Zprávy památkové péče 2018, 78(2):119-123 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2018.2.05

Rudolf Eitelberger as an ideologist of the Vienna Ringstrasse

Jindřich Vybíral

Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová v Praze

This study looks for the political implications of the architectural forms of the Vienna Circle Class, with the support of published texts by Rudolf von Eitelberger. He argues with the idea that there exists a close link between Austrian politics and architecture, as was thought by culture historian Carl Schorske. It raises the general question as to whether the various stylistic modes of the architecture of historicism can be interpreted as identifying signs of horizontal or vertical loyalties and whether the plurality of aesthetic codes ruling in the architecture of the monarchy can be interpreted as a parallel to the cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of the area.
Eitelberger, as a commentator of contemporary art, was torn. On the one hand, he taught for the cause of art autonomy and criticized political restrictions; on the other hand, he denied this autonomy and promoted close links between art and political programs and interests. When analyzing his texts, one still needs to ask whether this was more critical aesthetic thinking or political journalism. As a critic and historian, Eitelberger honored work in pure style, criticized the "romantic" eclecticism of Eduard Van der Nüll, and despised banal architectural production. As a loyal civil servant, he suppressed his personal preferences and supported events he considered to be beneficial to the development of the monarchy. His published work was not actually coherent in its opinions but emerged pragmatically in response to current developments. It is therefore not possible to find a solid relationship between Eitelberger's political views and his aesthetic preferences. At the same time, his texts show that not only did the political power in Austria lack a formulation of explicit requirements regarding the architectural expression of state representative buildings, but it did not even possess one. The "Viennese styles" of the Ringstrasse era could bear different political contents, and the iconic predicates of the forms used were arbitrary.
At the same time, Eitelberger's texts show that political liberalism was not realized primarily through architectural symbolism, but in the way in which it determined the course of Austrian public architecture. He possessed a mechanism for design competitions that enabled the implementation of political ideas in design. The Ringstrasse architecture was indeed the fruit of Austrian liberalism; it did not, however, manifest in normative stylistic models or essential architectural qualities, but rather in the creative choices the Austrian authorities gave architects before the constitutional law of October 1860.

Keywords: Rudolf Eitelberger, Vienna, 19th century architecture and urbanism, Ringstrasse, relationship between 19th century politics and architecture

Published: June 1, 2018  Show citation