Agnes Husslein-Arco

This volume illustrates the development of art in Central Europe from 1830 – 1860 – a period which begins in the age of Biedermeier but extends well beyond it. It shows by means of a selection of representative works how art at this time developed independently and was not restricted to the historical Biedermeier era. DESCRIPTION “Is that Biedermeier?”, we often ask of pictures which date from the same period but do not look typically Biedermeier. The publication concentrates on these works in particular by showi ng the wide range of painting in the years between 1830 – 1860 through portraits, landscapes and genre pictures. The main focus lies on Austrian painters like Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Rudolf von Alt and Friedrich von Amerling, together with artists from N orthern Italy, Hungary, Bohemia and Slovenia including Giuseppe Tominz, József Borsos, Bedrich Havránek and Francesco Hayez. There are also references to the changes in style in furniture production at that time, which also demonstrated a remarkable divers ity.

Looking at Monet assembles works by the French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) and presents them together with selected paintings and photographs of Austrian artists active during the same period in question. Besides Edouard Manet, the Viennese art scene of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries regarded Monet as the central and formative figure of French Impressionism. His works were on display in exhibitions at the Kunstlerhaus, the Secession, and the legendary Galerie Miethke and were known to his contemporaries from periodicals and books. Monet's influence on Austrian painters and photographers, such as Gustav Klimt, Emil Jakob Schindler, Olga Wisinger-Florian, Heinrich Kuhn, and Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel, was immediate and multifaceted.

The revolutionary Viennese artists' association Hagenbund had a decisive influence on the art scene between 1900 and 1938, not only at home but also in Central Europe. It united different art movements under its umbrella and introduced a new creative dynamic at a time when the Vienna Secession was slowly losing its impact after 1918. 300 colour illustrations.

The early work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) had a marked impact on the international art scene of the post-war avantgarde. This publication demonstrates the influence of Japanese art and philosophy on the work of Hundertwasser in the 1950s and early 1960s. It is the first juxtaposition of Hundertwasser's work and Japanese art, revealing a less well-known Hundertwasser, preceding much of his architectural work. Like many European artists in the 1950s who perceived the Far East as a new reference point for a more open concept of art, Hundertwasser sought inspiration from Taoism and Zen Buddhism. He was also fascinated by the Japanese woodcuts of Hiroshige and Hokusai. His early friendship with Akira Kito and also his marriage with his Japanese life partner in 1961 during his sojourn in Japan are further links which fuelled Hundertwasser's interest in Japanese art and culture.

This book traces Schiele's development as a portraitist through four principal chronological phases, from 1906 to 1918. Starting with the artist's rigorous training at the Vienna Academy, it chronicles Schiele's eventual break with academia and the emergence of his Expressionistic style. As Schiele honed his technical abilities, he gathered a coterie of patrons-many of whom he immortalized on canvas-and developed a tendency toward realism and introspection. Throughout his career Schiele tested the boundaries of traditional portraiture. Confrontational, explicitly erotic, and largely devoid of props or scenery, Schiele's portraits are seminal works of originality and deep empathy with the human condition. This volume also offers a close examination of Schiele's self-portraits and his relationship with Gustav Klimt, Schiele's gestic language in the context of contemporaneous photography and the silent film, as well as brief biographies of Schiele's subjects and transcriptions of illuminating letters pertaining to his life and work.

Anton Romako's painting of 'Admiral Tegetthoff in the Naval Battle of Lissa' is now celebrated as a visionary work, and is part of the canon of European art of the 19th century. This richly illustrated book traces the history of the picture and places it in the historical, military, and artistic context of its age.