Nobles, Modernism, and the Culture of fin-de-siecle Munich

Historians of central Europe agree that the fin de sièclewas a time of artistic ferment and change that was criticalin the formation of the ‘modern’, but ignore theinfluence and role of the nobility, assuming that nobles wereinsignificant actors in the cultural realm. This article conteststhat notion by investigating the janus-faced artistic nobilityin Munich. The author argues that nobles played an importantrole in the artistic markers of Munich's fin de siècle(Secession, art nouveau, cabaret); more importantly, many nobleswere instrumental in the reception and propagation of ideasthat informed the European avant-garde, and acted as a modelfor a European variant of alternative modernism.