Item 034 - [Letter from Viktor Zuckerkandl to Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, December 18, 1961]

Zuckerkandl reflects on the last year and the impact Fröbe-Kapteyn has had on his life. He says he is considering a few possibilities [for the 1962 lecture] and that he is pleased with the beginning of his lecture. Zuckerkandl is getting some rest during the Christmas vacation. He has been teaching advanced mathematics and a seminar on the bible, for which [Gershom] Scholem’s Eranos work is useful. He has not been able to work on his own research. Zuckerkandl enjoyed [Alfred] Portmann’s Eranos lecture [likely 1961] and he is glad to read it in print, a copy sent to him from Fröbe-Kapteyn. Zuckerkandl plans to write to [Wladimir] Weidlé soon. He tells of a young student [unnamed] in mathematics and technology he has recently met, who is very interested in the work at Eranos, but questions why physics and man’s relation to technology is left out. Zuckerkandl will continue to speak to him, and will consider inviting him as a listener, provided it can be supported. [Continuing on the margins of the letter] Zuckerkandl proposes two titles [“Werk und Wachstum im künstlerischen Schaffen” and “Vom Wachstum des Kunstwerks”] and mentions he would like to be able to spend more leisurely time with Fröbe-Kapteyn, wishing her a happy new year.