Art and Visual Culture at the Turn of the Century
“To the Time its Art. To Art its Freedom.”
The art course of the Winter School will deal with the cultural and intellectual achievements of a number of prominent representatives from the fields of fine art and applied art. It is the aim of the course to provide a multifaceted picture of what happened at the time, when art slowly embarked on the project of Modernism. The course will draw a line from Historicism, the style prevailing in the second half of the 19th century, to Art Nouveau, the style of the young, and will end with an outlook on the Austrian type of Expressionism. All these phenomena and developments will be viewed in the wider context of European art and visual culture.
The following topics will be covered in the course:
- Historicism: Hans Makart, his impact on the life style and taste of the Viennese bourgeoisie and his history paintings, portraiture, and interior design projects;
- Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) and its stylistic features. The Vienna Secession movement, its motto, artistic program, and most important shows;
- Gustav Klimt: The scandal caused by his university painting, his iconic images, and their reception;
- Screening of “Klimt” by Raúl Ruiz (2006). Discussion and analysis of Ruiz´film narrative about Klimt;
- Female painters of the time: Broncia Koller-Pinell, Olga Wiesinger-Florian, their limited access to art education, their status in a highly patriarchic society;
- Pictorialism: The aesthetic style prevailing in photography at the turn of the century;
- The Viennese salons as places of networking and cultural exchange. Famous “influencers” of the time and their promotion of aesthetic trends;
- Austrian Expressionism: Egon Schiele, his anti-aestheticism as a slap in the face of the Viennese bourgeoisie;
- Oskar Kokoschka, rebel, assailant of bourgeois values (“Murderer Hope of Women”), as well as emphatic painter of psychic realities;
- Art Nouveau revival in the 60s. Turn of the century artists as soul mates of the Hippie generation;
Requirements: Attendance and participation (20% of the grade), reading (20%), project (20%) and final exam (40%).
