A partir de Śākuntala y Ajantarecepción y visiones de India en la obra de Ernst Ludwig Kirchner desde una perspectiva transcultural

Abstract

This thesis presents a critical and transcultural research of the reception of two ancient Indian artworks, Kālidāsa’s play Abhijñānaśākuntala [The Recognition of Śākuntala] and the Buddhist wall paintings of the Ajanta caves (both from ca. fifth century), by the German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938). It examines this reception process in relation to the cultural phenomenon of German indomania and suggests its crystallization in Kirchner’s alternative and utopian artistic proposals for an art in conjunction with life, which he put into practice in his studio and during his stays in natural environments. In order to demonstrate this, the present study tracks a path from the romantic reception ofIndian art and culture in Germany –beginning with Śākuntala’s translation in 1791– to the reception of some of its traditions such as Buddhism, asceticism and yoga in the movements of the Lebensreform [Life’s Reform] at the turn of the twentieth century. In this way, it researches the repertoire of Indian motifs in Kirchner’s work in relation to the aforementioned contemporary cultural trends...