This book is the first to present the work of the Viennese fantastic artists in a single volume ... the renowned masters Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Hundertwasser--and such lesser known but brilliant painters as Brauer, Fuchs, Hausner, Romako, and others. Sensual, decadent, erotic and frightening, diverse in style and technique, these superb works hold the same strange beauty, fascination, and perverse humor that are embedded in the character of Vienna itself.

At the mention of Vienna, many visitors think of Sachertorte, romantic open carriage trips and an evening in one of local wine taverns. But the old imperial city has much more to offer: this book presents a comprehensive, richly illustrated view of the art treasures to be found in the Danube metropolis. The main focus is on the baroque era with its magnificent church buildings and palaces including the Hofburg, Schönbrunn and Belvedere; historicism with its architectural highlights on the new Ringstrasse; and Viennese art nouveau including artists Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, the Wiener Werkstätte und Sezession. Well-founded essays on the beginnings of the history of art in Vienna and on the state of contemporary Viennese art round off the book.

A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art. At the turn of the century, Vienna was the cultural capital of Europe. Artists and scientists met in glittering salons, where they freely exchanged ideas that led to revolutionary breakthroughs in psychology, brain science, literature, and art. Kandel takes us into the world of Vienna to trace, in rich and rewarding detail, the ideas and advances made then, and their enduring influence today. The Vienna School of Medicine led the way with its realization that truth lies hidden beneath the surface. That principle infused Viennese culture and strongly influenced the other pioneers of Vienna 1900. Sigmund Freud shocked the world with his insights into how our everyday unconscious aggressive and erotic desires are repressed and disguised in symbols, dreams, and behavior. Arthur Schnitzler revealed women’s unconscious sexuality in his novels through his innovative use of the interior monologue. Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele created startlingly evocative and honest portraits that expressed unconscious lust, desire, anxiety, and the fear of death. Kandel tells the story of how these pioneers—Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele—inspired by the Vienna School of Medicine, in turn influenced the founders of the Vienna School of Art History to ask pivotal questions such as What does the viewer bring to a work of art? How does the beholder respond to it? These questions prompted new and ongoing discoveries in psychology and brain biology, leading to revelations about how we see and perceive, how we think and feel, and how we respond to and create works of art. Kandel, one of the leading scientific thinkers of our time, places these five innovators in the context of today’s cutting-edge science and gives us a new understanding of the modernist art of Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele, as well as the school of thought of Freud and Schnitzler. Reinvigorating the intellectual enquiry that began in Vienna 1900, The Age of Insight is a wonderfully written, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book that also provides a foundation for future work in neuroscience and the humanities. It is an extraordinary book from an international leader in neuroscience and intellectual history.

The key to this contextualist alchemy was the concept of "structure," a kind of deep formal property that the work of art shared with the world." "The idea of this volume is to bring the drama of this methodological and political encounter to the attention of Anglo-American art historians."--BOOK JACKET.

Exploring the paintings of the key artists of the Secessionist Movement within the context of Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, this book, which comprises over 200 colour images, pays special attention for the first time to the contribution made by Koloman Moser to the painting revolution.

"Students of modernism, the arts, and European cultural history will find that Sacred Spring offers an intriguing perspective on their subjects. The book will also appeal to readers interested in the intersection of culture and faith, in the connection between the arts and the sacred."--BOOK JACKET.

The new presentation of the Leopold Museum's collection highlights the splendour and wealth of artistic achievements of an era shaped by the emergence of the Secessionists, the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy and the deaths of eminent artists of Viennese Modernism, including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser and Otto Wagner. Like the exhibition, the accompanying 560-page publication also aims to convey a sense of the character of this time and of the vibrant atmosphere in the metropolis of Vienna.Twelve scientific essays by renowned experts illustrate the historical aspects and biographies of the era's eminent protagonists whose fruitful synergy provided the basis for Vienna's unique cultural life around the turn of the century. A comprehensive appendix of illustrations shows the highlights of the Leopold Collection presented in the exhibition as well as important external loans.

Smith takes a provocative look at the fascinating and beautiful landscapes painted by Austrian artist Egon Schiele (1890-1918), renowned for his intensely confrontational portraits, self-portraits, erotic images, and allegories. 90 illustrations, 50 in color.