PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

In this article, we discuss Simmel's concept of the "hidden king" through two figures: Egon Friedell and Max Raphael. Egon Friedell, a disciple of Karl Kraus, who wrote Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit, thought along the same lines as Simmel, who described a "clandestine king," considering that every epoch, every era, has its specific idea, concept, fashion, even style of furniture. Max Raphael, on the other hand, was an art historian, and, like Bloch, a student of Simmel. He drew inspiration from Simmelian thought in his "empirical theory of art."