ARTISTS
Gothic Modern: Munch, Beckmann, Kollwitz
In its major autumn exhibition, the Albertina Museum has set out to stage a highly charged encounter between modernism and Gothic art. The spotlight here is on masterpieces ranging from symbolism to expressionism that take inspiration from medieval art鈥檚 emotional power.
Modernism was, above all, a radical break with the long-dominant academic tradition鈥攁nd concurrent with this break, many artists turned their gaze to a far earlier era: the Gothic period. In medieval art, they discovered subjects, motifs, and forms of expression that aligned more closely with their own search for truth than did the norms taught at the academies. In Gothic works, they found reflections of much that stirred them most deeply. Themes such as love and sexuality, death and grief, and faith and doubt as well as engagement with social roles and identities had already been present in the Middle Ages and continued to be of central significance in the art of the modern era.
Recommended for you
In its major autumn exhibition, the Albertina Museum has set out to stage a highly charged encounter between modernism and Gothic art. The spotlight here is on masterpieces ranging from symbolism to expressionism that take inspiration from medieval art鈥檚 emotional power.
Modernism was, above all, a radical break with the long-dominant academic tradition鈥攁nd concurrent with this break, many artists turned their gaze to a far earlier era: the Gothic period. In medieval art, they discovered subjects, motifs, and forms of expression that aligned more closely with their own search for truth than did the norms taught at the academies. In Gothic works, they found reflections of much that stirred them most deeply. Themes such as love and sexuality, death and grief, and faith and doubt as well as engagement with social roles and identities had already been present in the Middle Ages and continued to be of central significance in the art of the modern era.
Contact details
Related articles
In its major autumn exhibition, the ALBERTINA Museum has set out to stage a highly charged encounter between modernism and Gothic art.
