Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
el, at the bottom, God pulls Eve from Adam's rib in the Garden of Eden. Just above that, we
see a female representing the serpent hold out the forbidden fruit to tempt Eve. Above that,
Adam and Eve are being shooed away by an angel. At the top of this panel, God sits on his
cloud, evicting the fallen angels (who turn into insect-like monsters). In the middle panel,
Christ holds court over the living and the dead. Notice the jarring contrast between Christ's
sereneexpressionandthegrotesquesceneplayingoutbeneathhim.Thesedisturbingimages
crescendo in the final (right) panel, showing an unspeakably horrific vision of hell that few
artists have managed to top in the more than half-millennium since Bosch.
On your way out of the academy, ponder how history might have been different if Adolf
Hitler—who applied to study architecture here six years in a row but was rejected each
time—had been accepted as a student. Before leaving, peek into the ground floor's Neo-
Renaissance central hall: It's textbook Historicism, the Ringstrasse style of the late 1800s.
▲
The Secession
This little building, strategically located behind the Academy of Fine Arts, was created by
the Vienna Secession movement, a groupofnonconformist artists led byGustav Klimt, Otto
Wagner, and friends.
Theyoungtreescarvedintothewallsandthebuilding'sbushy“goldencabbage”rooftop
are symbolic of a renewal cycle. Today, the Secession continues to showcase cutting-edge
art, as well as one of Gustav Klimt's most famous works, the
Beethoven Frieze
.
Cost and
Hours:
€8.50 includes special exhibits, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, Friedrichstrasse
12, tel. 01/587-5307,
www.secession.at
.
Self-Guided Tour:
The staff hopes you take a look at the temporary exhibits here,
designed to illustrate how the spirit of the Secession survives a century after its founding.
Anassociation of350members choosesadozenorsospecial exhibits eachyeartohighlight
local art happenings (and they're included in the ticket price whether you like it or not).
Understandably—butunfortunately—mosttouristsheaddirectlyforthebasement,home
tothemuseum'shighlight:GustavKlimt'sclassic
BeethovenFrieze
.Oneofthemasterpieces
of Viennese Art Nouveau, this 105-foot-long fresco was the multimedia centerpiece of a
1902exhibitionhonoringLudwigvanBeethoven.Readthefreeflier,whichexplainsKlimt's
still-powerful work, inspired by Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony
. Klimt embellished the work
with painted-on gold (his brother, and colleague, was a goldsmith) and by gluing on reflect-
ive glass and mother-of-pearl for the ladies' dresses and jewelry. Working clockwise around
the room, follow Klimt's story:
LeftWall:
Floatingfemalefiguresdriftandweaveandsearch—like wealldo—forhap-
piness. Unfortunately, their aspirations are dashed and brought to earth, leaving them kneel-
ing and humble. They plead for help from heroes stronger than themselves—represented by
the firm knight in gold, who revives their hopes and helps them carry on.
