Art Madrid'26 – Klimt/Schiele/Kokoschka and their women at the Belvedere Vienna

Mujer sentada con medias violeta, de Egon Schiele.

 

 

 

In the early years of the twentieth century, sexuality and their roles they changed forever. Equality between men and women, sexual openness, family relationships, reproductive issues... the moral imperatives of the nineteenth century entered were questioned, and new models transforming female identity were borned.

 

 

 

                

Desnudo, de Oscar Kokoschka y Eugenia (Mada) Primavesi, de Klimt.

 

 

At that time, in Vienna, the bourgeoisie opened to sexuality, they read Freud and Otto Weininger and discovered in art a channel for the representation of female sexuality. Now, the Belvedere Museum in Vienna looks back to that revolution through the eyes of three revolutionary artists: Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), Egon Schiele (1890-1918) and Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), three masters who contributed their fantasies and portraits to the consolidation and assumption of new female roles, ladies, villains, nymphs, sexual and sensual women, mothers, daughters, maids, libertines ...

 

 

 

El Abrazo (Pareja de enamorados II), de Egon Schiele.

 

"The imprint of Klimt as man and artist has its origin at this time," the curator and deputy director of the Viennese museum Alfred Weidinger  "Klimt moved between these areas and his art reacted to the discussion at that time about "the mystery of the woman. '" For the exhibition, which brings together more than 150 pieces (50 of each author coming from collections worldwide), the curator and New York gallerist Jane Kallir, has established four themes: the portrait, the couple (romantic), mother and the child, and the nude. The flashy, bright and golden Klimt portraits they contrast with the lonely expression, and the abandoned and silent faces and bodies from Kokoschka, but especially with the raw, naked skinny, women from Schiele, more provocative and exhibitionistic. But what also shines through this exhibition, it is the commonalities of the three, and the most obvious: the three believed in romantic love.

 

 

Retrato de Elisabeth Reitler, de Kokoschka.

 

 

Klimt/Schiele/Kokoschka y las mujeres.
Del 22/10/2015-28/02/2016
Belvedere Inferior, Orangerie (Belvedere - Unteres Belvedere & Orangerie)

 

 


ART MADRID’ 26: 21 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY ART


Discover all the information about the artists and galleries participating in the 21st edition of Art Madrid. The catalog features a curated selection of the works presented in this edition, along with the most relevant details of the event, making it an essential tool for engaging with the fair’s key figures and exploring the defining elements of today’s art scene.


In 2026, Art Madrid celebrates its 21st edition, further establishing itself as a leading event within Spain’s cultural sector. From March 4 to 8, the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles will once again become a meeting point for galleries, collectors, artists, and contemporary art enthusiasts.


Over the past twenty-one years, the fair has evolved into a dynamic and ever-expanding platform, fostering diversity in artistic languages, techniques, and discourses. In this edition, the Galleries Program brings together around 35 exhibitors from more than seven countries, offering a representative overview of the most recent developments in contemporary creation.


The Art Madrid ’26 catalog serves as a key publication for discovering the work of this edition’s galleries and artists —marked by experimentation and a plurality of perspectives— while also documenting the conceptual axes that shape the fair. As part of the Parallel Program, INHABITING THE EPHEMERAL: A Reflection on the “Species” of Spaces proposes a reflection on space, relationships, and shared experience, expanding the understanding of the fair beyond its commercial dimension and highlighting its cultural and experiential significance.


In addition, the catalog presents the initiatives that complete the program, such as the Open Booth dedicated to emerging creation, the Nebrija Space in collaboration with Nebrija University, the Performance Series “Open Infinite. What the Body Remembers,” the One Shot Collectors Program, and the Patronage Program, reaffirming the fair’s commitment to supporting, mediating, and accompanying contemporary art at every stage.

We invite you to discover more about Art Madrid ’26 through the catalog of its 21st edition — a publication that, beyond serving as documentary memory, becomes a cartography of the present artistic moment and an open door to new ways of inhabiting contemporary art.