel Birnbaum.
Tessel M. Baudin, University of Amsterdam. Editor and writer: Kurt Almqvist, President
Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic director of of Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Acute Art, London. Foundation for Public Benefit, and
Briony Fer, University College London. member of various boards – amongst
Wouter J. Hanegraaff, University of others, The Hilma af Klint Foundation
Amsterdam. 2019–. Founder of Axess Magazine in
Stephen Kern, John Simon Guggenheim 2002 and Axess TV in 2005.
Foundation. Edited by: Louise Belfrage, Project
Gary Lachman, Author and Lecturer. Manager at the Foundation.
Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam.
Gertrud Sandqvist, Malmö Art Academy. For more information about all the writers,
Helmut Zander, University of Fribourg. please visit our website.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-17-6. 100 illustrations. 29 x 23 cm (portrait). 264 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Release: October 2020.
HILMA AF KLINT
Occult Painter and Abstract Pioneer
Hilma af Klint is nowadays regarded as one of the Abstract Art pioneers.
She painted more than 1200 works before her death in 1944, but never
showed them publicly outside her anthropological and occult circles. After
twenty years of artistry she developed a distinct abstract style, and devoted
the rest of her life to a grand painterly mission. The spiritual aspect was
the most important starting point for Hilma af Klint, just as it was for her
contemporaries Kandinsky, Malevich and Mondrian. These early modernists
were influenced by the then contemporary occult writers like Madame
Blavatsky, Annie Besant, C.W. Leadbeater, and certainly af Klint’s spiritual
leader Rudolf Steiner.
This book is a re-print, first published in 1989 in collaboration with The
Hilma af Klint Foundation, and also served as the exhibition catalogue for
the big exhibition, with the same title, at Moderna Museet in Stockholm.
‘ … a brilliant presentation and analysis by Åke Fant. The magnitude of this
text is the apparent critical approach that incuse the biography, the works
review, and the investigation of role models of Hilma’s dual thoughts and
spiritual exercises.’ (Göteborgs-Posten)
Åke Fant (1943–1997) was a university
lecturer, art historian and sculptor.
He is still widely recognized as the
foremost expert on Hilma af Klint’s
body of work, and the one who
implemented the first full study of the
works.
Translated by: Ruth Urbom.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-47-3. 155 illustrations. 29 x 23 cm (portrait). 250 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Release: November 2020.
Not all artists oeuvre can, will, or deserve to be collected in a CATALOGUE
RAISONNÉ. But Hilma af Klint’s (1862–1944) work demands it: her oeuvre
holds a message and reveals a philosophy. For the first time ever, the reader
will be able to review the complete works of Hilma af Klint in this historical
document divided into seven volumes. It is undeniably one of Sweden’s most
fascinating collections of artistic output. The first volume, The Paintings for
the Temple, will be published in autumn 2020.
On assignment from Erik af Klint (1901–1981) – the only heir of Hilma af
Klint’s works as well as the only donor to and founder of The Hilma af Klint
Foundation (1972) – the paintings are presented in the same order as the
anthroposophist Olof Sundström placed them in 1945.
The works are printed in an exclusive edition designed by Patric Leo. The
series is produced in co-operation with The Axel and Margaret Ax:son
Johnson Foundation, and features introductions by Daniel Birnbaum and
Kurt Almqvist. A separate slipcase containing the seven volumes will be
available in autumn 2021.
Kurt Almqvist, President of Axel and Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic Director of
Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation Acute Art, London, UK. Former roles
for Public Benefit. include Director of Moderna Museet in
Stockholm.
Slipcase including books ISBN: 978-91-98523-66-9. Slipcase excluding books ISBN: 978-91-89069-32-9.
Specification: Clothbound, screen printed. Dimensions TBA.
Release: Fall 2021.THE PAINTINGS FOR THE TEMPLE (1906 –1915) THE BLUE BOOKS
This is the best known of Hilma af Klint’s series of works. These mostly This volume contains Hilma af Klint’s collected miniatures for The Paintings
abstract paintings, including The Ten Largest, came to the artist – she for the Temple. The artist travelled with these books in order to show the
claims – mediumistically in this period. The series illustrates the message to world her creations in a more accessible format. Af Klint wanted to generate
humanity that she believed had come to her by way of the High Masters. interest amongst certain exclusive circles – anthropological assemblies and
occult groups – who might then exhibit her works for a circle of benevolent
people.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-11-4. 193 illustrations. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 232 pp. ISBN: 978-91-89069-24-4. 140 illustrations. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 192 pp.
Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn. Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn.
Release: October 2020. Release: October 2020.SPIRITUALISTIC DRAWINGS (1896 –1905) PARSIFAL AND THE ATOM (1916 –1917)
The abstraction in Hilma af Klint’s pictures developed over time; it was In her two series Parsifal and the Atom, Hilma af Klint interpreted the
a process in which a group of female friends, The Five, played a major messages she previously had received. In Parsifal she explored humanity’s
role. The members of the group acted as mediums and deemed themselves different levels of experience through a boy and girl’s journey to maturity and
receivers of messages from spirits regarding the development of humanity. their similar progress. Klint was symbolically illustrating man’s development
of consciousness. In the Atom series, af Klint explored the foundation of reality
beyond the immediate impressions of the mind.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-23-7. Approx. 350 illustrations. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 220 pp. ISBN: 978-91-89069-25-1. Approx. 212 illustrationer. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 224 pp.
Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn. Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn.
Release: November 2020. Release: Spring 2021.GEOMETRIC SERIES AND LATE WATERCOLOURS (1922 –1941)
OTHER WORKS (1917–1920) After her mother’s death in 1920, Hilma af Klint gave up her geometric
works and began, inspired by Anthroposophy, to paint with watercolours.
Throughout her life, Hilma af Klint used ‘spiritual science’ – a term from
This is seen in the series On the Viewing of Flowers and Trees (1922).
Anthroposophy referring to research-oriented methods – in order to understand
the spiritual evolution and development of mankind. She investigated and used
plants and other objects in their geometrical form in her works.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-26-8. Approx. 126 illustrations. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 140 pp. ISBN: 978-91-89069-27-5. Approx. 450 illustrations. 31 x 24 cm (portrait). 252 pp.
Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn. Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn.
Release: Spring 2021. Release: Spring 2021.LANDSCAPES, PORTRAITS AND
BOTANICAL WORKS (1886 –1940)
This volume shows Hilma af Klint as a painter of landscapes, portraits and
botanical works. The total number of illustrations is still not determined
since many of these works were sold to private buyers, where they remain. In
2020, the publishing house will conduct a search to find further works.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-28-2. Number of illustrations and pages not determined. 31 x 24 cm (portrait).
Specification: Clothbound, screen printed, sewn.
Release: Fall 2021.IMAGERY OF THE SEA
Figureheads and Symbols
Water routes were long the most natural way to travel, and the ships travelled
on were also expressions of their owners’ status and power. The circa forty
ship artefacts housed in the unusual Maritime Collection at Engelsberg –
figureheads, ornaments and other decorative elements – bear witness to
many stories about life at sea.
This anthology presents a number of approaches to the many symbols
and artistic expressions found on vessels, along with recent photos and new
knowledge about the figureheads.
Annika Bünz, PhD in Archeology. Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Lars Einarsson, Department Head, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Kalmar County Museum. Foundation for Public Benefit, and
Niklas Eriksson, PhD in Archeology, Svante Helmbaek Tirén, Writer and
scientist at the Department of curator specialising in architectural and
Archeology and Classical Studies, decorational history, Sweden.
Stockholm University.
Fred Hocker, PhD in Anthropology. Translated by: William Sleath.
Leos Müller, Professor of History at the
Department of History, Stockholm
University.
Johan Rönnby, Professor of Marine
Archeology at the Department of
Historical and Contemporary Studies,
Södertörn University.
Ingrid Ulfstedt, Curator, The Swedish
National Maritime and Transport
Museums.
ISBN: 978-91-98523-79-9. 130 illustrations. 32 x 24.5 cm (portrait). 260 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, fore-edge painting, sewn.
Release: September 2020.GALJONSFIGURERNA
PÅ ENGELSBERG
Svante Helmbaeck Tirén
kusten utanför nordjylland i Danmark har sedan urminnes tider varit känd för sina farli- Ceped ut ut lis nia pe labo. Et
doluptatur aut dem ipsapidit
ga vatten. Inte minst kring Skagen, där Skagerrak övergår i Kattegatt, mötte många fartyg sitt
erio. Offictis nos peribus,
öde bland förrädiska rev och hårda stormar. I arkiven hittar man spår av hundratals förlis- quide voluptatur, con perna-
ningar tillsammans med skildringar av räddningsaktioner, hjältedåd och tragedier. tius as saerciis num esectu-
Handel med vrakgods blev tidvis en betydande extrainkomst för lokalbefolkningen. Efter rest qui ut aditas
modisimporis dolenda
olyckorna hölls vrakauktioner, där föremål som sköljts upp eller räddats gick under klubban ndanimos quo magni conse-
till högstbjudande. Andra gånger samlades vrakgods upp av förbipasserande, och än idag ris aspiciet et qui dolenda
finns det gott om artefakter och berättelser bevarade från segelfartygens tid. Alla ger de en nimet autat od undit dolup-
tatur aut ationsecatur re,
bild av det hårda livet till havs, och betydelsen av de många kontakter som sjöfarten förde
simi, venieni hictu Ceped ut
med sig. ut lis nia pe labo. Et dolupta-
Galjonsfigurssamlingen på Engelsbergs bruk är ett märkligt och tankeväckande monu- tur aut dem ipsapidit erio.
ment över vår maritima historia. Den består av trettiotvå galjonsfigurer, och ett antal orna-
ment och namnskyltar. Tidigare gick den under namnet Skagensamlingen, eftersom
föremålen härstammar från fartyg som förlist utanför Nordjyllands kust. De flesta daterar sig
till 1800-talets första hälft och mitt, den period som blev den avslutande fasen på
66 67 182 183EXPEDITION VANADIS
An Ethnografic Voyage Around the World
1883–1885
Hjalmar Stolpe is one of Sweden’s best-known archaeologists and explorers,
as well as the first Director of Sweden’s Ethnographical Museum. In the late
19th century he sailed around the world on the steamboat Vanadis. During
this 18-month journey he visited Portugal, Brazil, Tahiti, Chile, Thailand,
Japan and India, and more.
This voyage was especially noteworthy due to the participation of Oscar
Ekholm, a 22-year old photographer who documented everything with his
camera. The expedition was one of the first of its kind ever to be documented
using photography. Ekholm took more than 700 photographs during their
travels, and Hjalmar Stolpe later wrote accompanying texts for them. This
book is the first documentation of this unique material which was, until
recently, packed away in boxes and forgotten about.
Author: Bo G Erikson, science journalist
and Honorary Doctor at Uppsala
University.
Photographer: Oscar Ekholm.
Image Editor: Bengt Wanselius,
photographer.
Translated by: William Sleath.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-20-6. 130 illustrations. 23 x 31 cm (landscape). 230 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Release: October 2020.”G ”G ravöppning vid Ancon”
han också: ”Huaca
han också:
ravöppning
där han mäter djupet
med tak”Huaca
skrev
vidHjalmar
där hani enmäter
af adober”,
Ancon” Stolpe
av dedjupet
framgrävda
med tak
skrev Hjalmar
detafvill
adober”,
på baksidan
i en av gravarna.
Stolpe
de framgrävda
säga stenar
på på
denna
baksidan
I sin gravarna.
det vill
somsäga
bild, på denna bild,
bildlista noterar
formats
stenar
I sin bildlista noterar
av som
lera formats av lera
och vatten och torkats
och vatten
i luften.
och torkats
”Jag undersökte
i luften. ”Jag
11 sådana
undersökte
grafar.
11 De
sådana
innehöllo
grafar.inga
De innehöllo inga
dyrbara fynd, men
dyrbara
någrafynd,
sakermen
voronågra
utmärkta.
saker voro
Det vigtigaste
utmärkta.varDetattvigtigaste
få lära känna
var att få lära känna
begrafningssättet.
begrafningssättet.
En mängd lårarEn fylldes
mängd medlårar
någrafylldes
mumier,
med många
några mumier,
skallar, många
kruk- skallar, kruk-
kärl etc., och såsom
kärl etc.,
stoppning
och såsom
användes
stoppning
tyg af användes
alla slag,tygsomaf hittades
alla slag,
på som
jordytan
hittades på jordytan
och som utgjort och
svepningen
som utgjort
åt förstörda
svepningenmumier.”
åt förstörda
(Bildmumier.”
HS arkivet.(Bild
NOT:HS arkivet.
Sthlms NOT: Sthlms
Dagblad 18/8 1884).
Dagblad 18/8 1884).
U U
nder fyra aprildagar
vid Ancon i Peru,
skelett och kranier
skelett
nder fyra
1884aprildagar
vid några
Anconmil
sitterochHjalmar
skedde utgrävningen
i Peru,
norr om
kranier Stolpe
1884 skeddeavutgrävningen
någraLima.
mil norr
sitter Hjalmar
indianernas gamla
På kistan
i tropikhjälm.
om Lima.
StolpeVid
av indianernas
som skulle
På kistan
i tropikhjälm.
gravfält gamla gravfält
fyllassom
hans högra Vid
sidahans
medskulle fyllas med
ses högra sida ses
den inhyrde arbetsledaren
den inhyrdeoch arbetsledaren
professionelle ochgravplundraren
professionelle gravplundraren
George Kiefer och George
på Kiefer och på
vänstersidan denvänstersidan
tyske vännendenochtyskeaffärsmannen
vännen ochWilhelm
affärsmannen
Gretzer.
Wilhelm
StåendeGretzer.
ses de Stående ses de
fem peruanska arbetarna
fem peruanska som skyfflade
arbetarnaundan
som skyfflade
flygsandenundan
för att
flygsanden
nå ner tillförgravarna.
att nå ner till gravarna.
Stolpe greppar ett
Stolpe
lerkärl
greppar
och enettmåttstock.
lerkärl och(Bild
en måttstock.
HS-arkivet).
(Bild HS-arkivet).
De enkla redskapen
De enkla
som användes
redskapenpåsomgravfältet
användesvidpåAncon
gravfältet
visasvid
uppAncon
av gravgrävaren
visas upp av gravgrävaren
Faustino Rojas Faustino
- en spadeRojas
och en
- enlång
spade
grovoch
järntråd
en långsom
grovstacks
järntråd
ned som
i flygsanden
stacks nedför i flygsanden för
att lokalisera gravarna.
att lokalisera
Där tråden
gravarna.
”utan
Därmotstånd
tråden ”utan
går nedmotstånd
mer än går
2 fotned[60mer
cm],
än 2 fot [60 cm],
der är vanligen der
graf.”(Bild
är vanligen
EM).
graf.”(Bild EM).
22 22 23 23
H H jalmar Stolpesjalmar
medvetet upp en
medvetet
intresseStolpes
med Oscar Ekholms
med Oscar
fotosamling
för denintresse
verksamhet
upp enmed
relativtförnyadenfototekniken
Ekholms under
fotosamling
verksamhet
inköpta bilder.
relativt nyavar
världsomseglingen
med inköpta
fototekniken
stort och parallellt
under världsomseglingen
Ett favoritområde
var stort och parallellt
byggde Stolpe byggde
bilder. Ett favoritområde
mål- Stolpe mål-
var ”folktyper”var ”folktyper”
och i Rio de Janeiro
och i Riogjorde
de Janeiro
han sittgjorde
första han
inköpsitt- två
första
”indianer”,
inköp - tvåsom”indianer”,
han kallade
som han kallade
dem. (Bild HS-arkivet).
dem. (Bild HS-arkivet).
14 14 15 15AXEL TÖRNEMAN
A Pioneer of Modernism
Axel Törneman (1880–1925) is one of the pioneers of modern Swedish Art
History. During his lifetime he was best known for his large frescos in the
Stockholm City Hall and elsewhere. Nonetheless, few people today have
heard of him. He pursued his own path, consciously choosing not to belong
to any artistic group or coterie. This may also explain his relative anonymity.
This is the first biography on Törneman, written by Anita Theorell, who
has a doctorate in Art History. The book includes a large number of his
lesser known easel paintings as well as previously unpublished material
such as photos and drawings. Theorell presents an intense, bold, headstrong
artist who lived far too short a life, and one that was at times quite dramatic.
Author: Anita Theorell, PhD in Art History
and author.
Image Editor: Bengt Wanselius,
photographer.
Translated by: Fern Scott Olsson.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-09-1. 140 illustrations. 32 x 24 cm (portrait). Approx.280 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with foil, sewn.
Release: Spring 2021.RELIGION
In the Past, the Present and the Future
The belief in a governing, universal, celestial principle has followed us
through human history. More than 80 per cent of the world’s population has a
religious affiliation and even in secular states, religion continues to play an
important role. Politics and international relations today cannot be understood
without accounting for the element of religion in cultural contexts.
The essays in this book derive from the Engelsberg Seminar of 2014, and
investigate the role which religion plays in society today and in the past. They
also explore religion as a phenomenon in relation to the human condition and
how it manifests itself as an individual experience. In order to understand
ourselves, do we need to understand religion?
Reza Aslan, University of California. Marco Pasi, University of Amsterdam.
Esther Benbassa, Université Paris- Daniel T. Potts, New York University.
Sorbonne. Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Lancaster
Benedetta Berti, Tel Aviv University. University.
Jessica Frazier, University of Kent. Göran Rosenberg, Writer and journalist.
Armin W. Geertz, Aarhus University. Malise Ruthven, Writer.
Ariel Glucklich, Georgetown University. John Scheid, Collège de France.
Martin Goodman, Oxford University. Mona Siddiqui, Edinburgh’s Divinity
Wouter J. Hanegraaff, University of School.
Amsterdam. Pär Stenbäck, Writer and journalist.
Gary Lachman, Writer and lecturer. Jayne Svenungsson, Lund University.
Julius J. Lipner, University of Cambridge. Harvey Whitehouse, University of Oxford.
Diarmaid Macculloch, Oxford University. A.N. Wilson, Writer.
Janne Haaland Matláry, University of Oslo. Adrian Wooldridge, Editor of The
Simon May, King’s College in London. Economist.
Richard Miles, University of Sydney.
Candida R. Moss, University of Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Birmingham. Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
William O’Reilly, Cambridge University. Foundation for Public Benefit.
Robin Osborne, University of Cambridge.
Elaine Pagels, Princeton University. For more information about the writers, ISBN: 978-91-89069-36-7. 60 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 424 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Wolfgang Palaver, University of please visit our website. Specification: Clothbound with embossing and gold foil, sewn, head-and-tails-band.
Innsbruck. Release: September 2020.PAST AND PRESENT
To Learn from History
History, the collective experience of Mankind, teaches us about the present
and the future. How do we look at events of the past? Do they help to solve
our present political or economical conditions and conflicts?
The essays in this anthology derive from the Engelsberg Seminar in 2019
that dealt with these questions. From perspectives as varied as the History
of Ideas, Evolutionary Psychology, and Ideologies – amongst others – the
writers apply history to today’s concerns such as International Relations,
Geopolitics, Economics, and the role of the individual and human nature in
history. Perhaps it is only through applied history that we can find our way
forward.
Erica Benner, Writer and researcher. Gudrun Persson, Stockholm University.
John Bew, King’s College, London. Peter Ricketts, Retired British diplomat.
Philip Bobbitt, Columbia University. Brendan Simms, Forum on Geopolitics i
Vernon Bogdanor, King’s College, Cambridge.
London. Nathan Shachar, Journalist and writer.
Michael Burleigh, London School of Kori Schake, American Enterprise
Economics. Institute.
Cory J Clark, Durham University. Karin Svanborg-Sjövall, Journalist and
Christopher Coker, London School of writer, CEO of Timbro.
Economics. Emma Sky, Yale University.
Jonathan Fenby, Writer and journalist. Maurizio Viroli, Princeton University.
Niall Ferguson, Stanford University. Cader Walton, Kennedy School of
Janne Haaland Matlary, Oslo University. Government, Harvard.
Josef Joffe, Hoover Institution, Stanford. Yu Jie, London School of Economics.
Rob Johnson, University of Oxford.
Elisabeth Kendall, Pembroke College, Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Oxford . Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Iain Martin, Columnist and writer. Foundation for Public Benefit, and
Rana Mitter, University of Oxford. Mattias Hessérus, Project Manager at the
Andrew Monaghan, Royal United Foundation.
Services Institute. ISBN: 978-91-89069-34-3. 90 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 380 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Fraser Nelson, Journalist and For more information about the writers, Specification: Clothbound with embossing and gold foil, sewn, head-and-tails-band.
commentator. please visit our website. Release: September 2020.CITY, CIVILITY AND CAPITALISM
A Historical Perspective
This anthology explores how Architecture, Urban Planning and Trade have
contributed to Civility and Political order. Using Renaissance Italy as a
starting point – where the first trading town was born – the writers bring us
on a journey to modern cities and societies.
How can we create urban environments where the individual can flourish?
Can townscapes in their own right generate happiness, and what role does
architecture and trade play in creating civilised societies?
Yolande Barnes, Professor of Real Estate, Nicholas Boys Smith, Director, Create
University College London, The Bartlett Streets Ltd..
Real Estate Institute. Maurizio Viroli, Professor, University of
Erica Benner, Writer, Germany. Texas at Austin.
Anne Fairfax, Architect, Fairfax and
Sammons Architects. Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Antony Molho, Professor Emeritus, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
The European University Institute and Foundation for Public Benefit, and
Brown University. Mattias Hessérus, Project Manager at the
Kjell A. Nordström, PhD, economist, writer Foundation.
and public speaker.
Juliet Samuel, Columnist, The Telegraph.
John Simpson, John Simpson Architects.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-14-5. 40 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 140 pp.
Specification: Clothbound with embossing and gold foil, sewn.
Release: September 2020.GUSTAV III
Sin egen arkitekt / His Own Architect
Gustav III (1746–1792) is one of Sweden’s best-known and most important
kings, both in Sweden and internationally. He is especially renowned as the
founder of several academies – perhaps most notably the Swedish Academy,
the body that selects the Nobel Prize laureates in literature – but also for his
importance to theatre and art.
Despite his fame, Gustav III’s great importance as an architect has however
remained unknown. Now published for the first time, this spectacular edition
will feature a total of 571 drawings, many by the king’s hand, and in a 1:1
scale. It will be divided into three parts, gathered in a clamshell box, and
printed in a limited edition. The book comes with a bespoke Gustavian table
for display, and will be an exclusive collector’s object.
Introduction and catalogue texts: Foreword by: Kurt Almqvist, President
Magnus Olausson, Associate Professor, of Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Art Historian, Head of Collections at Foundation for Public Benefit.
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Translated by: Clare Barnes.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-06-0. Approx. 600 illustrations. 70 x 50 cm (portrait). 600 pp. Bilingual Swedish/English edition.
Specification: Clothbound with copper foil, sewn. The volumes will be collected in a clothbound clamshell-box.
Release: November 2020.GUSTAV III:S COLLECTION
Architectural Drawings from 17th–19th Centuries
Gustav III’s Collection including his own and other famous architects’
drawings, accompanied Gustav IV Adolf during his exile in 1809. The
collection was returned to Sweden via a purchase in 1925 by the brothers
Helge and Axel Ax:son Johnson and was inherited by Axel’s daughter
Marie-Claire. It is today stored at Engelsberg’s Ironworks and is owned by
the Marie-Claire Cronstedt Foundation.
The drawings were made by Sweden’s leading architects during the 17th-
and 18th centuries and include, among others, the castles and gardens at
Drottningholm, Ekolsund, Haga, Gripsholm, Karlberg, Ulriksdal, Svartsjö,
Stockholm and Uppsala. Even Gustav III’s own sketches are attributed.
This book serves as a compendium to Gustav III – His Own Architect where
the drawings are reproduced in 1:1 format over three volumes.
Introduction and catalogue texts: Foreword by: Kurt Almqvist, President
Magnus Olausson, Associate Professor, of Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Art Historian, Head of Collections at Foundation for Public Benefit.
Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Translated by: Clare Barnes.
ISBN: 978-91-89069-48-0. Approx. 600 illustrations. 21 x 29,5 cm (landscape). Approx. 300 pp. Available in English and Swedish.
Specification: Clothbound with copper foil, sewn.
Release: November 2020.MAN AND HIS SYMBOLS
Carl Gustav Jung’s Man and His Symbols is one of the most important
classics of Analytical Psychology. In the book, Jung explains our dreams’
different symbols, a subject that is at least as thought provoking today as
when the book was first published in 1964. With a new Swedish translation,
this popular book is made accessible once again.
“This book, which was the last piece of work undertaken by Jung before his
death in 1961, provides a unique opportunity to assess his contribution to the
life and thought of our time, for it was also his first attempt to present his life-
work in psychology to a non-technical public…” (The Guardian)
ISBN Swedish edition: 978-91-89069-05-3. 400 illustrations. 30 x 20 cm (portrait). 510 pp. Translated by: Karin Stolpe.
Specification: Clothbound with embossing, gold and silver foil, sewn, head-and-tails-band.
Release: December 2020.än att låta den fria associationskedjan dra en med sig genom hela raden av tankar och Var och en av dem kan associationsvis framkalla tanken på sexuellt umgänge och
infall fram till komplex, som man lika lätt kunde komma åt med andra medel. föra fram till specifika komplex, som vilken människa som helst kan ha kring sina
Denna nya tanke var en vändpunkt i min psykologis successiva framväxande. Den egna sexuella attityder. Men man kan precis lika bra gräva upp dylika komplex via
betydde att jag mer och mer gav upp metoden att följa associationer, som förde drömmerier kring en samling obegripliga ryska bokstäver. På så sätt leddes jag till
långt bort från drömmens egen text. Jag valde att hellre koncentrera mig på associ- antagandet att drömmen kan innehålla ett annat budskap än den sexuella allegorin
ationer till drömmen själv, då jag trodde att den var uttryck för något specifikt som och att den också gör det av vissa bestämda skäl. För att belysa sammanhanget:
det omedvetna försökte säga. En man kan drömma, att han sticker en nyckel i ett lås, att han hanterar en stor,
Ändringen i min hållning till drömmarna nödvändiggjorde en ändrad metod. tung käpp, eller att han bryter upp en dörr med en murbräcka. Var och en av bilderna
Den nya tekniken måste var beskaffad så att den tog hänsyn till alla de olika och kan betraktas som en sexuell allegori. Men den omständigheten att hans omedvetna
vidare aspekter som drömmen har. En historia som berättas på det medvetna planet för sina egna syften valt just en viss bild – antingen det nu är nyckeln, käppen eller
har början, förlopp och slut. Detsamma gäller inte om drömmen, dess dimensioner murbräckan – är också av den största vikt. Den verkliga uppgiften är alltså att förstå
i tid och rum är helt annorlunda. varför det valt nyckeln i stället för käppen eller käppen i stället för murbräckan. Och
För att förstå en dröm måste man granska den från alla sidor – alldeles som man ibland skulle det också kunna leda en till upptäckten, att det inte alls är sexualakten
tar ett obekant föremål i sina händer och vänder och vrider på det gång på gång, till som avses, utan någon helt annan psykologisk knut. Utifrån den tanken kom jag
dess man är förtrogen med varje enskildhet i dess företeelse. fram till att endast material som klart och tydligt är del av drömmen borde komma
Kanske har jag nu sagt tillräckligt för att visa hur det gick till när jag allt mer till användning för att tolka denna. Drömmen har sin egen begränsning. Själva dess
kom att ta avstånd från förfarandet fri association, som Freud först använde det. Jag specifika form säger oss vad som hör ihop med den och vad som leder bort därifrån.
ville hålla mig så nära själva drömmen som möjligt och utesluta alla irrelevanta Medan den fria associationen narrar en i ett slags sicksacklinje bort ifrån detta ma-
hugskott och associationer som den kunde ge upphov till. Visserligen kunde dessa terial, var den metod jag nu gradvis utvecklade mer lik en cirkelgång, där centrum
leda fram till en patients komplex, men jag hade mycket mer vittgående mål i sinnet är drömbilden. Jag arbetar runt omkring drömbilden och ignorerar alla försök av
än att uppspåra komplex som förorsakar neurotiska störningar. De kan utrönas med drömmaren att ta en annan kurs. Gång på gång under mitt yrkesarbete har jag måst
många andra medel. Psykologen kan t.ex. få alla ledtrådar han behöver genom att upprepa orden: ”Låt oss komma tillbaka till er dröm. Vad är det drömmen säger?”
använda ordassociationstestet (genom att fråga ut patienten om vad denne associe- En av mina patienter drömde om en drucken och rufsig, vulgär kvinna. I dröm-
rar med en viss ordserie och studera hans svar). Men för att lära känna och förstå men tycktes kvinnan vara hans hustru, fastän hustrun i det verkliga livet var helt och
hela personlighetens psykiska livsprocess är det av vikt att man gör klart för sig att hållet olik denna bild. På ytan var drömmen därför chockerande oriktig. Drömma-
människans drömmar och deras symboliska bilder spelar en mycket mer betydelse- ren avvisade den genast som rent drömnonsens. Om jag som hans läkare hade låtit
full roll. honom sätta i gång med en associationsprocess, skulle han oundvikligen ha strävat
Nästan var och en vet att det finns en oerhörd mängd bilder som kan symboli- att komma så långt bort som möjligt ifrån drömmens obehagliga uppslag. Och han
sera sexualakten (eller man borde kanske snarare säga allegoriskt framställa den). skulle då ha slutat vid ett av sina huvudkomplex – som kanske ingenting hade att
En av de oräkneligt många symbo och kysste
liska eller allegoriska bilderna för Den tredje sprang bort i en ung
sexualakten är rådjursjakt. mans hjärta
T.h.: Detalj av en målning av den Nu är hon ibland löven i gläntan.
tyske 1500talsmålaren Cranach.
Den sexuella undermeningen i Animan är det kvinnliga elementet En nyckel i ett lås kan vara en sex
motivet rådjursjakt framgår av en i mannens omedvetna. (Anima– ualsymbol – men behöver inte alltid
medeltida engelsk visa kallad och animus i kvinnans omedvetna vara det. T.h.: parti av en altartavla
The Keeper, skogvaktaren: – behandlas på s. 177 ff). Denna av den flamländske 1400talskonst
inre dualitet symboliseras ofta av en nären Campin. Dörren antogs
The first doe that he shot at he hermafroditisk figur, som den krönta symbolisera hoppet, låset kärleken
missed, hermafroditen längst t.h., hämtad och nyckeln människans längtan till
And the second doe he trimmed he ur ett alkemistiskt manuskript från Gud. T.v.: en engelsk biskop utför
kissed, 1600talet. vid kyrkoinvigning en traditionell
And the third ran away in a young ceremoni när han bultar på kyrk
man’s heart, dörren med en stav, kräklan – som
She’s amongst the leaves of the tydligtvis inte är någon fallossymbol
green O. utan en symbol för auktoritet och
Den första hind han sköt på gick föreställer herdestaven. Ingen indi
kulan förbi, viduell symbolbild kan sägas ha en
Den andra hinden prydde han skönt oföränderlig, generell innebörd.
32 33 34 35
Mäniskans symboler Bildslask.indd 32-33 2020-05-26 10:55 Mäniskans symboler Bildslask.indd 34-35 2020-05-26 10:55THE ENGELSBERG SERIES
The internationally renowned Engelsberg Seminar takes place every summer
in Engelsberg Ironworks, Sweden, since 1999. The Seminar has been labelled
“the most intellectually stimulating conference in Europe” (The Spectator),
and is participated by internationally distinguished public intellectuals,
scholars and politicians. They address the most pressing issues of our time,
such as Religion, Knowledge and Information, Russia and World Order.
Each volume presents the most interesting and knowledgeable perspectives of
today’s intellectuals, scholars and thinkers, considering each topic with a view
to the past, the present and our common future. Each volume is published in
both Swedish and English with a limited run of 25 copies and is hand-bound
by Leonard Gustafsson Bookbindery. The cover is made out of goatskin and
handmade marbled paper from England. The title is gilt-stamped on the spine.
The Engelsberg Series is available for sale only through the publishing house.
The following titles will be released:
Religion (available summer 2020)
Past and Present
Nation, State and Empire
War
Civilisation
Politics and Ideology
On Capitalism
On the Idea of America
On Russia
The Secular State and Islam in Europe
What is the West?
The Future of Religion Knowledge and Information. ISBN Eng: 978-91-98523-71-3
Cosmopolitanism 90 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 352 pp. Available in English and Swedish. Released 2019
Consciousness, Genetics and Society
The Swedish Success Story. ISBN Eng: 978-91-98523-74-4
Empire and the Future World Order
98 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 376 pp. Available in English and Swedish. Released 2019
Media and Media Power
Visions of the Future The Return of Geopolitics. ISBN Eng: 978-91-98523-61-4
The Pursuit of Europe 82 illustrations. 24 x 17 cm (portrait). 320 pp. Available in English and Swedish. Released 2019YOU A R E NO T A S C L E V E R A S YOU T H I N K
Mark Pagel
H
uman beings are the only species with a history. In the brief span
of our existence (roughly the last 200,000 years of the 3.75 bil-
lion-year history of life on Earth), we have gone from being a
species that made just a few simple hand-axes to one that now enjoys
soaring cathedrals and breathtaking art, that can make spaceships, smart
phones and driverless cars, and which is capable, Prometheus-like, of
manipulating its own genetic code. Contrast this with our wretched cous-
ins the chimpanzees who, while sharing with us over 98 per cent identity
in the sequences of our genes, still sit on the forest floor cracking nuts with
the same old stones as they have for millions of years. In fact, for all spe-
cies but our own, history really is, as the English historian Arnold Toyn-
bee once remarked “just one damn thing after another”, and in the case of
chimpanzees the same one thing at that.
Why this difference? Why do humans accumulate ideas, knowledge
and technologies while the other animals are seemingly stuck doing the
same thing over and over, never really getting any better? The chimpan-
zees tell us that the answer must be small in genetic terms but at the same
time capable of opening up an unbridgeable gap in our evolutionary
potentials.
é
It is a particular human conceit that the usual answer we give to this ques-
tion is that we are simply cleverer than the other animals; that if we just
think hard about something, we will eventually figure it out. Call this the
“insight” view of our abilities at innovation. It predicts that our raw wit and
ingenuity will produce great leaps in the technological timeline, recording
moments of innovation when humanity jumps up a step – or even two – on
the technological ladder. It is the view of creativity captured by the
“thought-bubble” image of a lightbulb flashing on inside your head.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931)
with his “Edison Effect” lamps.
15BACKLIST
THE SAMPANS FROM CANTON
The Sampans from Canton is an award-winning book consisting of 99
Chinese gouaches from the second half of the 18th century. In minute detail,
they depict an entire community afloat on the water, with the various sampan
vessels used for everything from the sale of fruit and religious ceremonies to
warfare and thievery.
Together, these gouaches constitute one of the largest collections of hand-
painted Chinese works preserved from this period.
The Sampans from Canton is also available in a Bibliophile edition of 49
copies signed by the Chairman of Nordstjernan, Viveca Ax:son Johnson.
The limited edition consists of the book, in a silk-clad box, along with a
separate print of one of the paintings in a silk-clad portfolio.
Kerstin Barup, Professor Emerita of Kenneth Nyberg, University Lecturer
Architectural Conservation and and Reader of History at Gothenburg
Restoration at Lund University. University.
Jeremy Franks (1934–2016), Translator. Magnus Olausson, Reader, Head of
Torbjörn Lodén, Professor Emeritus of Collections at Nationalmuseum.
Chinese Languages and Cultures at
Stockholm University. Introduction by Kurt Almqvist, President
Svante Nordin, Professor Emeritus of of Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
History of Ideas and Learning at Lund Foundation for Public Benefit.
University.
Bibliophile edition
ISBN Eng: 978-91-63972-03-4. 99 illustrations + 1 separate print. 30 x 38 cm (landscape).
ISBN 978-91-63072-02-7. 99 illustrations. 27 x 36 cm (landscape). 220 + 48 pp of stand-alone essays. 220 + 48 pp of stand-alone essays. Available in English.
Available in English and Swedish. Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, gilt edges, sewn, head-and-tails-band. Specification: Silkbound with gold foil, gilt edges, sewn, head-and-tails-band
Published in 2018. Published in 2018.Fohyn Fohyn
Cantons 2a sort
Cantons
Mandarin-Schampan/The
2a sort Mandarin-Schampan/The
2nd kind of 2nd
mandarin
kind ofsampan
mandarin sampan
24 24
10 10DECADENCE AND DECAY
From Ancient Rome to the Present
The fear of living in the end times has a long history. In Decadence and
Decay, a group of distinguished international scholars describe how societies
over time have handled and interpreted the concept of decline. In times of
unrest and transition, “declinism” – the notion that a culture or civilisation
is headed towards irreversible decline – tends to capture the public
imagination.
The essays in this volume address how notions of decadence and decay
have been used both as opprobrium and as a form of self-definition and
empowerment – an instrument to protect individualism against collectivistic
oppression. From ancient Rome to the present, ideas and expressions of
decadence and decay have played a critical role in how we perceive the world.
Dr Daniela Cammack, Junior Fellow, Edited by: Kurt Almqvist, President of
Harvard Society of Fellows. Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson
Dr Robert Coates-Stephens, Cary Fellow, Foundation for Public Benefit, and
British School of Rome. Mattias Hessérus, Project Manager at the
Professor Saul David, Professorial Foundation.
Research Fellow in Military History,
Humanities Research Institute, For information about all 19 writers, please
University of Buckingham. visit our website.
Professor Peter Heather, Medieval
History, King’s College London.
Dr Andrew Huddlestone, Department
of Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of
London.
Dr Neil McLynn, Corpus Christi College,
University of Oxford.
Dr Richard Miles, Associate Professor,
University of Sydney.
Professor Adam Tooze, Professor of
History, Department of History, Yale
ISBN: 978-91-98523-65-2. 100 illustrations. 29 x 25 cm (portrait). 300 pp.
University.
Specification: Clothbound with gold foil, sewn.
Published in 2019.the decline of rome
melanie grundmann decadence and dandyism
Decadence and Dandyism The demands on the modern individual involve self-alienation and heteronomy; the
dandy, however, intends to be solitary and independent from duties of any kind.
Dandyism is a strategy of performance of the self that emerged in a time of change
In strong opposition to Nature
as the symbol of the normal the
dandy communicates his
tice and is manifested in his dress, sexuality, and manner of speech, but also finds
expression in his refusal to undertake commitments of any kind. The dandy’s outer
stiffness, decidedly marked by tightly laced stays and heavily starched neckcloths, is
artificiality. Landscape, Italy.
Melanie Grundmann when a readily comprehensible world fell into disparities – a process that left the self emblematic of his inner torpor.
irritated and in danger of dissolving. The most obvious part of dandyism, the excessive
care for outward appearance, is only the first step in the creation of a structure-giving The idea of decadence envisions a process of becoming and decline, wherein decadent
self. The dandy consolidates in order to sustain in a world of continuous change. He opts society forms the latest stage of this evolution. Decadence portrays shows a highly
for a strategy of torpor to communicate his artificiality, which stands in strong opposi- refined, yet over-saturated society, distinguished by luxury, ennui, refinement, and
tion to Nature as the symbol of the normal, the healthy and the morally sane. The dandy idleness. The idea of dandyism originates in this cultural stage. The dandy arises only
transcends into the realms of art to escape the annihilation of his subjectivity. in cultures that have passed the state of mere survival. He requires an environment of
In the following chapter, I will focus on the dandy’s performance of artificiality. leisure and consumption that provides the goods and the facilities to turn himself
T
The late nineteenth-century decadent dandy is usually classified as a degenerated into a work of art.
he Decadent Movement of the late nineteenth century advocated aesthetic derivative of what has often been termed the ‘classic’ dandy2; however, the figure has The alliance of decadence and dandyism dates back as far as antiquity: Caesar,4
refinement, the sublimity of beauty, and the absence of bourgeois moral- been fundamentally decadent since its inception, and indeed the correlation between Catiline, Petronius, Elagabalus, and Alcibiades, have all been described as dandies.
ity from art. Decadent art, literature and culture transcend the realms of decadence and dandyism has been widely acknowledged. Recent studies have accord- Alcibiades (451–404 bce), for example, has been described as the ‘arbiter elegantiarum’
ordinary existence, entering the spheres of both dreams, the unconscious, ingly analysed dandyism as a practice of staging the self.3 of his time, marked by an inimitable and exaggerated elegance. He accessorized heavily
and the abnormal. This inauguration of new subject matter, styles of I would like to suggest that the dandy’s strategy of torpor forms part of this prac- with gold and was the inspiration for the dandy in Benjamin Disraeli’s novel Henrietta
narration, and modes of inspiration, has often been described as a form of escapism Temple (1837), Count Alcibiades de Mirabel,5 ‘the best dressed man in London’ with a
from a society that underwent fundamental changes: the loss of power of the aristocracy, passion for pleasure. Barbey d’Aurevilly underlines the importance of the antique pro-
the rise of the middle classes, the establishment of a performative presentation of the totype when he ends his seminal essay on dandyism with the conclusion that Alcibiades
‘fut le plus beau type [du dandysme] chez la plus belle des nations!’ 6 Petronius (14–66)
self, technological progress, and the development of cosmopolitan, urban metropolises,
was to Nero what George Brummell, the most famous of all dandies, was to George IV
to name just a few.
– a fashion adviser. In Petronius’s novel Satyrica, clothes and aesthetic objects become
The Decadent Movement was small, but it was also potent, radical and avant-garde.
indicators of cultural refinement. Eccentricities, aesthetics and refined elegance define
Accordingly, ‘decadence’ became a term of reproach within art criticism, applied to the decadent performance of the self, not only in antiquity but also throughout the
artists who transcended the rules of Classicism that still commanded artistic creation ages, as one commentator on dandyism remarked in 1823:
and public expectation. Decadent artists exploited the creative potential of decline,
elevating decadence to a new literary style. … the insignificant tribe in question, whether under the appellation of beaux,
The Decadent Movement was closely allied to dandyism. Many decadent artists fops, petits-maitres, dandies, or exquisites, have equally abounded in all ages.
were dandies or depicted dandies in their writings, from Théophile Gautier and … Even those sage and philosophical people, the Greeks and Romans, were
Charles Baudelaire to Joris-Karl Huysmans, Jean Lorrain and Oscar Wilde. Accord- not exempt from them. … It is among the Romans, however, that we are to
ing to Baudelaire, the dandy emerges in ‘periods of transition, when democracy is not look for the ancient dandies in the greatest perfection.7
yet all-powerful, and aristocracy is only just beginning to totter and fall’ 1 – the process
of cultural decline in the moment of bourgeois empowerment. Faced with an arising The innately decadent structure of the dandy is confirmed in the phrase ‘the rise and
mass culture that implies vulgarity and a decline in beauty and taste, the dandy acts as progress of the Dandy-Tribe.’ 8 Identifying the dandies as a tribe means equating them
The Decadent Movement
a reactionary, desiring the preservation of the grandeur and style of pre-democratic with the Barbarians, who introduced decadence to antique Rome and ultimately
was closely allied to dandyism. caused its fall. The great paradox is that the dandy is considered as the harbinger of
societies. Conseqeuntly, the rise of dandyism is inextricably linked to a declining
Many decadent artists were
culture. The dandy is a figure of transition between ages. decline by his opponents, whereas the dandy himself detects the world around him to
dandies or depicted dandies
be decadence-ridden already.
in their writings. To the left: Essentially, the dandy cultivates the idea of beauty and refinement to such an extent
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900). that he turns himself into a work of art. His life becomes a performance, his self a mask.
24 25
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