Beyond Klimt: New Horizons in Central Europe

By Alexander Klee
Edited by Stella Rollig

“With the deaths of Klimt, Schiele, Otto Wagner and Kolomon Moser, it has been thought that their creative energy came to a halt or mutated into other areas, such as the Bauhaus. This book charts a new trajectory in the art and artists of the successor states of the Empire entre deux guerres . . . . Much of this has not been explored except by specialists and this book will serve to alert a wider audience to the considerable riches of the Secession's afterlife.” ―The Art Newspaper

The year 1918 marked the end of a golden era in central European art. It was the year that Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, and Otto Wagner died. Artistic activity, however, had already begun to move away from the highly decorative style of the Viennese Secession. Hardly affected by the political disruptions taking place, artists in the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy were busily productive in the years between the world wars, driven by a desire for a new start.

This volume examines the fascinating, artistically fruitful epoch between the wars, when cosmopolitan networks of painters, architects, and sculptors transcended political and ideological borders. A lively artistic exchange took place—primarily through international magazines disseminating new styles and techniques—that stimulated constructivist, expressionist, and surrealist modes of art making in the former lands of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Richly illustrated throughout and including an introduction on the dissolution of the Austrian monarchy, this luxuriously produced volume is a must-have for lovers of modernist art.

Hardcover
374 pages
Hirmer, 2018
9.2 x 1.5 x 11.2 inches
ISBN 9783777430591
European Art, Art History