The Women of Klimt, Schiele And Kokoschka

Female portraits and nudes, mothers & children, 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.