RIEGL, STRZYGOWSKI UND DIE ENTWICKLUNG DER KUNST

The article analyses an often-appraised early work of Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941), a controversial Austrian art historian, predominantly dealing with problems of the artistic interplay between Orient and Europe, Late Roman Art being the central case study. The analysis shows - in comparison to a similarly oriented work of another influential cotemporary Austrian art historian, Alois Riegl (1858 -1905) - the anti-Semitic background of Strzygowski's thoughts that together with an irrational fear of hybrid cultural forms reduced his ability to cope with a complex cultural development in Europe and abroad.