Aleš Filip and Roman Musil
The "Nocturnal Life of the Soul" in the Work of the Painters Gabriel von Max and Albert von Keller
In the 19th century various forms of practising occult teachings enjoyed great popularity.
?is applied in particular to mesmerism, spiritism, and parapsychology. Although
they were often regarded as charlatanism, deception, or diabolical practices,
some scholars and artists inclined towards them. In Munich this included a number
of prominent visual artists, but only two of them, Gabriel von Max and Albert von
Keller, used occultism as a direct long-term source for inspiration for their work.
?ese artists enhanced Central European salon painting by the addition of occult
themes, which can be examined in three areas: as part of (1) biblical subject-matter,
(2) mediumism, and (3) paintings of female visionaries. While Keller focused on
striking scenes of excitation, often with a crowd of observers, and thus on narrative
spectacles, Max endeavoured to capture the expression of profound spiritual concentration
of his heroines. As a native of Prague and provincial patriot he maintained
links with the Czech environment all his life. It was for the Czech milieu that his
chef-d’oeuvre ?e Seeress of Prevorst in Ecstasy (currently in the collections of the National
Gallery in Prague) was intended. ?ere is concrete evidence of the influence of
his iconographic innovation on Czech art, but the most enduring inspirational factor
at the end of the “long 19th century” would seem to be the widespread idea, of which
Max was a pioneer, of the importance of exceptional spiritual abilities, anticipating
the future direction taken by the human race, and their affinity with the visual arts.
Max’s friend, the philosopher Carl du Prel, characterised these abilities as “the nocturnal
life of the soul”, which, by “shifting the threshold of sensations” is able to overcome
the limitations of normal (i.e. “daily”) perception.
design by Bedřich Vémola
