The Egyptian Body and the Idea of the Unconscious
Art historian Emmelyn Butterfield-Rosen examines how Egyptian art shaped Freud-era psychology, connecting Rodin's Balzac monument to the visualization of the unconscious.
Why we picked this
Freud kept Egyptian artifacts on his desk while writing The Interpretation of Dreams. This talk traces the deeper connection between ancient Egyptian figural art and the birth of psychoanalysis.
Emmelyn Butterfield-Rosen explores how Egyptian artifacts and artistic forms became central to the European visualization of the unconscious around 1900. The lecture accompanies ISAW’s exhibition Rodin’s Egypt.
Butterfield-Rosen, Associate Professor of Nineteenth-Century European Art at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, examines why Egyptian figural art resonated so powerfully with the psychological concepts of that era. The talk pays particular attention to Auguste Rodin’s 1898 Balzac monument, which the sculptor characterized as his “Egyptian colossus” — a work that bridges ancient form and modern interiority.
Free admission at ISAW.