Vienna 2013: Art Museums - Leopold, Mumok, Belvedere

The Museum Quarter is a complex that houses multiple museums including the Leopold (early 20th century Austrian art), Mumok (modern and contemporary art), Kunsthalle (international art), Architekturzentrum (architecture) and Zoom Kindermuseum (children's museum).

While the Mumok collection is not large compared to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it still contains a good representation of  20th Century art.  Most of the big name artists of this period were on display, including Andy Warhol,  Jasper Johns, Robert Indiana, Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein and Wassily Kandinsky.

We find some modern art to be difficult to understand or appreciate.  Our preferences lean towards the ones that invoke a feeling of fun and whimsy.  One such work in particular was titled "Tea at Angelina's", referencing our favourite tea salon in Paris. The audio guide described the women in this sculpture as both grotesque and beautiful at the same time.  Later on in our trip, we actually went to Angelina's for lunch, although we had their famous hot chocolate instead of tea.

I have always had an affinity for large scale, quirky sculptures and there were plenty to choose from at the Mumok.  One work was a tribute to Marcel Duchamp's iconic Bicycle Wheel sculpture.  Daniel Spoerri's "Hahn's Supper" is mounted on a wall to give a very different perspective to the dinner table.  Spoerri liked to host banquets, after which he would ask his guests to glue the remaining table settings to the table cloth.  He would use this as a starting point for his art works.

The Leopold holds works from major Austrian artists including Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.  We were especially excited to see the painting called "The Portrait of Wally", after previously watching a documentary of the same name.  The movie documents the battle fought by Lea Bondi and her heirs to recover this painting, which was confiscated from her as she was fleeing Germany's annexation of Austria, and then eventually sold to the Leopold Museum after the war.   Following lengthy legal proceedings that were about to culminate in a court trial, the Leopold Museum agreed to pay the heirs $19 million in restitution in return for keeping the painting.  After learning about all the details of this case, it was thrilling to see the actual painting in person.

Egon Schiele painted many portraits of his lover Valerie (Wally) Neuzil during their 4 years together.  Schiele did not consider her marrying material and chose instead someone whom he considered a more appropriate and socially acceptable wife.  However he had hoped that he could still keep Wally on the side as his occasional mistress.  Admirably, she turned down this proposition and walked out of his life forever.  Schiele's painting "The Cardinal and the Nun" is composed in a way that is very similar to his mentor Gustav Klimt's masterpiece "The Kiss", but with a much more lewd feel because of the subjects of his embrace.  Schiele often included his own image in his work, either as a self portrait or as one of the characters.  Unfortunately he died from the Spanish flu at the mere age 28.

Gustav Klimt is the other big name in the Leopold Museum.  Like Schiele, an entire wing is devoted to his art, although his most famous work "The Kiss" is not to be found here, but rather at the Belvedere Palace.  Regardless, there is still an impressive collection of Klimt's work, which shows the range of styles that he experimented with.  While his painting called "Death and Life" had many similarities to "The Kiss", other works depicting scenery were more Impressionistic while his portrait work was very detailed and realistic.

An impressive work that caught our eye was called Danse Macabre by Albin Egger-Lienz.  His stylized depictions of the horrors of war really resonated with us.  He has a very distinctive style and we were able to recognize more of his work at the Austrian Military Museum.

The Leopold also had a room full of furniture and art from the Secession period.  The pieces were chic and stylish while being less ornate than their Baroque predecessors.

In the early 1700s, the Belvedere was the home of Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the most successful military commanders in Austrian history.  Two palaces were built, called Upper and Lower Belvedere, separated by beautiful gardens full of ponds, flowers and sculptures.

Today, both palaces have been turned into art galleries that hold some of the most valued Austrian art pieces.  The highlight is Klimt's "The Kiss" which is displayed in a place of honour in the main gallery.  Also of note was Egon Schiele's Death and the Maiden which reflects the pain he felt after his lover Wally left him.  Jacques Louis David's Napolean Crossing St.Bernard's Pass depicted the General on his horse in a heroic stance at a decisive point in his military campaign.  The bottom of the painting includes text that compares Napolean's feats to those of Hannibal and Charlemagne.  Karl Mediz's Red Angel was just so shockingly provocative compared to the other art on display.

"The Kiss" is so prominent throughout Vienna that you can find the image printed on everything from handbags to scarves to furniture.  In the gorgeous cafeteria of the Upper Belvedere, you can even get the "Klimt Torte" which has the image reproduced on top of the almond and nougat cake with a chocolate icing.

Although the Upper and Lower Belvedere are now art galleries, their interior decor leave no doubt that these once served as luxurious palaces.  Gold leaf, marble, elaborate chandeliers, life sized sculptures, tromp l'oeil paintings and sweeping staircases are abundant throughout the buildings.  It was interesting to see some fairly modern art pieces juxtapositioned anachronously in the grand entrance of the Upper Belvedere next to sculptures carved back in the 18th Century.