The Sphinx on the Table: Sigmund Freud’s Art Collection and the Development of Psychoanalysis

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pp. 455, “Sigmund Freud’s collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities is one of the art world’s best-kept secrets. Over a forty year period he amassed an extraordinary array of nearly three thousand statues, vases, reliefs, busts, rings and prints.
For Freud, psychoanalysis and his art collection developed together in a symbiotic, nourishing relationship, each informing and enriching the other. Freud used myth to illustrate controversial theories like the Oedipus complex, situating ancient symbolism in a modern context. He explored the archaeology of the mind, unearthing his patients’ dreams and memories while creating a personal museum of ancient treasure. Freud compared the process to analysis, where he, “cleared away material, layer by layer”, to the technique of excavating a buried city.
To create a portrait of Freud the art collector, Janine Burke builds a vibrant, richly detailed and intimate image of his life and times, tracing Freud’s taste for beautiful things back to his earliest years. The Sphinx on the Table is set against the glittering, decadent, backdrop of fin-de-siecle Vienna where an artistic flowering took place in painting, theater, writing and architecture.”

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Book Information

ISBN 0802715036
ISBN13 9780802715036
Number of pages 455
Original Title The Sphinx on the Table: Sigmund Freud's Art Collection and the Development of Psychoanalysis
Published Date 2006
Book Condition Very good
Jacket Condition Very good
Binding Hardcover
Size 8vo
Place of Publication New York
Edition First Edition
Category:
Author:
Publisher:

Description

pp. 455, “Sigmund Freud’s collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities is one of the art world’s best-kept secrets. Over a forty year period he amassed an extraordinary array of nearly three thousand statues, vases, reliefs, busts, rings and prints.
For Freud, psychoanalysis and his art collection developed together in a symbiotic, nourishing relationship, each informing and enriching the other. Freud used myth to illustrate controversial theories like the Oedipus complex, situating ancient symbolism in a modern context. He explored the archaeology of the mind, unearthing his patients’ dreams and memories while creating a personal museum of ancient treasure. Freud compared the process to analysis, where he, “cleared away material, layer by layer”, to the technique of excavating a buried city.
To create a portrait of Freud the art collector, Janine Burke builds a vibrant, richly detailed and intimate image of his life and times, tracing Freud’s taste for beautiful things back to his earliest years. The Sphinx on the Table is set against the glittering, decadent, backdrop of fin-de-siecle Vienna where an artistic flowering took place in painting, theater, writing and architecture.”

Additional information

Weight 0.67 kg