The Women of Klimt, Schiele, and Kokoschka

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