The Orphic Gazelle: A Critical Iconology of the Zoomorphic Trope in Franz Marc and Rainer Maria Rilke

Abstract

The article explores the curious landing of the gazelle in Franz Marc’s pictorial text (1913) and Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem (1907). An analysis of the iconographic and pictorial apparatus sets the foundations for a comparison to the poetic restitution of the same zoomorphic trope. Concepts from Visual Studies and recent iconological-anthropological schools of thought support a hypothesis of migration across time and medium of the gazelle’s symbolism and iconicity. Further, the critical iconology method reveals the possibility of autonomous expression for the zoomorphic trope in the idiosyncrasy produced by her torsion and gaze direction. Consequently, the gazelle offers a new path for decoding a precise historical and artistic attitude beyond expressionist pantheism. The implications of her alienating Orphic gaze are clarified when considered in contextual works and concern the visual projection towards a necessary turning point regarding Rilke’s and Marc’s ontological-aesthetic position. Beyond traditional symbolism, the gazelle depicts a transition toward formal experimentalism in the face of the impending First World War. It outlines the capacity of animal physicality to describe its genesis. Moreover, it illustrates the modern attitudes held towards culturally constructed change by distancing herself from hermeneutic overwriting while moving between precise ontological-aesthetic coordinates.