Classicism and Baroque
The academic trend that prevailed for centuries was represented in painting by Daniel Gran (1694-1757) and in sculpture by Georg Raphael Donner. Even in Gran's great compositions, such as the ceiling of the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, the simplicity of reading and the codes of classicism triumph. His masterpiece remains the fresco in the dome of the Imperial Library in Vienna. The influence of masters such as Troger and then Maulbertsch slowly turned the Viennese school away from the model offered by Gran
The sculptor Georg Raphael Donner (1693-1743) studied with Giovanni Giuliani before developing a Baroque style. Inspired by nature and Antiquity, he trained great names in sculpture. For the anecdote, he was chosen in 2002 to decorate coins. In the public space, you will probably come across monumental works by Anton Dominik Fernkorn (1813-1878). He was one of the artists who rebelled against the norms of painting. In his equestrian statues, he rewrote the codes by expressing the ardour of a horse standing on two legs, as shown in the statue of the Archduke Charles winning the Battle of Essling
The great masters are gathered in the Kunsthistorisches Museum: Bruegel, Raphael, Vermeer, Velázquez, Titian and many others. The surprising Innsbruck invites you to soak up the grandeur of Ambras Castle. Look up, the elaborate ceilings echo the paintings of Rubens, Velázquez or Van Dyck.
Vienna Secession
This current brings together disparate artists committed to promoting Art Nouveau in Austria. The magazine Ver Sacrum ("Sacred Spring") expressed their revolutionary quest. The movement was financed by the cultivated upper middle class, including Karl Wittgenstein, father of the philosopher of the same name.
The year 1897 saw the emergence of the Vienna Secession. Austrian society refused to accept the weakening of its power. Only a cultural minority perceived the social and political reality of the time. In Europe, pictorial conventions were being shattered, and this effervescence also affected Vienna. More generally, the year 1900 marked the beginning of Austrian modernism
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) entered the School of Applied Arts at the age of 14. In 1883, he opened a studio and gradually broke away from academicism, under the influence of Fernand Khnopff, Arnold Böcklin and Auguste Rodin. In 1886, he decorated the stairs of the Burgtheater in Vienna. Thanks to the success of his frescoes in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, he received a ministerial commission to decorate the three faculties of the University of Vienna. His allegorical paintings - Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence - were completed in 1908. Philosophy scandalized good society, which considered the fresco to be an affront to morality. Eighty-seven professors signed a petition against Klimt. The Medicine was destroyed in 1945. In 1897, Klimt founded and directed the Vienna Secession, followed by forty artists. Designed by Olbrich, the Secession building was inaugurated in 1898. On the occasion of the Beethoven exhibition, he decorated the hall of the Secession with a monumental decorative frieze illustrating the Ninth Symphony. It is an allegory of the man who, overcoming his dark aspects, reaches perfect love. Interested in what was happening in the rest of Europe, he organised a huge exhibition on Impressionism in 1903. From 1904, he painted landscapes, influenced by Gauguin and Seurat. When he died in 1918, Klimt left behind more than 2,500 drawings. His world-famous canvases, combining painting and gilding, including The Kiss, are exhibited at the Belvedere Museum and the Leopold Museum.
Trained in Vienna, Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) settled in Berlin where he frequented the avant-garde artistic circles centred around the magazine Der Sturm. After seeing an exhibition of Kokoschka's work in 1911, Archduke Franz Ferdinand declared, "This man deserves to have all his bones broken." At the age of 22, the artist published his first novel The Dreaming Boys, followed by a few poems and dramas. In 1912, he had an unhappy affair with Alma Mahler, of whom he painted many portraits. A series of portraits from this period, grimacing and deformed, reveal the artist's desire to express the hidden psychology of his models. Seriously wounded during the First World War, he devoted himself from 1919 to 1924 to teaching painting in Dresden. Later, he took refuge in England during the Second World War and painted canvases against the Anschluss and fascism. Recognized as a major expressionist painter, he founded the "School of the Eye" in Salzburg in 1953.
Egon Schiele (1890-1918), a major figure in Expressionism, had a dazzling career. His highly diverse output explored the techniques of portraiture, landscape and symbolism. His father went mad and died in 1905, leaving his family destitute. Despite the opposition of his guardian and uncle, his mother succeeded in presenting Schiele to the competition of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1906. He was admitted as a guest for a year, while a fellow countryman, a certain Adolf Hitler, was expelled for "bad composition". At 17, his meeting with Klimt marked the beginning of a mutual friendship and admiration. At the age of 19, after three painful years of academic training, the discipline of which he could not bear, Schiele was finally able to follow his vocation. He managed to survive thanks to the support of an influential art critic, Arthur Rœssler, who convinced collectors to buy his paintings. He moved to the countryside, but was expelled from two villages because of his unbridled lifestyle and was even arrested in 1912 for moral violations and the corruption of minors. He remained in prison for only twenty-four days, and was thus given the image of a martyr. On his release, Schiele moved to Vienna and became involved with a girl from a good family, whom he married in 1915. He managed to avoid the fighting of the Great War and was assigned to a desk job in a prison camp, then to the Royal and Imperial Army Museum. His marriage made his inspiration more serene and seemed to free him from his inner demons. When his friend Klimt died in 1918, Schiele became the darling of the Viennese public. His exhibition at the Secession was a success. This year is the year of artistic recognition, but the euphoria does not last. His wife dies. He survives her by three days and dies at the age of 28. 42 paintings by Egon Schiele are exhibited in the Leopold Museum in the MuseumsQuartier, among hundreds of masterpieces of modern Austrian art.
Viennese Actionism
The conservative policies imposed by the bourgeoisie and then by the Nazi regime provoked rebellion. A group of artists revived the spirit of revolt that animated Austrian expressionism, represented by Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin and Egon Schiele. Viennese Actionism is based on performance art and places reality at the heart of its themes. From 1960 to 1971, it brought together major artists who went in different directions, except for Hermann Nitsch, whose work remains intimately linked to this movement. The founding manifesto of Actionism was produced by Nitsch, Otto Muehl and Adolf Frohner, while the artists walled themselves up in a cellar with the manifesto Blood Organ on the door. The movement also includes the painters Günter Brus and Alfons Schilling, the sculptor Adolf Frohner, and the photographer and painter Rudolf Schwarzkogler
Photography
Photography enthusiasts can take advantage of the World Press Photo in Vienna to visit the Westlicht, which is continuing its famous competition. A collection of old cameras completes the temporary exhibitions. In Austria, photography has always been considered an artistic discipline. The Association of Art Photographers, founded in Vienna in 1881, organized its first international exhibition in 1891. Raoul Hausmann was born in Vienna in 1886 as one of the pioneers of the genre. In 1900, the family of this all-rounder moved to Berlin. In 1917, he founded the Dada Berlin group and wrote articles and poems, produced collages and made drawings. He participated in the first exhibition of photomontages in 1931. He travelled to France and Spain, where he explored the possibilities of photography while devoting theoretical texts to it. At the end of the war, he settled in Limoges, where he died in 1971. Known as a photographer, this provocateur nevertheless said: "I am not a photographer". Later, Ernst Haas (1921-1986) first trained as a painter. Exiled to Zurich, he decided to become a photographer. His reports show the return of prisoners of war. After his first exhibitions, he joined the Magnum agency and published in Life, Paris Match and Esquire
, with the support of Robert Capa. The major currents of the 19th and 20th centuries are represented at the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg. It is in fact a double place that unites the Rupertinum (contemporary) and the Mönchsberg. Photographic art occupies a prominent place in its 55,000-piece collection, which also includes sculptures, paintings and drawings.Nowadays
The city of Linz hides its game well. In addition to its beautiful historic centre, the Höhenrausch offers an art trail on the roofs of the city. Every year, a theme is given to the installations that echo the wide-angle panoramas. Also in Linz, the Lentos Kunstmuseum is one of the most important places dedicated to modern and contemporary Austrian art, with a collection of 13,000 works in all disciplines. Graffiti artists have given in to the lure of the warehouses in the port of Linz. Walk or boat along the Harbo Mural, which features 200 frescoes
The capital also knows how to combine urban art and grandiose architecture. This time by bike, ride along the 17 km of the Danube Canal lined with painted walls. On the quays, the frescoes alternate with food stalls, trendy bars and taverns. The Spittelau Subway station almost rivals the art galleries. In the trendy Mariahilf district, murals are displayed between independent galleries and designer boutiques. The street art passage in the heart of the Museumsquartier is the crossroads of all cultures. It is one of six "passages" that serve as open-air exhibition spaces. Inside, track down the Invader! In the same area, the Kunsthalle Wien presents the diversity of contemporary art through innovative scenographic concepts
