Pathos des Apollon. Eine bildanthropologische Analyse des Werks Apollo, die Pestpfeile aussendend (um 1920) von Alexander Rothaug (Curator's Choice, Nr. 4, 2022)

Abstract

Using the example of Alexander Rothaug's Apollo sending out the plague arrows (around 1920), an iconological-pictorial anthropological analysis is undertaken in three stages, which is intended, among other things, to draw attention to the ambivalence of this mythical subject. How topical can the depiction of an ancient god be? Is the word “up-to-date” relevant in this context? A schematically ordered composition, anatomically exaggerated figurality and a motif taken from the world of heroes in antiquity contain much more than just an example of a late aftertaste of symbolist art in Austria. On the basis of a symbolically charged image, which is also ideologically contaminated by the person of the author, many problem areas can be addressed that find their counterpart in the most recent political and social developments. In the pathos of ancient gods, exaggeration becomes a sign of the times, pointing to the decay and empty splendor of an entire post-war generation. An important question for museology is how such works should be dealt with and which levels of meaning can be sensitive and provocative for the respective cultural epoch. Only through critical interpretation of the broader socio-political aspects in the diachronic horizon can controversial themes of an image become visible at all, and ultimately only thanks to this knowledge can a legitimate presentation strategy be designed.

Keywords:

Pathos – Anthropology – Myth – Formal analysis – Body aesthetics – Iconography – Propaganda – Apollo – Plague – Epidemic – Crisis

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Object: Pathos des Apollon. Eine bildanthropologische Analyse des Werks Apollo, die Pestpfeile aussendend (um 1920) von Alexander Rothaug (Curator's Choice, Nr. 4, 2022)

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