English Translations

We are translating her works progressively, beginning with the manifesto and the novel Yoshiwara, then her memoir, then the poetry.

• On the Artistic Education of Woman (1896) in-review

  from Über das künstlerische Studium der Frau · 1896

  Her fiery lecture to the 1896 International Women’s Congress in Berlin — a demand that the art academies be opened to women. Her feminism in her own words, translated to English for the first time.

• Open Letter on “Mors Imperator” (1887) in-review

  from Berliner Tageblatt / Grazer Volksblatt, Aug. 1887 · 1887

  Her open letter answering the 1887 rejection of Mors Imperator — naming President Becker, the Kaiser's telegram, and the jury's shift from ‘subject’ to ‘unartistic treatment,’ and throwing her reputation on the public's judgment. A primary document.

• Yoshiwara — Part One: Indra (opening) in-review

  from Yoshiwara (1920) · 1920

  The novel's opening scene — a night train pulls out of Berlin, and Indra leaves her weeping mother for the wider world.

• “Mors Imperator”: A Satirical Poem (1887) in-review

  from Kikeriki (Vienna), 11 Aug. 1887 · 1887

  A Viennese satirical poem defending her — the jury allows Makart-style nudes but bans her “naked truth.”

• Report on the “Mors Imperator” Affair (1887) in-review

  from Österreichische Kunst-Chronik (Vienna), 6 Aug. 1887 · 1887

  A neutral Austrian art-press account of the Mors Imperator affair, capturing the confused back-and-forth over whether the Kaiser wished the picture admitted.

• Der Roman meines Lebens (The Novel of My Life) in-review

  from Der Roman meines Lebens, 1926 · 1926

  Her posthumous memoir — a woman's life around 1900, in her own voice. Translated chapter by chapter (in progress).