Waissenberger, Robert — Vienna 1890 - 1920

The Wellfleet Press, 1984 Hardcover, with dust jacket. 276 pages. Text in English. As new. The breadth of the book is eclectic with experts addressing eight different themes, which overlap in content and context. These are [1] ‘Portrait of a City – Configuration and Change’ by Günter Düriegl, that examines the relationship between urban and rural spaces, railways and waterways, and the greenbelt of the Vienna Woods; [2] ‘Politics in Vienna Before and After the Turn of the Century’ by Robert Waissenberger, addressing such diverse aspects as the political parties, anti-Semitism, the sclerotic circle around Franz Josef I and the changes wrought during and after the war; [3] ‘The Two Faces of Vienna’, Reingard Witzmann, examining social strata, living and working conditions, and leisure and pleasure, and [4] ‘Vienna and the Birth of Psychoanalysis’, Harald Leupold-Löwenthal, that naturally centres on Sigmund Freud. The arts are then examined in [5] ‘The Visual Arts in Vienna from 1890-1920’, Hans Bisanz, that encompasses The Seccession, Wiener Werkstätte, Klimt, stylists and naturalists, the Hagenbund, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele; [6] ‘Architecture in Vienna 1890-1920’, Renata Kassal-Mikula, that focuses on Otto Wagner and his followers, Josef Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, Friedrich Ohmann and industrial and functional architecture; [7] ‘Music and Opera’, Kurt Blaukopf, examining Brucknerians and Brahmsians, Gustav Mahler, orchestral development, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Wozzek and the war, operetta, Court- and State Operas, and new methods of composition, and [8] ‘Literature and Theatre’, Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler, addressing Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Arthur Schnitzler, Peter Altenberg, actors and other luminaries. Each section includes a brief bibliography. There is a Guide to Persons Mentioned in the Book that gives their dates and two or three words about their position, and an Index. The book contains 320 illustration, including contemporary photographs that demonstrate the rapid pace of social change, 80 in colour. A feature of the book is the many illustrations from the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, a source not regularly included in art books. There are familiar paintings such as Klimt’s ‘Love’, 1895, ‘Pallas Athene’, 1898, ‘Portrait of Emile Flöge’, which is shown on the front cover, ‘The Hostile Powers’ from the ‘Beethoven Frieze’, both 1902, and ‘The Kiss’, 1907-08; Gerstl’s ‘The Sisters’, 1904-05, ‘Self-Portrait with Palette’ and ‘Lichtenstein Park in the 9th District’, both c. 1907, and ‘Arnold Schönberg’, c. 1907-08]; Kokoschka’s ‘The Dreaming Boys, The Girl Li and Myself’, 1908, ‘The Lunatic Girl’, c. 1909, ‘Still Life with Wether and Hyacinthe’, 1909, and ‘The Bride of the Wind’, 1914; Schiele’s ‘Woman Wearing Red Skirt’, c. 1909, ‘Portrait of Otto Wagner’, 1910, ‘Self-Portrait’ and ‘Girl’s Back’, both 1911, ‘Death and the Maiden’, 1915, ‘Mother and Two Children’ and ‘Four Trees’, both 1917, and Schönberg’s ‘Self-Portrait’, 1909? and ‘Alban Berg’, undated. However, there are many works by less familiar artists, including Theodor von Hörmann [‘In the Forest of Fontainbleu’, c. 1890], Rudolf von Alt [‘Still Life with Flowers; in the background Louise Alt’, 1895], Franz Alt [‘Fountain in the Courtyard of the Austro-Hungarian Bank’, 1891], Wilhelm List [‘Portrait of a Lady, “Picture in White and Black”’, 1904], Koloman Moser [‘Love’, 1895], Adolf Boehm [‘Landscape’, 1901] which, together with Max Kurzweil [‘Lady in Yellow Dress’, 1899] are the most striking works included, Ferry Bératon [‘Anton Bruckner’, 1889], Franz von Lehnbach [‘Johann Strauss’, 1895], Maximilien Lenz [‘Driving in the Prater’ and ‘The ‘Sirk-Ecke’ on the Ringstrasse’, both 1900], Ferdinand Kruis [‘Evening in the Neuer Markt’, 1914], Max Oppenheimer [‘Portrait of Egon Schiele’, c. 1907, and ‘String Quartet’, undated], Josef Engelhart [‘A Social Occasion in Sophiensaal’, 1903], Felician Freiherr von Myrbach [‘’Grisette’ and Soldier at a Heuriger’, 1896], Wilhelm Gause [‘Municipal Ball’, 1904], Anton Romako [‘Lady and Gentleman in a Drawing-Room’, 1887], Leo Burger [‘A Suburban Street’, 1885], Carl Moll [‘Drawing-room in the Moll House’, 1903, and ‘Living-room with Anna Moll, the Artist’s Wife, c. 1910] and Fritz Schwarz-Waldegg [‘Self-Knowledge’, 1920]. The book contains a number of polychromatic architectural drawings by Otto Wagner.