Page - 388 - in Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg - Netzwerker der Kunstwelt

388 Matthew Rampley Eitelberger accepts the pre-eminence of French design, but attributes this to the tyr- anny of French taste : “Die Macht dieses Einflusses, insbesondere auf die öffentliche Meinung, lastete wie ein Alp auf der deutschen Kunstindustrie, speciell auf der öster- reichischen, und erschwerte jeden Versuch zur Emancipation.”75 The war thus presents an opportunity for liberation from French cultural hegemony and, even more strikingly, Eitelberger describes his own museum as having the same goal. The lecture then goes on to consider the specific implications for Austria. The uni- fication of Germany presents no threat to Austria, Eitelberger argues, and presents the same opportunities for contesting the historical dominance of France as it does for Prussia and the rest of Germany. Politically, too, he argues : [E]s [sind] nicht die Baiern und die Preussen, und nicht die Sachsen […], welche in Oester- reich die Deutsch-Oesterreicher politisch anulliren, in Galizien polonisiren, in Laibach slo- venisiren, in Triest verwälschen wollen. […] Viel gefährlicher als die äusseren Feinde sind die Feinde Oesterreichs im Lande selbst […].76 We are therefore returned to his fundamental preoccupation with the implications of the assertion of different cultures of the varying crownlands for the assumed status of German as the lingua franca of social life. Moreover, it is the manner in which Eitel- berger formulates the issue that is most arresting, for there is a clear slippage between “Austrian” and “German-Austrian” that betrays his basic assumption of the identity of the two. The so-called enemies of the German-Austrians are the enemies of Austria more widely, and this is true not only in politics but also in culture for, as Eitelberger states, “Die ganze Kunst-Industrie Oesterreichs ruht in den Händen der Deutschöster- reicher, mit Ausnahme jenes geringen Bruchtheiles italienischer Arbeitskraft in Triest und Südtirol, die ihrer Richtung nach italienisch ist”.77 More generally, he adds, 75 “The power of its influence, in particular on public opinion, weighed down on German, and espe- cially Austrian, art industry like a nightmare, and rendered any attempt at emancipation difficult.” Ibid, p.  320. 76 “It is not the Bavarians and the Prussians, it is not the Saxons who are negating the German-Austri- ans in political life in Austria, polonising them in Galicia, turning them into Slovenes in Ljubljana, italianising them in Trieste […] much more dangerous than the external enemies are the enemies of Austria within the country itself […].” Ibid, pp.  329. 77 “The whole of Austria’s art industry rests in the hands of German-Austrians, with the exception of that fragment of Italian craftsmanship in Trieste and South Tirol, which is Italian in its orientation.” Ibid, p.  334. Open Access © 2019 by BÖHLAU VERLAG GMBH & CO.KG, WIEN