Thoughts on Change: Autumn

GOTHIC MODERN. Munch, Beckmann, Kollwitz
September 19, 2025 - January 11, 2026
Albertina Vienna

In the Albertina in Vienna, the current exhibition: GOTHIC MODERN. Munch, Beckmann, Kollwitz on modernism and its influence from the Middle Ages is the this autumn major exhibition - the content matches the season as autumn lets us reflect on life and the transience, the weather gets colder and the leaves start changing. 

„ Modernism is usually understood as a radical new beginning and a break with tradition. What is surprising, however, is that modernist artists also looked to historical models, albeit ones that predate the academic tradition, namely works from the Middle Ages and the Gothic period. (…)” says Ralph Gleis, Director General of the Albertina Vienna and curator of the exhibition.

Starting with a vast tapis by William Morris and Company, there is also a focus on Norway and Finland due to the collaboration of the museums in creating the exhibition. Artists inspired by the pre-Raphaelites therefore drew inspiration from Mathias Grünwald or Albrecht Dürer.
The 19th century dealing with a vivid industrialization and mechanization animated the artists to search for a counterpart in the countryside and explore different ways to live. A very interesting artist, who was born in Austria is Marianne Stokes, who was depicting women resembling to the pre-Raphaelites. Religious and epic topics mingle and are set in nature, as can be seen in the tableau of „ Melisande“. 

The different epochs are framed with chapters of introductory texts that guide you through the grand rooms filled with more than 200 works, a vast and extensive presentation.

Mythology, nature, death, war, religion and hope are topics that resonated in the 19th as well as the 20th century and are even today a reference to current political situations - it makes one shiver and reflect on the repeating of history. Sure, instead of the plague it was the Spanish flu that killed millions, instead of the 30-year war- the industrialization of the First World War was an evolution in technique but nonetheless they are all prone to a similar tragic outcome.

It is a wonderful chance to see many works of Edvard Munch and his use of expressive colors, in works like „Golgotha “. Somehow its stories and intense colors transport his feelings about the world over hundred years ago back to us and let us immerse ourselves in it. A thrilling journey through art history and geography—worth a visit.
More information here: https://www.albertina.at/en/exhibitions/gothic-modern/

Edvard Munch
Golgotha, 1900
80,5 × 120,5 cm, Oil on canvas
Munchmuseet, Oslo
© Photo: Munchmuseet / Ove Kvavik