Classicism and Baroque
The academic trend that reigned for centuries is 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 on 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 some of the greatest names in sculpture. As an anecdote, he was chosen in 2002 to decorate coins. In public spaces, you're likely to come across monumental works by Anton Dominik Fernkorn (1813-1878). He was one of those artists who rebelled against pictorial norms. In his equestrian statues, he rewrote codes by expressing the ardor of a horse standing on two legs, as shown in the statue of Archduke Charles victorious at the Battle of Essling.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum brings together the great masters: Bruegel, Raphael, Vermeer, Velázquez, Titian and many others. Surprising Innsbruck invites you to soak up the grandeur of Ambras Castle. Look up and the elaborate ceilings echo paintings by Rubens, Velázquez and Van Dyck.
Vienna Secession
This movement brought 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 bourgeoisie, including Karl Wittgenstein, father of the philosopher of the same name.
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 Vienna was no exception. More generally, 1900 heralded the dawn 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 at 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 high society, which considered the fresco an affront to public decency. Eighty-seven professors signed a petition against Klimt. 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 adorned the Secession hall with a monumental decorative frieze illustrating the Ninth Symphony. It is an allegory of the man who, overcoming his darker side, achieves perfect love. Interested in what was happening in the rest of Europe, in 1903 he organized a huge exhibition on Impressionism. From 1904 onwards, 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, foremost among which is The Kiss, are exhibited at the Musée du Belvédère and the Leopold.
Trained in Vienna, Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) settled in Berlin, where he frequented avant-garde artistic circles centered around the magazine Der Sturm. After seeing a Kokoschka exhibition in 1911, Archduke Franz Ferdinand declared: "This man deserves to have all his bones broken At the age of 22, Kokoschka published his first novel , Les Garçons rêveurs, followed by a number of poems and dramas. In 1912, he had an unhappy affair with Alma Mahler, of whom he painted many portraits. A series of grimacing, distorted portraits from this period reveal the artist's desire to express the hidden psychology of his models. Seriously wounded in the First World War, he devoted himself from 1919 to 1924 to teaching painting in Dresden. Later, during the Second World War, he fled to England, where he painted anti-Anschluss and anti-Fascist canvases. Recognized as a major Expressionist painter, he founded the "School of the Gaze" in Salzburg in 1953.
A major figure of Expressionism, Egon Schiele (1890-1918) enjoyed 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 managed to introduce Schiele to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts competition 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 apprenticeship, 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. Settling in the countryside, he was evicted from two villages because of his unbridled lifestyle, and was even arrested in 1912 for moral outrage and statutory rape. He spent just twenty-four days in prison, where he became a martyr. On his release, Schiele moved to Vienna and befriended a girl from a good family, whom he married in 1915. Managing to avoid the fighting in the Great War, he 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 art world. His exhibition at the Secession was a success. It was a year of artistic recognition, but the euphoria did not last. His wife died. He outlived her by three days and died at the age of 28. 42 paintings by Egon Schiele are on display at 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 the Nazi regime sparked 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, as the artists walled themselves up in a cellar with the manifesto Blood Organ on the door. The movement also includes painters Günter Brus and Alfons Schilling, sculptor Adolf Frohner, and photographer and painter Rudolf Schwarzkogler.
Photography
Photography enthusiasts can take advantage of World Press Photo Vienna to visit the Westlicht, which is extending its famous competition. A collection of vintage 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. One of the pioneers of the genre was Raoul Hausmann, born in Vienna in 1886. In 1900, the family of this versatile genius moved to Berlin. In 1917, he founded the Dada Berlin group, writing articles and poems, making collages and drawings. He took part in the first photomontage exhibition in 1931. He traveled 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 nonetheless said: "I'm not a photographer". Later, Ernst Haas (1921-1986) initially 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 Salzburg's Museum of Modern Art. In fact, the Rupertinum (contemporary) and the Mönchsberg are one and the same. 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 attractive historic center, the Höhenrausch offers an artistic tour of the city's rooftops. 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 venues for modern and contemporary Austrian art, with a collection of 13,000 works in all disciplines. Graffiti artists have given in to the allure of the warehouses in the port of Linz. Walk or boat along the Harbo Mural, with its 200 frescoes.
The capital also knows how to combine urban art with grandiose architecture. This time, cycle up the 17 km of the Danube Canal, lined with painted walls. Along the quays, frescoes alternate with food stalls, trendy bars and taverns. The Spittelau Subway station almost rivals the art galleries. In the trendy Mariahilf district, murals stretch between independent galleries and designer boutiques. The street art passage, in the heart of the Museumsquartier, is the crossroads of all cultures. It's one of six "passages" that serve as open-air exhibition spaces. Inside, track down the Invader! On the same perimeter, the Kunsthalle Wien presents the diversity of contemporary art through innovative scenographic concepts.
