Female portraits and nudes, mothers achildren, and couples by the three most outstanding painters of Viennese modernism. In the early 20th century, the traditional relationship between the sexes was challenged by a number of social, economic, and philosophical changes. It was above all the incipient development towards gender equity that provoked vehement counter-arguments. On the other hand, sexual liberation can be seen as a common goal of men and women, since they both sought to escape the restrictive moral taboos of the 19th century. Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka--then the three most outstanding painters of Viennese modernism-- approached the subject matter generally referred to as the "woman question" from slightly different, albeit overlapping perspectives. The book will present an in-depth exploration of these differences and similarities. AUTHOR: Agnes Husslein-Arco, Director of the Belvedere and 21er Haus in Vienna since 2007, is an art historian, curator of numerous exhibitions dedicated to classical modernism and contemporary art, and author and editor of academic publications. In 2007 Alfred Weidinger came to the Belvedere as Chief Curator and Associate Director after having been curator and Associate Director of Vienna's Albertina. His research focuses on art and photography of the 19th and 20th centuries. Jane Kallir is an international expert on Schiele. She is codirector of the Galerie St. Etienne in New York City and the curator of numerous exhibitions on Austrian art of the early 20th century. 150 colour illustrations
