HIDDEN MODERNISM - THE FASCINATION WITH THE OCCULT AROUND 1900

In the late 19th century, criticism of the materialism of industrialized society reached Vienna. Spiritism and theosophy inspired many who were looking for a better self. Painters such as Albert von Keller and Gabriel von Max documented their trance states, Gertrude Honzatko-Mediz created mediumistic drawings, the writer August Strindberg painted dark landscape visions, artists such as Richard Gerstl, Arnold Schönberg, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and Max Oppenheimer saw their models as auratic presences. For the first time, this vo...[Read more]