Art history or a history in art? Lower Belvedere’s The World in Colors exhibition showcases Slovenian painting in the final seven decades of Habsburg rule.
- Highlights from the years 1848-1918
- Also sheds light on the cultural and political context
- Includes Monet, van Gogh and others for comparison
- Runs Jan 30 – May 25, 2025
- Buy Lower Belvedere tickets*
- See also:
- Lower Belvedere overview
- Art exhibitions in Vienna
Slovenian painting
(Ivan Grohar, The Field of Rafolce, 1903, photo: Belvedere, Vienna)
Although the Austrian-Hungarian empire collapsed relatively quickly at the end of WWI, many of its constituent parts had long nurtured a growing wish for more independence.
Take Slovenia, for example, where the 1848 year of revolution, as in many parts of Europe, proved a notable date in this context.
Formal local demands for a merged “Slovenian” province and increased national autonomy arose that year. Predictably, these received a resounding “Nein” from the monarchy.
However, fuses had been firmly lit: Slovenia at least continued with its sociocultural drift away from Viennese dominance.
This era of coalescing Slovenian national identity makes an excellent timeline for an exploration of Slovenian painting. Hence the The World in Colors exhibition at Lower Belvedere in cooperation with the National Gallery of Slovenia in Ljubljana.
(As an aside, Ljubljana is a lovely location to visit: a small riverside city where much of the historical architecture remains in the centre.)
(View of the exhibition; photo by and © Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna)
The exhibition exposes us to numerous influential painters from that period, including the likes of Jožef Tominc (1790-1866), Jožef Petkovšek (1861-1898) or Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926).
Two particular areas of focus are:
- The time around 1900, which saw the influential Slovenian impressionists come to the fore
Turn-of-the-century painters also engaged with colour to a greater extent than in most places, whether in terms of application techniques, symbolism, or colour’s impact within a work.
- The relationship between Slovenian artists and “Vienna”
Imperial Austria offered educational and income opportunities, as well as interaction with artists from elsewhere. But not undisputed acceptance.
(Ivana Kobilca, Summer, 1889-90, photo: National Gallery of Slovenia)
As such, the works on show seem to chart the dynamics of the cultural developments and geopolitics within the Slovenia-Vienna relationship.
Moving from gallery to gallery, you certainly get a feel for the transformations of styles and the influences behind them. Juxtaposed works by non-Slovenians like van Gogh, Monet, Moser and Gerstl enhance this effect.
The subjects and motifs within the paintings also seem to reflect a sense of national emancipation combined with assimilation of international trends.
These were my two personal favourites on display (because of the gorgeous use of colour):
- Ivan Grohar’s early modernist 1909/10 painting of potato harvesters
- Rihard Jakopič’s 1905 Amid Pine Trees (A Breeze)
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy some of the best of Slovenian painting from January 30th to May 25th, 2025. An entrance ticket for or from Lower Belvedere includes the exhibition.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
Walk up to Upper Belvedere for more on the same era, too, particularly from Vienna around 1900.
For some of the same period, Lower Belvedere has a second treat for us in another special exhibition. Gustav Klimt – Pigment & Pixel reveals some of the painter’s methods, as revealed in technical analyses.
How to get to the paintings
The exhibition takes place in the Lower Belvedere main galleries (the central & east side of the palace).
Follow the travel tips on the Belvedere directions page, but your main option is the 71 tram that travels around the western edge of the old town before heading out past Lower Belvedere.
Address: Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna