It was a time when Vienna—a creatively vibrant city—was in its golden age. It was a place where Austria’s most important and seminal personalities in arts, letters, and philosophy crossed paths, among them Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Freud, Hugo Wolf, Gustav Klimt, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Arnold Schoenberg, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele.
Like those of their fellow innovators, the works of these visual artists and composers signaled both the end of 19th-century Viennese culture and the beginning of 20th-century modernism. David Gariff, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art and an adjunct professor of art history at The Catholic University of America, explores how and why fin-de-siecle Vienna saw this rich flowering of masterworks.
9:30 to 11 a.m. Gustav Mahler and Vienna
As a composer, conductor, and director of the Vienna Court Opera (the State Opera’s earlier incarnation), Gustav Mahler brings revolutionary change to the musical life of the city.
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Gustav Klimt and the Vienna Secession
Gustav Klimt seeks a new vision for painting with the birth of the Vienna Secession movement.
12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Lunch (Participants provide their own lunch.)
1:15 to 2:30 p.m. Provocations of the Body: The Art of Egon Schiele
Schiele, a protégé of Klimt, explores a new psychic language of the body and human sexuality.
2:45 to 4 p.m. The Expressionist Language of Oskar Kokoschka
Kokoschka’s art carries the legacy of fin-de-siecle Viennese expressionism into the 20th century.
Other Connections
Explore layers of history during this small group journey—Old World Europe: From Poland to the Czech Republic.
Visit the Smithsonian Journeys page to see more
European trips.
