Home | Card Index |   |   |   |

Eman Robitschek to Frida Robitschek - December 28, 1916

Transcription and translation by Werner Sepper.

Des Lenzes Grün, Des Sommers Pracht,
Sind Truggebilde leer und hohl,
Des Herbstes Grau, des Winters Nacht,
Allein sind Erdenseins Symbol.
Was schert der Tod der Blüten Mai,
Der Früchte Rot, der Stamme Kraft,
Verhöhnen alles Lebens Weih'
Führt er beherzt der Sense Schaft.

The green of spring, the summer's splendor,
Are illusions empty and hollow.
The grey of autumn, the winter's night,
Alone symbolize Earth's nature.
What cares Death for the blooms of May,
The red of fruits, the strength of trees;
Mocking all life's glories,
He courageously directs the scythe's handle.

Note:
  The contrast between Früchte Rot ... Stamme Kraft (red of fruits ... strength of trees) and Führt er beherzt ... Sense Schaft (He courageously directs ... the scythe's handle) is typical of the way that Eman manipulates and complicates the meaning of words.
  The literal language seems stilted in English, but ... the scythe's handle is made of wood, which is exactly the strength of trees. The red of fruits recalls their essential quality; courageously (behezt) recalls the courage that is born of the heart and not of the mind.


Courage and strength are among the chief glories of life. It is exactly these glories that Death mockingly employs to destroy life. Eman had a son, Gerhart, who served in an artillery regiment (Fieldpost 186). The last card we have addressed to Gerhart dates from April 23, 1916. In early July, 1917, Eman writes to his wife, Elise, and reflects on the death of Gerhart. We do not know when Eman learned of Gerhart's death, but the poem on this card is certainly one of bitter grief and loss.


Note:
  The image on the front of the card depicts a walled country cemetery. Outside the summer shines with light and energetic growth. Inside a man lies in the rank weeds, propped on his elbows, hands covering his face - in abject grief before a tombstone and wrought iron shrine. It is tempting to think this is Eman's spirit and Gerhart's shrine.
  Shrines of this sort were in common use at the time. They might have religious or military themes, or be a simple cross surrounded by a diamond to buttress the whole. In all varieties, there was a plaque in the center commemorating the person, often with a photograph or painting.
  The shrines shown here are in a very elaborate Tirolian style and may be found in the Tirolian Folkart Museum in Innsbruck, Switzerland.


 

Die Geschichte ist ein Sym-
bol der Begebenheiten.
Man sieht das Bild, doch
die Seele fehlt. Sie zu er-
setzen ist das Bemühen
der Phantasie. So ensteht
die Dichtung. Klio wird
zur Modedame. Ihr Kleid
allein weckt den Reiz.
Ihr Wesen, wenn es nicht
geschmückt ist, bleibt im
Hintergrunde. Die engli-
schen, franzözischen und
russischen und auf die bil-
derreichen italienischen Ge-
schichtsschreiber werden der-
einst dem Bilde im Spiegel
ihrer Phantasie lachen. Man
kann schon heute deren Wahr-
heit warten, wenn schon
jetzt angesichts lebenden
Augen = und Ohrenzeugen
Orgien der Lüge, Verdre-
hung unf Fälschung gefei-
ert werden.

History is a symbol
of events.
One sees the picture, but
the soul is missing.
To replace it requires the work
of imagination. Thus emerges
poetry. Cleo* becomes
a fashion model. Her
facade is the sole attraction.
Her inner nature, when it is not
adorned, remains in the
background. The English,
French and
Russian and the
picturesque Italian
writers of history will in the future
laugh at the reflections in the mirror
of their fantasies. One
can even today await
the truth, even in
view of living
eyes and ears witnessing
orgies of lies,
distortions and forgeries
that are celebrated.

*(Klio) Clio is the Muse of History.


On the surface, Eman uses Clio, the Greek Muse of History, as a vehicle to denounce the WWI enemies of Austria. But he is also making some points about the character of history, itself. History is only a symbol of the actual events it is used to interpret. This is the outer aspect of Clio, the "histories" with which men clothe her, a poetry of fictions. Remember, when Clio walked the precincts of Mount Olympus, history was declaimed in epic poems. But why did Eman select the metaphor of fashion to describe history? We can't know for certain, but we do know that Eman presents many of his arguments visually and that he is steeped in classical literature and the art that accompanies that literature. The Vienna of his time was also artistically quite creative and diverse.

Here we have five representations of Clio (L to R): Ur-Clio in 450 BCE; Renaissance Clio; Dutch Master Clio; modern movie Clio; and coed Clio. The two Clios on the right postdate Eman, but he was more than likely familiar with all the earlier representations of Clio. The classical Greek Clio stands, declaiming history from her immutable scroll, creating heros of some and villains of others. Through her, ancient Greek historians projected an ideal Bronze Age world of gods and humans.
   The second painting is by Pierre Mignard (1612-1695), who is painting in the earlier style of Domenichino. It is about order; control; the belief that history could be known and written objectively.

 

And now we come to the third picture, called by many The Allegory of Painting, by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), the Dutch master painter of social inter-course. This is one of his largest canvases and is said to present his theory of painting.
   It can also be argued that this painting is actually an Allegory of History and that it was almost certainly known to Eman Robitschek.
   The Allegory was purchased by the Austrian Count Czernin in 1813. Just before his death in 1845, he established a public gallery in his palace at Rathausstrasse 9, just off the Ringstrasse in the heart of Vienna. Here the painting was displayed for 95 years, when Adolf Hitler acquired it. It was returned to Vienna after WWII and may be seen there in the Museum of Art History. Baedeker's 1880 Guide to Southern Germany and Austria lists the Alegory as on display in the public section of the Czernin gallery.

Eman, who lived at Alserbachstrassa 39, about two kilometers from the gallery, almost certainly visited there and was familiar with the painting. It is tempting to believe that it was very much in mind when he described the character of Clio and the nature of history. And, as we shall see, Vermeer does with paint what Eman does with words and appropriated graphics.

 

What makes Clio Clios? Yes, that's right, there are two Clios in this painting. The heralding horn, the book and the crown of laurel were the standard trappings of Clio during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, as codified in the 16th century book, Iconologia, by Cesare Ripa, which artists widely followed. This is the Clio of fashion. The Clio of substance is announced by the map behind her, which is in the form of a scroll, Clio's essential symbol in ancient Greece.

Clio is wrapped in a blue cloth. But not just any blue; it is Delft Blue, a color for which the Netherlands was famous. Vermeer's studio was in Delft. Underneath the Delft wrap, Clio is wearing her traditional robe, which is visible at her throat and beneath the table. It is plain white with a narrow decoration along the hem - her traditional garb of old.

Clio is wearing a crown of laurel leaves. She derives her authority to wear the symbol of the gods - and to declaim the judgment of history on their behalf - from her divine overseer, the God Apollo. Clio is looking at a more than life-sized mask of Apollo that lies on the table before her. Vermeer is reminding us of her authority. This authority is not being invoked in the abstract. Vermeer makes Clio's crown of laurel Delft blue, with an under-tint of Olympian green, to tell us that Clio is speaking to the world through his painting. The scroll and Clio's fashionable wrap tell us she declaiming the history of Delft and of the Netherlands.
  


This brings us to the map. Vermeer is seated at his easel directly across from the center of the map. Oddly enough the tilt of his head and hat suggests that he is looking at the map, rather than Clio or his canvas, but of course he may just be moving his head between the two. More telling is the fact that the canvas is empty except for that delft-blue laurel crown. Vermeer is emphasizing Clio's divine authority.

Notice the heavy crease in the center of the map. When Vermeer created The Allegory of History, the Netherlands was divided into two antagonistic federations of small states. The right (northern, protestant) half of the country was a revolutionary trading state that had successfully rebelled from Hapsburg rule, establishing the Dutch Republic in 1581. The left (southern, catholic) half was then controlled by the Spanish throne and, through it, by the Hapsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. Some art historians have concluded that the heavy crease represents the border as Vermeer would like to have it, just placing Delft in catholic territory. Vermeer was a catholic and not allowed to practice his religion openly in the Dutch Republic.


 

The chandelier is crowned by the Hapsburg double eagle, but there are no candles in the candle holders. The light of the Holy Roman Empire, and with it the catholic church, has been extinguished and repressed.


Of course, Eman Robitschek would read the symbolism in the painting rather differently. The delft wrap and crown, and all that follows from these, are only the historical fashion of the 17th century; the mirror of Vermeer's fantasy. Clio's real message, her message to 20th century Europe, is that the Hapsburg dynasty has been crumbling for three centuries and, even as Eman writes his postcard, is coming to its end, a view that he expresses more directly in other cards.


Eman uses the advertising label for Steckenpferd Lilienmilch Soap, seen above, to reveal another of Clio's bitter truths - history's true nature. The cut label at the left, which he uses on another card, shows that he is deliberately leaving the advertising label in tact.
We know that he is using the advertising label knowingly and deliberately because on another card, dated 26 days earlier, he used another Steckenpferd Lillenmilche label from the same commemorative series, but carefully cuts off the brand and tagline because they are not pertinent to the subject of that card.
   The tag line for this soap is "For Soft White Skin." Typically, advertising labels for Lilienmilch Soap depict beautiful women and babies, but this one depicts a scene from Friedrich Schiller's epic poem about Joan of Arc, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, and even provides the specific verse being quoted (portion on the label in italics):

"You see the rainbow in the air?
The sky opens its golden gates.
Light Clouds lift me.
On high - on high - the earth flies back.
Brief is the pain and eternal the joy.
"

In fact, the picture on the label does not show a rainbow, the parting of the heavens, or Johanna's ascension; it portrays men killing one another in war. Yes, Eman is saying, bloody, brutal war is how men choose to cleanse society to reveal the soft white "skin" beneath.

Steckenpferd is a trademark of Bergmann & Co. Under this trademark, three soap brands were marketed: Lilienmilch, Buttermilch, and Teerschwefel; also a line of cosmetics called Dada, which is a French idiom meaning Steckenpferd or "Hobbyhorse." Up through WWI, hobbyhorses were popular and culturally important toys for boys. With them, they could dream of being cavalry officers. In this way, the Steckenpferd trademark is, itself, connected with war.


Steckenpferd has another close connection with the sudsier aspects of war. Bergmann's Teerschwefelseife, which means "Pine Tar Sulfur Soap," pictured above, was used to wash animals, primarily horses and mules. The biggest customer for this product was the military. Bergmann & Co. was founded in 1885. It seems likely that Steckenpferd was a nod to the early importance of it's pine tar soap for horses.

Last updated 3/11/2014


©2013-2014 by Charles M. Nelson
All rights reserved.