Rudolf Kassner and Hugo von Hofmannstahl: Criticism as Art - The Reception of Pre-Raphaelitism in Fin de Siecle Vienna

This study examines the theory and practice of criticism as art in Kassner’s and Hofmannsthal’s essays on Pre-Raphaelitism. Chapter one considers Hofmannsthal’s admiration for Kassner’s Die Mystik, die Kuenstler und das Leben (1900), focusing on the writers’ shared interest in English art. Hofmannsthal’s essays on Pre-Raphaelitism are interpreted with reference to the aesthetic of the Blaetter fuer die Kunst and the images of aestheticism in his work of the 1890s. Chapter two introduces Kassner’s early life and work, outlining the development of his conception of criticism, and relating his earliest interests to those of Jung-Wien. Chapter three analyses the treatment of criticism and Pre-Raphaelitism in Die Mystik, showing the similarities and differences between both writers’ reception of English art, and explaining Hofmannsthal’s response to the volume. A postscript suggests directions for further research.