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

by Janine Burke

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.

Genres: Psychoanalysis, History, Biography, Art

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dr. Janine Burke is an art historian and biographer, and has written eight books of fiction and art history. She has degrees from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. She was a lecturer in art history until she resigned from her job to become a full-time writer, which she has been for the last ten years.

Her books include Australian Women Artists, 1840-1940, Second Sight, which won the 1987 Victorian Premier's Award for Fiction, and Company of Images, which was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year award and the Miles Franklin Award. Her novel for teenagers, Journey to Bright Water, is published by Mammoth. She also contributed to Libby Hawthorn's anthology of short stories, The Blue Dress.

Janine has curated exhibitions of historical and contemporary art, and currently holds a research fellowship at Monash University. She lives in Melbourne, where she regularly reviews, lectures and broadcasts on radio.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitate to give this book a full five stars because the writer, while obviously having done her research and while clearly showing passion for the topic, often repeats herself and speaks in almost staccato tone. That said, this is a book which if it didn't change my life, has changed my attitude toward Sigmund Freud.

I once saw the great Viennese pscyhoanalyst as do many who admire the ideas of Carl Jung, as a proud man, self-righteous and arrogant, dogmatically committed to his sexual theory of the libido. But, this book shows a man passionate about art, delighting in antiquities and fascinated by mythic images. She shows Freud in much of the man's complexity and paints an appealing picture of the man.

I still see the man's flaws, but I now better see the man's strengths -- and highly recommend this very readable book for those interested in exploring Freud's interest in art and antiquities.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burke's book provides a wonderfully detailed history of Freud's lifelong acquisition of antiquities from Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other places. She explains how his obsession with collecting antiquities began and developed, and she also provides specifics about particular pieces, including Athena, Jade Screen, The Dying Slave, and so on. This information and analysis is critical to understanding Freud's life, his personal neuroses, and his psychoanalytic theories. Moreover, one must be familiar with this history to assess Freud's Orientalist worldview, his cultural assumptions, and so on. The book reads very well, so I didn't need weeks and weeks to complete it despite its hefty size and complex subject matter.