Stefanie Penck

Alfred Weidinger

Up until today, Gustav Klimt has been labelled variously: revolutionary and modernist pioneer, compulsive pornographer, ladies’ man, enfant terrible for the conservative educated middle-class, and overrated painter of golden kitsch. For a number of years he has also been a significant protagonist in the contest for the most expensive paintings of all time.Today, almost 200 years after his death, it is difficult to decide between these various labels. In this first volume of the new series EDITION BELVEDERE, authors sketch a portrait of this unique artist, based on his works, letters, comments by his contemporaries, and a wealth of photos from the Klimt archive, some of which have never been shown before. Accompany the authors on this fascinatingly told life story!

Life and Work

Gustav Klimt

Agnes Husslein-Arco

Donne

Aspects of Austrian Symbolism : [Belvedere, Vienna, June 20 to October 13, 2013]

Decadence

Stella Rollig

Severin Dünser

Bei der Werkgruppe der Performativen Skulpturen attackiert Wurm Modelle oder rohe Blöcke aus Ton mit Körperkraft und teilweise auch mit Hilfsmitteln. Im Anschluss gießt er die deformierten Modelle häufig in Bronze, Alu- minium, Eisen oder Kunstharz ab, überzieht sie mit Farbe oder patiniert sie. Es entsteht ein spannungsgeladener Dialog zwischen der Urform des Materials und den Spuren des performativen Eingriffs. Der Körper wird dabei zum Material und Medium von Handlungsvollzügen.0Mit den Performativen Skulpturen begann Wurm bereits Anfang der 1990er-Jahre eine gänzlich neue Form des künstlerischen Ausdrucks zu entwickeln. Im 21er Haus wird dieser Werkblock nun erstmals umfassend präsentiert. Ein Großteil der 54 ausgestellten performativen Skulpturen und Plastiken ist eigens für diese Schau entstanden. Der Ausstellungskatalog ermöglicht einen umfassenden Einblick in Erwin Wurms Werkzyklus der Performativen Skulpturen und analysiert die Werke vor dem Hintergrund der künstlerischen Entwicklungslinie.00Exhibition: Belvedere - 21er Haus, Wien, Austria (02.06.-10.09.2017).

performative Skulpturen

Erwin Wurm

Oskar Kokoschka

Jacqueline Guigui-Stollberg

Oskar Kokoschka first met Alma Mahler on April 12, 1912, exactly eleven months after the death of her husband - the composer Gustav Mahler. Three days later, the much younger Kokoschka proposed to her in a passionate letter and they embarked on a stormy relationship which was to last only three years. This short and passionate affair greatly influenced his work. Kokoschka, born in Austria in 1886, was both an artist and writer. He led a turbulent life and travelled extensively, before settling in England where he became a British Subject in 1947. He died in Switzerland in 1980, just days before his 94th birthday. Kokoschka's work was greatly influenced by Gustav Klimt and medieval artists such as Lucas Cranach and Albrecht Durer, painting in a distinctive Expressionist style in his early career. Kokoschka and Alma Mahler explores their passionate relationship, illustrating and discussing the 20 paintings, 70 drawings and prints, and 7 fans that bear witness to this incredibly intense and fateful relationship. His works reflect his love and overwhelming desire, the impressions gained from his travels, and the depths of his despair. The fascinating picture portrayed by the author includes hitherto unpublished material, in particular Alma Mahler's diary from 1912-1913.

Testimony to a Passionate Relationship

Kokoschka and Alma Mahler

Emilie Flöge was only a teenager when she met the painter Gustav Klimt, but their friendship soon evolved into a complex and loving relationship that lasted the rest of their lives. Alfred Weidinger, an acclaimed expert on Klimt and his contemporaries, has compiled an exhaustive collection of photographs relating to the artist and his designer muse. While Klimt took many of these shots, other photographers include Carl Schuster, Victor von Spitzer, Hugo Henneberg, Pauline Kruger Hamilton, Anton Josef Trcka (Antios), and unknown individuals who had access to the couple's private lives. Presented chronologically, they offer insight into the creatively charged world that Klimt and Flöge inhabited--a world they influenced with their enormous talent and passions.

Photographs

Gustav Klimt & Emilie Flöge

Btihaj Ajana

Ingrid Luquet-Gad

Inga Lace

Thomas Thiel

UNDERBELLY

Pakui Hardware

“Again my eager mouth seeks to encounter Your lips that bless me with their kisses I wish to hold your dear fingers And enlace them playfully in mine.”These verses (LOVE) by Hermann Hesse could have been written for Gustav Klimt’s undoubtedly most famous painting of lovers (The Kiss), Alfred Weidinger refers to it as a “monumental icon”, which is known worldwide and entices thousands of visitors to the Belvedere in Vienna every year. While the golden background represents the divine on Russian icons, this image painted on a golden background and decorated with gold leaf is an ode to love.The authors present, from the point of view of the latest research, all the essential aspects of the creation, significance, and history of this popular work of art, as well as interesting and entertaining facts about the painter and the role of women in the artist’s life and paintings. A visual feast and enjoyable reading experience for all enthusiasts of the Viennese Art Nouveau and its greatest master

Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

Alfred Weidinger

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