Women of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka

Female portraits and nudes, mothers & children, and couples by the three most outstanding of painters 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 of painters 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 of exploration these differences and similarities.