The exhibition (À fleur de peau. Vienne 1900) adopts a novel approach to this period. The show goes beyond the classic contrasts: Gustav Klimt’s generation versus Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka’s, symbolism versus expressionism, or floral versus abstract ornamentation in the applied arts. It shows the emergence of a new sensibility that found expression in artistic practices that focused on the skin. By exploring the mysteries of this sensitive surface, Vienna’s modernists would redefine the connections between humans and the world, everyday objects and their environment, buildings and streets. The exhibition features 180 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and applied art objects that were created in Vienna between 1897 (when the Vienna Secession was founded) and 1918 (the year the Austro‑Hungarian Empire collapsed).
