Plymouth University art historian curates new exhibition at National Gallery

Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 has been compiled from collections across the globe, and includes works by some of the period’s most influential artists. It has been curated by Dr Gemma Blackshaw, Associate Professor in History of Art and Visual Culture at Plymouth University, and runs from October 9 until January 12, 2014. The exhibition explores a period when Vienna was a multi-national, multi-ethnic and multi-faith city, and the imperial capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It also features a number of pieces showing Jewish families, who would later be driven from the city in the 1930s. Dr Blackshaw said: “These works cover a period which began with liberal and democratic reform, but ended with the rise of the nationalist movements and anti-semitism. This is reflected in the artwork, as pieces which initially reflect status and belonging shift to portraits which express a sense of anxiety and alienation. In the exhibition, sponsored by Credit Suisse, iconic portraits by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka and Arnold Schönberg are displayed alongside works by important yet less widely known artists such as Broncia Koller and Isidor Kaufmann.