Vienna secession art gallery book7/14/2023 Unlike Schiele’s portrayal of death, we feel Klimt infused a sense of hope into “Death and Life”: the contented human figures he painted appear to be disregarding the figure of death (on the left) rather than feeling threatened by it. In 1915, Klimt added new mosaics to this famous work and changed the gold-colored background to grey. When the World’s Fair was held in Rome in 1911, Klimt’s “Death and Life” won first prize and traveled for exhibit in several European cities. Freud famously declared “the aim of all life is death” and believed that humans have an unconscious desire to die however, he concluded that instincts from the Life Drive temper most such wishes. On the right side of this colorful canvas, one finds the positive emotions associated with the Life Drive as described by Freud: love, procreation, affection, harmonious social cooperation - all of which are essential for the continuation of the species. Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece entitled “Death and Life” would certainly have been of interest to Sigmund Freud. However, this cultural blossoming took place as the political power of the empire was waning and internal stability was jeopardized by rising ethnic conflicts, anti-Semitism and political tensions.ĭeath and Life, 1910 – 1917 (above) by Gustav Klimt This amazing diversity gave rise in Austria to modern architecture & art, the twelve-tone technique in music, psychoanalysis and major schools of thought in the realms of philosophy, law and economics. Situated at the nexus of Eastern European and Western European cultures, Vienna in 1900 was a magnet for migrants from present-day Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Lithuania, and home to diverse ethnolinguistic groups of Hungarians, Slavs, Austro-Germans and others present in the vast Habsburg empire. The elegant Ringstrasse in the center of Vienna was simultaneously the seat of rigid Conservatism, the aristocracy and liberal Intellectualism - surrounded by huge slums. As the principal metropolis of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the center of its government and commerce, Vienna became one of the first multi-ethnic, modern cities. In many ways, Vienna between 18 resembled modern Western cities of today. Kneeling Boy, 1897 (above left) by the Belgian sculptor George Minne and In My Studio, 1906 (right) by Carl Moll Sophistication, Diversity & Cultural Blossoming in fin-de-siècle Vienna In Vienna, Robert Russ depicted landscapes in a pure, classical style and Hans Makart began incorporating decoration into his canvases as he veered away from Academic art and toward Symbolism. Classical, mythological, historical and religious themes were encouraged and prized whereas contemporary advances, trends and social concerns were ignored. In mid-19th century Europe, would-be artists born in Austria and other centers of culture were trained under the strict influence of academies of art, where the subject matter they painted was simplified and idealized. Like Tina Turner’s version of Proud Mary, a visit to the Leopold starts you off “nice and easy” … then undulates you across a kaleidoscopic wave of creative movements … and leaves you feeling “nice and rough.” Mill in South Tyrol, 1875 (above left) by Robert Russ and Woman in Black Gown, 1873 (right) by Hans Makart Portrait of a Changing Europe at the Leopold Museum Housing around 6,000 works of art - including the world’s most comprehensive collection of the talented, enigmatic Egon Schiele - the Leopold Museum takes you on a journey from the 1860s to the Wiener Secession, through the stylish era of Jugendstil, and into Expressionism. Vienna’s Leopold Museum is the best place to feel the dynamic power of modern Austrian art.
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