Vienna 1900: Klimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka

Description

Vienna, 1900: the heart of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire and a city populated with people from across the Imperial territories - stretching from central Europe to the Crown lands that reached far into South-eastern Europe. This was a dynamic capital brimming with economic and cultural prosperity; a centre that was fertile ground for the revolutionary artistic practices that emerged at the end of the 19th century and the backdrop to this fascinating new study. Gustav Klimt's election as the first President of the Secession Artists' Association in 1897 formalised the rejection of conservatism and heralded a celebration of the innovative and the modern. Alongside Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka have been championed as the key protagonists in the painting revolution that re-defined the traditional genres of portrait, landscape and allegory. However, this ignores the significant contribution made by Koloman Moser whose painting is considered alongside that of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka for the first time in this book. Highlighting a decisive moment in the birth of modernity and offering previously unpublished insight into the relationship of Klimt, Schiele, Moser and Kokoschka from 1890 to 1918, this book, with its wealth of stunning images, makes an invaluable contribution to Secessionist scholarship and as such is essential reading for anyone wishing to seek a fresh perspective on a fascinating period in the history of art.

Dr Marie-Amelie zu Salm-Salm is a graduate of the Sorbonne and curator of Klimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka: Vienna 1900. Serge Lemoine is Director of the Musee d'Orsay and Professor of Art History at the Sorbonne University. Joachim Riedl is a journalist and independent curator. Patrick Werkner is a Professor of Cultural History at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and Director of the Oskar Kokoschka Centre. Markus Neuwirth is a Professor at the Institute for Art History at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Matthias Boeckl is Editor-in-Chief of Architektur Aktuell. Dr Dieter Bogner runs Bogner and Lord Cultural Consulting, an organisation that specialises in museological planning, cultural concepts and strategic development plans. Dr Itzhak Goldberg is an art historian and critic based at the University of Paris-Dix. Joachim Riedl, Patrick Werkner, Markus Neuwirth, Matthias Boeckl, Dieter Bogner, Itzhak Goldberg, Marie-Amelie zu Salm-Salm.

'The introductory essays give the reader a commanding view of Vienese art at the beginning of the 20th century, and every catalogue note enhances and embellishes them; the translation (unacknowledged) is felicitous, wholly at ease with the subject. The range of illustrations is enlightening, their quality commendable. Throw away your popular books on Vienna; replace them with this.' Brian Sewell, The Evening Standard 'This is a marvellous book, of the kind that Lund Humphries - one of those publishers who specialise in catalogue tie-ins - does so well.' State of Art, Nov 2005 'This book is particularly well-illustrated and also contains a selection of key texts from the period, short biographies of the artists involved and a bibliography.' Arlis News-Sheet, March/April 06 '...Excellent color illustrations...Highly recommended.' Choice 'One of the virtues of this book ... is its deliberate emphasis on the embedded geometric plans that appear in the work of these Austrian artists ... Another way this book stands out is that it looks very carefully at the paintings of Koloman Moser'. Leonardo Reviews 2007