Одлике дуализма на представи уметника немачког симболизма: аполонијско и дионизијско на Аутопортрету са свирајућом смрћу Арнолда Беклина и Аутопортрету са Купидоном и смрћу Ханса Томе
Characteristics of dualism in the representation of the German Symbolist artist: Apollonian and Dionysian on Self-portrait with Death playing the fiddle by Arnold Böcklin and Self-portrait with Love and Death by Hans Thoma

Summary/Abstract: The representations of symbolist artists followed the idea of the artist as a visionary, following the aims of symbolism to represent thoughts and ideas through symbols. The task of the artist was to present things that are not presentable by themselves and in a way that is not clear and definitive but rather in the form of a suggestion. The symbolist artist was seen as a mediator between two worlds – imagination and reality. This idea of the artist as a visionary or genius was integrated in various ways into the self-portraits of artists that represented their self-representation. Symbolism corresponded with some new tendencies in philosophy and psychology in the second half of the nineteenth century directed towards examining the unconscious parts of man’s personality and thereby revealing his dualistic nature. This was especially expressed in the art of German symbolism. Its concepts followed similar ideas that were developing in philosophy. In this paper, the idea of dualism, which corresponds to the art of symbolism, is the Apollonian and Dionysian concept. These terms were introduced by Friedrich Nietzsche in his work The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music (1872). Apollonian and Dionysian represent two opposite, but mutually dependent principles that together create a work of art. The Apollonian is marked as a rational creating form, while the Dionysian is unrestrained and unconscious that resists shaping. Тhe ideas of this concept can be similar to the aspirations of symbolist artists and their way of creating. The interpretation of two self-portraits by German symbolists – Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle (1872) by Arnold Böcklin and Self-Portrait with Love and Death (1875) by Hans Thoma through Apollonian and Dionysian concepts and observing the characteristics of dualism on them also indicate their presence in the foundations of German symbolism and visual arts in general.

• Details
• Contents