Vienna: Art and Design

Here we explore the self-absorbed art of Egon Schiele. We look at why his drawings are considered the direct expression of his own mental and emotional states and what led to his arrest in 1912.

As we explore this sumptuous portrait of Fritza Riedler, we delve further into the work of Gustav Klimt, his pursuit of the feminine motif, and his reputation as a ‘ladies’ man’

The Wiener Werkstätte – or ‘Vienna Workshop’ – was a craft workshop set up by members of the Secession. Here we look at the formation of this highly influential group of designers and one of their most ambitious endeavors, to design, build and fit out the Stoclet Palace.

The Viennese love their Cafés. At the beginning of the 20th Century there were about 600 Viennese coffee houses. And 1907 saw the modernization of another Viennese passion, the cabaret.

Here we discover the story behind the best private collection of art and design ever to escape Nazi Austria.

The architect Adolf Loos was also forging a path into the modern age, but his philosophy was utterly opposed to that of the Secession designers. Here we take a look at these two philosophical approaches to modern design at the turn of the 20th Century.

The year 1918 marks the end of Vienna’s remarkable artistic and intellectual flowering and saw the death of Vienna’s four major artisits: Klimt, Wagner, Moser and Schiele.