This paper examines the literary, cultural, and artistic developments that made Vienna and Paris the two most significant centers of human creative endeavor during the decade of 1900–1910. It traces Vienna's transformation into a middle-European cultural mecca — shaped by population growth, the anti-Semitic politics of Karl Lueger, the psychoanalytic work of Sigmund Freud, the painting of Gustav Klimt, and the avant-garde music of Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schönberg. The paper then turns to Paris during La Belle Époque, exploring its role as a global magnet for progressive thought, its hosting of the 1900 Olympics and World's Fair, and the flourishing of painters such as Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso alongside Impressionist composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Both cities, the paper argues, were defined and connected by the spirit of Art Nouveau.
Europe of 1900–1910 saw the rise of several cultural meccas, including Vienna and Paris. Vienna was a center of literary, cultural, and artistic advancement in "middle" Europe, enjoying a booming population and innovative developments across all those spheres, even as it endured the rising tide of anti-liberal, anti-Semitic Christian Social forces. In keeping with this innovation, Vienna's music enjoyed avant-garde developments of Art Nouveau from Paris, notably represented in Vienna by the works of composers Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schönberg.
As Vienna became the literary, cultural, and artistic center of "middle" Europe, Paris became the literary, cultural, and artistic center of the world. Drawing exceptionally gifted people from across the globe, Paris boasted the first Olympics to include women and the World's Fair of 1900. Reveling in its invention of Art Nouveau, Paris also exerted worldwide magnetism on artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, who already were or eventually became household artistic names. Parisian music also flourished during this time in the Art Nouveau-engendered form of Impressionism, notably represented by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. In sum, the literary, cultural, and artistic developments in Vienna and Paris during 1900–1910 made them renowned centers of human endeavor.
Vienna, Austria of 1900 was a population and cultural center of "middle" Europe. Before and during that first decade of the twentieth century, the city expanded and absorbed surrounding suburbs four times to accommodate its burgeoning population. The city was expanded twice before the turn of the century; in 1900, the northern section of neighboring Leopoldstadt became the 20th district of Vienna and was renamed Brigittenau; the 21st district of Floridsdorf was added in 1904. In addition, travel and movement restrictions were eased by the ruling Emperor, Franz Joseph, allowing residents of the Austrian Empire's farthest reaches to relocate to Vienna. Due to the city's enlargement and loosened travel restrictions, the population of Vienna significantly increased at the turn of the century and continued growing until it reached a high of 2,031,000 in 1910 (Schorske, 1981, pp. 5–6).
Immediately before and during the decade of 1900–1910, Vienna's political life showed a marked rise in anti-Semitism. Though considered a "liberal bastion," Vienna was engulfed by a Christian Social wave leading to the election of Karl Lueger in 1895. Lueger was admittedly an effective social and municipal reformer; however, he was also a raving and influential anti-Semite. Backed by the Roman Catholic Church, Emperor Franz Joseph initially refused to ratify Lueger's election as mayor; however, even the Emperor's opposition was eventually overcome by Christian Social pressures, and Lueger's election was ratified two years after the fact, in 1897. Lueger dominated Viennese city politics for the next decade, both for good and ill. He was largely responsible for the Wiener Hochquellwasserleitung, which eased Vienna's water problems by routing fresh water from the surrounding mountains; in addition, he beautified the areas surrounding the city with newly planted meadows and forests. Simultaneously, Lueger loudly and effectively supported the mass movements of Christian Socialism, anti-Semitism, and nationalism, in direct contrast to Vienna's classically liberal heritage (Schorske, 1981, pp. 5–6).
Against the backdrops of a swelling population and rising anti-liberalism, Vienna was a mecca for middle Europe's avant-garde in psychiatry, literature, architecture, and the arts. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), widely known as the "Father of Psychoanalysis," lived and worked in Vienna, publishing The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901), and Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905) during that first decade of the twentieth century (Notable Names Database, 2012). A lifelong liberal, Freud reportedly smoked a cigar to celebrate the Emperor's initial refusal to ratify Lueger's election (Schorske, 1981, p. 6). The painter Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) also flourished in Vienna during this period, having co-founded in 1897 the "Vienna Secession" — an association of Viennese painters, architects, furniture designers, craftspeople, and sculptors who resigned from the Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs ("Union of Austrian Artists") in protest against its conservatism and rigid classical style of recopying famous artistic masters (Notable Names Database, 2012). Klimt and his fellow Secession artists created the Jugendstil ("Art Nouveau") around 1900, experimenting with daring subjects including sexually erotic portraits and landscapes. Freud and Klimt were just two of the many intellectual and artistic figures who made Vienna of 1900–1910 a focal point of new, exciting concepts across literary, cultural, and artistic spheres (Brandstatter, 2006, pp. 343–362).
As other literary, cultural, and artistic areas developed new ideas for redefining the Viennese individual's self-identity, music flourished with the same quest for inner truth and identity. Composer and conductor Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), director of the Hofoper ("Vienna Court Opera"), was prolificly composing music in Vienna and beyond during 1900–1910. This Viennese decade saw the creation of his 5th Symphony in 1902, his 6th Symphony in 1904, his 7th Symphony in 1905, his 8th Symphony in 1906, his 9th Symphony in 1910, and the beginning of his 10th Symphony in 1910. In addition, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") was written in Vienna during this period, though it premiered in Munich in 1911. Dedicated to an ultra-modern exploration of humanity and inspired by ancient Chinese poetry, Das Lied von der Erde consisted of six movements: Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde ("The Drinking Song of Earth's Misery"); Der Einsame im Herbst ("The Lonely One in Autumn"); Von der Jugend ("Of Youth"); Von der Schönheit ("Of Beauty"); Der Trunkene im Frühling ("The Drunken Man in Spring"); and Der Abschied ("The Farewell") (International Gustav Mahler Society, n.d.). Arnold Schönberg (1874–1951), among the avant-garde of Vienna's music and painting spheres, also composed and taught in Vienna during 1900–1910. Drawing from and enhancing the ultra-modern artistic, literary, and cultural movements of that time, Schönberg led the Second Viennese School of Music, pioneering modernist atonal music and teaching such prominent fellow musicians as Alban Berg and Anton Webern (Brandstatter, 2006, pp. 343, 352).
Infused with Art Nouveau influences from France and with modernist movements across multidisciplinary spheres of thought, culture, and art, Vienna of 1900–1910 became a middle-European center of artistic patronage and ultra-modern ideas (Bonyhady, 2011). Borrowing heavily from the Art Nouveau of Paris, the most gifted literary, cultural, and artistic minds of "middle" Europe enjoyed a golden age. This golden age would be short-lived in several respects, as Vienna already bore the signs of an anti-liberal, anti-Semitic tide that would engulf Europe in world war within the next decade.
As Vienna of 1900–1910 was a cultural center of middle Europe, Paris was a cultural mecca of the world and was squarely in the middle of La Belle Époque ("The Beautiful Period"), a time of unrivaled artistic development in France (Bloy, 2011). An acknowledged industrial center by the early 1900s, Paris' population exceeded 2,500,000 people — approximately one out of every five people living in the entire country of France. In a partial answer to the transportation problems created by such a large population and by global celebrations set in Paris, the city introduced the Métro de Paris in 1900, its mass transit system. One of the world's earliest mass transit systems, the Paris Métro became a platinum standard of dense, city-wide transportation (George, 2008).
Paris also enjoyed a relatively rare period of peace from 1900–1910. In fact, Paris had hosted the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 between the Spanish Empire and the United States, ending the open warfare of the Spanish-American War. Parisian politics of the time were significantly influenced by an uneasy leftist alliance called the "Left Block," comprised of Socialists, Radicals, and left-wing Opportunist Republicans. In partial reaction to the Affaire Dreyfus — the wrongful conviction of a Jewish officer for espionage and the resulting political fallout that nearly destroyed France's Parliament — the Left Block was swept into power in 1902 and dominated the political landscape in Paris and beyond during this historical period (Bloy, 2011).
Since Paris was a hotbed of leftist thought and innovation, thinkers, journalists, poets, painters, sculptors, architects, composers, and musicians came from the globe's far reaches to live and flourish there. The result was a rich explosion of avant-garde ultra-modernism in thought, literature, art, architecture, and music. The year 1900 was a banner year for the city in many respects. Paris hosted both the 1900 Summer Olympics — the first Olympics to allow female athletes to participate (International Olympic Committee, 2009) — and the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("World's Fair"), celebrating the achievements of the nineteenth century, eagerly anticipating those of the twentieth century, and dominated throughout by Art Nouveau (McCully, 2011, pp. 15–16).
"Anatole France, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Picasso shape Parisian culture"
"Debussy and Ravel pioneer musical Impressionism in Paris"
If Vienna and Paris of 1900–1910 could be described in a single expression, it would be Art Nouveau. Reveling in their attraction of the exceptionally gifted in literary, cultural, and artistic spheres, both cities became focal points of human endeavor and innovation. The global mecca of Paris, the birthplace of Art Nouveau, luxuriated in the creativity of the avant-garde. Meanwhile, Vienna, which earned her place as a mecca of "middle" Europe, reveled in seminal literature and Art Nouveau despite the rising tide of anti-liberal Christian Socialism. Predating the disturbing developments of the World Wars, the years 1900–1910 were golden eras in the histories of both cities.
You’re 59% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.