Mortal Mischief

by Frank Tallis

  'To you, perhaps,' said Natalie under her breath. Uberhorst looked up. He could not see the seamstress's face very well, only the large glass earring dangling from her ear.

  'Herr Uberhorst,' said Frau Hölderlin, 'the spirit says that Fräulein Löwenstein was guilty of the sin of vanity. And much as I admired her, much as I was impressed by her gift—'

  'She was a very vain woman,' said Natalie, helping Frau Hölderlin's sentence to its inevitable conclusion.

  'But undeniably very beautiful,' said Záborszky.

  'Indeed,' said Hölderlin. 'However, we must remember that possession of physical beauty can easily weaken the moral faculty. Is it not generally the case that those whom we call beautiful are also peculiarly vulnerable to the sins of pride and vanity?'

  'I'm surprised to hear you say that, Hölderlin,' said Záborszky.

  'Why?' Hölderlin snapped back at him.

  'You seemed to appreciate her beauty as much as the next man.'

  'What on Earth do you mean by tha—'

  'Gentlemen!' Cosima von Rath's voice was shrill and angry.

  'Here, here,' barked Bruckmüller.

  'Gentlemen, please!' Cosima blew out her cheeks and her retroussé nose, squeezed between bulging flesh, looked alarmingly like a snout. 'We must proceed.'

  Frau Hölderlin squinted at her husband whose pate glittered with tiny beads of perspiration.

  'Florestan,' Cosima cried. 'Florestan, is there anything we can do to help our departed sister Charlotte?'

  The planchette rolled around the table top and stopped abruptly.

  NO.

  'Shall we pray for her salvation?'

  The planchette traced another circle.

  NO.

  'Then what shall we do?'

  Rolling from side to side, the planchette hovered in the noncommittal spaces of the table top before finally dropping and colliding with the largest of the tiles: GOODBYE.

  'He has gone,' Cosima said, a note of melancholy lowering the volume of her voice.

  Herr Uberhorst was the first to remove his finger from the planchette. His movement was swift and sudden, as though he had accidentally touched the hot plate of a stove. Frau Hölderlin, blinking frantically, was still staring at her husband.

  Part Three

  The Beethoven Frieze

  36

  THE CAB RATTLED off and was quickly absorbed into the steady flow of traffic: omnibuses, trams, and a veritable fleet of horse-drawn carts. The stalls of the Naschmarkt had spilled right up to the Secession building and the air was filled with noise: fishmongers, butchers and bakers – costermongers, barrow boys, and pedlars – all of their voices combining to create a disharmonious commercial chorus. Down the Linke Wienzeile, the most conspicuous building was the Theatre an der Wien, the venue where Beethoven's Fidelio had first been performed a hundred years earlier. It seemed fitting to Liebermann that the Secessionists should celebrate the great composer's genius only yards away from a site of almost spiritual significance.

  'Well, then,' said Liebermann, straightening his necktie and adjusting his collar. 'Here we are.'

  Clara and Hannah looked up towards the House of the Secession. Their gaze was naturally attracted to its most significant feature – a golden dome constructed from a delicate patchwork of gilded bronze leaves.

  'You can see why they call it the golden cabbage,' said Hannah.

  'Really, my dear, how can you say that? It's exquisite,' Liebermann retorted.

  He offered his arms to Clara and Hannah and they walked in a line towards the building.

  'To the Age its Art, to Art its Freedom,' said Hannah, reading the legend set in raised lettering beneath the dome.

  'A sentiment that I hope you share.'

  'And Ver Sacrum. What does that mean?'

  'Sacred Stream – it's the title of their magazine.'

  'But why? Why Sacred Stream?'

  'It was a Roman ritual of consecration that was carried out in times of danger. The young were pledged to save the capital. The Secession, you see, have pledged to save Vienna from the forces of conservatism.'

  'Do we really need to be saved?' asked Clara pointedly.

  'Saved is probably too strong a word – relieved, I feel, would be more appropriate.'

  Hurrying to avoid a convoy of timber-laden carts, they marched briskly across the street and ascended the stairs, watched from above by a trio of gorgons – their fossilised faces framed by more gilded foliage.

  Once inside, Liebermann paid the entrance fee – one krone each – and took a catalogue. The cover showed a stylised angel holding a disc of light.

  Excited, Clara and Hannah had rushed ahead.

  'Wait a minute,' said Liebermann, opening the catalogue and flicking through the pages.

  'Why?' asked Clara.

  'I want to look at the orientation map.'

  'Orientation map? Surely you don't think we're going to get lost, Max.'

  Hannah giggled.

  'No,' Liebermann replied, 'I don't think we're going to get lost, Clara, but I do want to know what I'm looking at.'

  'The Klinger, surely,' said Clara. 'And the Klimt.'

  'Indeed, but there are many more artists represented here.' He pointed to some names on the floor plan. 'See: Andri, Auchentaller, Moser – I don't know where to start. Let me see . . .' He read for a few moments and added: 'They suggest the left aisle.'

  Clara looked at Hannah and, assuming a mischievous expression, repeated, 'Left aisle.'

  The two of them scurried off and Liebermann was forced to stop reading in order to keep up.

  They entered a long room where several other people were already standing, looking upwards. Liebermann followed their gaze and felt his heart flutter with excitement. The upper sections of three of the four walls were decorated with an extraordinary fresco. Liebermann spoke softly to his companions: 'The Beethoven Frieze.'

  Clara and Hannah glanced up, but had already been distracted by the centrepiece of the exhibition, Klinger's Beethoven sculpture, which could be seen through a large rectangular aperture in the wall. They both began to wander towards the brightly lit space.

  'Hannah, Clara,' Liebermann hissed. 'The Klimt!'

  Both turned, looking puzzled, frozen in a comical attitude with raised arms and limp, pointing fingers.

  In response to their quizzical expressions Liebermann jerked his head up – their eyes followed the movement.

  'Oh . . .' said Clara, suddenly seeing the fresco truly for the first time.

  Liebermann consulted his catalogue and beckoned, urging his sister and fiancée to come closer.

  'The panels form a narrative,' he said, summarising the guide, 'based on Wagner's interpretation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The first is called "Yearning for Happiness", the second "Hostile Powers", and the third "Longing for Happiness Fulfilled by Poetry". Together they are supposed to represent the triumph of art over adversity.'

  The room was eerily quiet – like a crypt. The other occupants of the room were transfixed, staring up at Klimt's magical panorama as if it held a secret that would only be revealed to the most diligent observer.

  Liebermann let his gaze roam from panel to panel and felt slightly giddy. The colours were so bold: the red of ox blood, then aquamarine, silver, rust, topaz, and, of course, acres of gold. It seemed to Liebermann that Klimt must use a palette of gemstones, iron ore, and precious metals.

  As Liebermann's eyes became accustomed to Klimt's overwhelming carousel of colours, he was able to appreciate a cast of characters who gradually emerged as distinct individuals. Emaciated, naked figures appealed to a knight in armour; a monstrous winged ape squatted amid a crowd of disturbing death's heads and sirens: and a man and a woman – their bodies pressed together – kissed below a choir of angelic faces. Some parts of the fresco seemed cool and still, while others writhed with activity, every inch alive with movement: ripples, waves, swirls and eddies – vibrant detail, enlivened by the shimmer of appliqué mirrors.r />
  A busty middle-aged woman had entered the room, accompanied by a younger man who seemed vaguely familiar to Liebermann. He thought, perhaps, that he might have seen him around Alsergrund and suspected that he too was a doctor, but could not be sure. The woman raised her lorgnette and peered at the frieze. Within moments she was tutting and grumbled something to her companion, raising her voice as she enunciated words such as 'obscenity' and 'sinful'.

  The young man nodded his head and endorsed her condemnation: 'Images of madness . . . fixed ideas . . .' As he came closer Liebermann heard him more clearly: '. . . a shameless caricature of the noble human form. Only a certain type of intellectual would derive pleasure from contemplating such pathological scenes.'

  Yes, thought Liebermann. A doctor – and most probably an anti-Semite.

  He looked protectively at Clara and Hannah, and was satisfied that neither of them had understood the subtle slur.

  The couple walked past, and as they did so the dowager aunt could not resist one more spiteful salvo: '. . . he has exceeded the boundaries of good taste – certainly not an exhibition that any self-respecting young lady would care to attend.'

  Hannah suddenly looked worried, this time having caught the comment. Liebermann placed an arm around her shoulder.

  'I think that was for my benefit Hannah – not yours.' His sister smiled nervously. 'I promise you, there's nothing wrong in coming to see great art. And this is great art – believe me.'

  'Did you see the look she gave us?' said Clara indignantly. But then, returning her attention to the fresco, she added an equivocal: 'However . . .'

  'However what?' asked Liebermann.

  'She does have a point – of sorts . . .' Clara gestured at the centre wall and lifted her eyebrows. 'I mean to say, it's rather . . .' She paused, unable to find an appropriate word.

  'Daring,' said Hannah.

  'Yes,' said Clara. 'Daring.'

  Klimt's nudes were sensuous and carnal. In the middle panel, a sublimely attractive woman sat with her cheek resting on her knee – a shock of luxurious hair falling between her open thighs. Her expression smouldered with wicked sexuality and her teeth were visible between parted lips.

  'And what on Earth is that supposed to be?' continued Clara. 'That monster . . . thing.'

  Liebermann consulted his catalogue again.

  'The Giant Typhonoeus. Whom the gods themselves could not destroy. He is accompanied by the figures of Sickness, Madness and Death.'

  Clara looked towards Hannah. Something passed between them – a conspiratorial glance that brought them close to laughter.

  The room had emptied and, taking advantage of the vacant floor, Liebermann stood for a while in several different positions, appreciating the work from a variety of perspectives. His eyes, however, were repeatedly drawn by the seated temptress. There was something about her face that reminded him of Katherine – the English governess's alter ego.

  An image came to him, breaking the surface tension of his own consciousness. Katherine – at the hospital – smoothing her gown. The tautness of the material as it clung to her hips and belly.

  Ashamed, Liebermann looked away.

  Clara was whispering something in Hannah's ear. His sister smiled and placed a hand over her mouth – as though astonished. He felt an odd mixture of emotions: warmth and, surprisingly, disappointment. Clara was a woman – eight years older than Hannah. Yet she found it so easy to share girlish jokes with his sixteen-year-old sister. Of course, Clara's playfulness was part of her charm; but in this setting, in this great temple of art, her playfulness appeared less like high spirits and more like immaturity. Liebermann was discomfited by his own lack of charity and, reprimanding himself for being mean-spirited, walked back to join them.

  'What's so funny now?'

  'Nothing that would interest you,' said Clara archly. Liebermann shrugged. 'Shall we go through?' she added – and, taking Hannah's hand, she walked to the end of the room where some stairs led to the central aisle. Before leaving the Beethoven Frieze, Liebermann ran his fingers down the roughcast wall and pondered the significance of a marble head.

  'Hurry up, Max, I want to see the Klinger,' said Clara. She made wide circles with her cupped hand, as though trying to create a draught that would move him forward. Hannah, impressed by Clara's impatience, joined in.

  'Yes, Max. Hurry up.'

  'But this is by Klinger too.'

  'Yes, but it's not Klinger's Beethoven, is it?'

  Liebermann smiled, enjoying the girls' frustration.

  They emerged in a large austere space under a vaulted ceiling decorated with ceramic plaques and primitive sculptures. Liebermann was utterly enchanted. He felt like an archaeologist, exploring the miraculously preserved tomb of an ancient king.

  'Isn't it wonderful?' he said.

  'It is indeed,' said Clara. 'But if we continue at this rate, we'll never get to see the main exhibit.'

  Ignoring Clara's remark, Liebermann continued: 'Curiously affecting, don't you think – the atmosphere they've created? You know, I was reading in the Neue Press,one of the critics, I forget which, but he wrote that by the time most people reach the central chamber they have already been lulled into a state close to hypnosis. I know exactly what he means, don't you?'

  Stretching her hands out in front of her body, Clara closed her eyes and shuffled along like someone walking in their sleep. Unfortunately, at that moment a party of gentlemen appeared. One of them looked particularly flamboyant – a large, bearded man wearing a straw hat and a white piqué vest.

  'Clara!' said Hannah.

  Clara opened her eyes and, quickly appraising the situation, pretended to be reaching towards Liebermann in order to brush a hair from his jacket. After the men had passed, Clara and Hannah burst out laughing – chattering breathlessly about what had just happened.

  'Ladies,' said Liebermann, wagging his finger. He walked on, aware that Clara and Hannah were following, feigning remorse but unable to stop giggling.

  Klinger's Beethoven was situated in the middle of the central aisle, on a raised dais and surrounded by a low circular fence. Semi-nude and seated on a large throne, the great composer leaned forward with clenched fists, gazing into an infinite, visionary distance. He was entirely godlike – the familiar heavy, square head exuded gravitas, power and dignity.

  Here, then, was the inner sanctum, the fulcrum of the entire exhibition, a sacred place where the votaries of art could worship and pray.

  There was no sign of the frosty couple whom they had encountered earlier, but many other people were milling around the sculpture.

  'Now, that is beautiful,' said Clara. 'He looks like . . . he looks like Zeus.'

  'Yes,' said Liebermann, pleasantly surprised. 'I think that must have been the intention.'

  'He looks thoroughly annoyed,' said Hannah.

  'Well,' said Liebermann, 'Beethoven had a lot to be annoyed about. Did you know, Mahler conducted a chamber arrangement of the Ninth symphony here – on the opening night?'

  'Did he?' said Hannah. 'Oh, that would have been wonderful.'

  'And in the presence of the artist, I believe.'

  'My dear,' said Clara, taking Hannah's arm confidentially, 'do you know the Molls? They live in a new semi-detached villa in Heiligenstadt – on Steinfeldgasse?'

  Hannah shook her head.

  'Well,' continued Clara, 'if you don't, your mother will. Frau Moll used to be married to Emile Schindler, the painter. He died a few years ago, and Frau Moll married one of his pupils. Anyway, the daughter, Alma Schindler –' Clara lowered her voice '– such a flirt, you wouldn't believe it. They say she's very good-looking but, to tell the truth, I can't see it. Well, she was married in February – to Director Mahler.'

  'Oh,' said Hannah, 'how lovely for her.'

  'Well,' continued Clara, 'perhaps not. I've heard it said that the wedding was rather hurried . . .'

  Hannah looked puzzled, and Clara, bending close, whispered something into the yo
ung girl's ear. Liebermann watched his sister's expression change from amusement to disbelief.

  'Clara,' said Liebermann. 'Must you fill Hannah's head with such idle gossip!'

  'Maxim,' said Hannah, 'you sound just like father.'

  Opening her fan, Clara peered over its quivering fringe like a coquette.

  'Someone has to keep Hannah informed . . .'

  Liebermann sighed and stared into Beethoven's eyes. Clara and Hannah continued to chatter – but they fell silent when two gaily dressed young men genuflected in front of Klinger's masterpiece.

  37

  'IT WAS VERY KIND of you to see me, Minister Schelling. I realise that you are a very busy man.'

  Schelling's jowls wobbled when he rocked his head backwards and forwards as he ushered Liebermann into the drawing room.

  'It is my earnest wish that Miss Lydgate should be returned to health as soon as possible – she seemed so distressed when she was living here. My schedule today is rather hectic but I am perfectly happy to place myself at your disposal for the next half-hour or so, if you feel that my layman's opinion will be of some value.'

  Schelling was of medium build and wore a dark suit, wing collars and a black bow tie. A gold watch-chain hung from his waistcoat, the fabric of which bulged against the pressure of an incipient paunch. His formal dress suggested that he intended to leave for the parliament building as soon as the interview was finished.

  'Thank you,' said Liebermann. 'I won't delay you any longer than is absolutely necessary.'

  A woman appeared in the hallway and entered through the open double doors. Her face was rather careworn, and the style and cut of her floral dress gave her a somewhat matronly appearance.

  'My wife,' said Schelling. 'Beatrice, this is Doctor Liebermann, Amelia's doctor.'

  'Frau Schelling,' said Liebermann, bowing.

  She stood on the threshold, seemingly unsure of whether to enter the room.

  'Would you like some tea, Herr Doctor?' she asked.