Count Harry Kessler (1868-1937)

"Anyone who is bored..."

“Anyone who is bored cannot observe. I admit, however, to being bored quite frequently.”

I’m currently reading the diaries of the late Count Harry Kessler. I’d never heard of him until I read an interview with the late Karl Lagerfeld, in which he said how much he’d been influenced by Kessler.

Kessler was one of the most well-connected men of his age. A wealthy patron of the arts, he traveled the world with an immense appetite for culture and philosophy. The painting above is by Edward Munch, a close friend and beneficiary of Kessler’s support.

His diaries are truly astounding. He seems to have been everywhere all at once. Whether he’s in Weimar keeping the ailing Nietzsche company, or befriending one of the founders of the Bauhaus movement (van de Velde), or flying a balloon into Russian territory and crash-landing, it’s as if he’d lived a hundred different lives. A truly modern European, he contributed to the development of an entire generation of artists, and was finally forced to flee Nazi Germay. He died in 1937.

His diaries, which he started at the age of 12 and kept throughout his life, are a treasure trove of intellectual musings and lived experience. They demonstrate a deep commitment to the idea that the world is, above all, a very interesting place. And that once you begin to take an interest in things, there’s not going back.

I’m still reading the diaries, but they’ve renewed my interest in the idea of journaling. And maybe this will encourage you to keep a diary -or continue one- as well.

Julian

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