Talk:Rudolf Koppitz

Biography
The Germany language Wikipedia contains an uncited reference to Koppitz entering the Graphische Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, "Institute for Teaching and Research in Graphic Arts" in 1913 to work as an assistant contradicting the citation referencing 1912 and to continue his studies.

Any information to independently confirm or deny said reference? Please discuss.

--A. Poinçot (talk) 19:30, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

The identity of Bewegungsstudie's nude dancer.
In c. 1925 Koppitz created his masterpiece, Bewegungsstudie, "Motion Study" in which he photographed dancers from the Vienna State Opera; the nude dancer, credited to be the Russian Claudia Issatschenko but is more likely, her daughter, ballet dancer and choreographer, Tatyana Issatschenko Gsovsky b. 1901, with her head thrown dramatically back and flanked by three dark-robed women, lends Bewegungsstudie to the highly decorative and symbolist tradition of the Viennese Jugendstil.



While several sources cite the identity of Bewegungsstudie's nude dancer as being Claudia Issatschenko, who is also credited with being the mother of ballet dancer Tatiana Issatschenko Gsovsky b. 1901, the youthful appearance of the nude woman in the photograph only raises suspicion as to not only her age but also her true identity. I believe that is is reasonable to suspect that the identity of the nude woman is in fact Tatiana Issatschenko Gsovsky who would have been about 25 at the time the photograph was taken due in part to her visible youth and the fact that historical references place her in and around Vienna at that time.

It is possible that she may have left Russia during its great upheaval under her mothers name for travel and identity purposes which is why her mother is the credited model or perhaps she just didn't want to use her real name since she was posing nude and figured that using her mother's name would still lend a reasonable amount of anonymity to the nude figures true identity while she continued to perform on stage. However, this is purely speculation on my part an is based on no citeable resources or facts.

Please discuss.

--A. Poinçot (talk) 20:09, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

- We harmless drudges creating this encyclopedia are warned off the idea of using our brains, but it's absurd to follow this principle to the point of uncritically regurgitating a conventional but unargued story that this is the photograph of a woman who was then presumably in her forties or fifties.

Who was it, then? Unfortunately even undisputed factual evidence would not be very helpful, because of rules here about "original research" and "original synthesis". Instead, we have to see what is said by putative authorities on the subject, even if we think that they have got it all very wrong.

Wouldn't the most authoritative source (as of 1994/95, anyway) for this and much else be the multiply authored Rudolf Koppitz, 1884–1936 (in English ISBN 0874140994 or in German ISBN 3854475756)? (I haven't seen this.) -- Hoary (talk) 02:41, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

- I was concerned about the "original research" aspect of my thesis so I figured that the discussion would probably be the best place for pointing out the apparent age discrepancy of the model and who she is credited to be before removing the reference to it from the article. And you're right, The book you mention by Jo-Anne Conklin is considered by many as the authoritative text on Rudolf Koppitz and his work. Most auction houses reference this very text in their appraisals and listings. Also, many of the websites used as a reference in my article derived their work in part from the Jo-Anne Conklin book.

I actually ordered this text from Amazon.com the day I started putting together my initial research for the article but thanks for the suggestion anyway. Hopefully by the weekend I will have it in my hands and be able to provide more definitive sources than what I already have. THANK YOU for all of your feedback and attention to improve my article. This is my first work on Wikipedia and your help and education has been greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to working working with you in the future.

--A. Poinçot (talk) 07:57, 2 December 2008 (UTC)