Tomáš Murár
Max Dvořák and Turn of Art (History) to Work of Art
This study presents a new perspective on Max Dvořák's art historical thinking
during the years of World War One by linking historiographical art history research
with the archaeology of the artwork, as started in theoretical terms by Italian
philosopher Giorgio Agamben in 2013. In such a research perspective, Dvořák's
art history does not necessarily fulfill the hitherto valid interpretative concept as
a "manifestation of the spirit" (Kunstgeschichte als Geistesgeschichte), but as a deliberate
turn to the artwork in order to interpret the transformation of reality in the early
20th century. The study therefore presents Dvořák's interest in artwork at the turn
of the 20th century as a close connection between artwork and ordinary reality, as
this process can be traced in contemporaneous visual arts, specifically in the work
of Marcel Duchamp - his turn from painting to the readymades is presented in the
study as a parallel to Dvořák's turn from art history to artwork.
Keywords: Archeology of the artwork - readymade - Max Dvořák - Marcel
Duchamp - Rembrandt van Rijn
design by Bedřich Vémola
