On the Road
A JOURNEY INTO THE COLLECTION
09.03.2024-19.04.2026
Lower Austria is a discovery! For centuries, many artists have appreciated and left their marks on the local natural and cultural landscapes. They painted or drew in nature and immortalized everyday subjects in genre paintings and portraits. They created images of landscapes, devotional and genre paintings, without which we would know far less about life in Lower Austria back in the day.
A JOURNEY ACROSS LOWER AUSTRIA
The collection presentation takes the visitors to six places and regions and spans more than five centuries. Four altar wings crafted by an anonymous artist known as the “master of the Florian Winkler epitaph“, date back to the 15th century. The most recent works of the exhibition originated in the 20th century. They are the works of famous personalities such as Tulln-born Egon Schiele and Pöchlarn native Oskar Kokoschka. The common thread of all items of the exhibition is that they are related to regions in Lower Austria or were created there.
EXPERIENCE WORLD HERITAGE WACHAU
With its many castles and ruins, magnificent abbeys, high cliffs, charming villages, steep wine terraces and fertile apricot orchards, the Wachau is one of the most beautiful landscapes along the Danube. In 2000, the region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With top-class paintings and exciting background information on history, fauna and flora, customs, building culture and art, the exhibition focuses on the Wachau World Heritage Site. Authentic objects such as the emerald lizard, ground squirrel, golden hood or Kalmuck tell of its regional specialties. Traditional costume fabric patterns invite visitors to touch them. Sound stations let the animal world have its say.
Hardly any other landscape in Austria has been captured in art as often as the Wachau. Artists such as Maximilian Suppantschitsch, Tina Blau-Lang, Marie Egner and Anton Faistauer contributed significantly to the discovery and development of today's world cultural heritage. The eight-metre-long “Panorama of the Danube Valley with the Dürnstein Ruins” by Anton Hlavacek (1906) stands out among the many picturesque excursions into the Wachau.
The picturesque Wachau motifs are part of the region's cultural memory. Artists have played an important role in the development of today's world cultural heritage.
FUTHER STATIONS
The artistic journey through Lower Austria also takes in the area around Plankenberg Castle, the charming Piestingtal valley and from Pöchlarn along the Danube to Krems, Tulln and Langenzersdorf. It ends in Wiener Neustadt.
Masterpieces of Austrian art history
All of the works come from the art collection of the Province of Lower Austria and were created by world-famous Austrian artists such as Martin Johann Schmidt, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and Olga Wisinger-Florian.
Emil Jakob Schindler's “Pappelallee nach dem Gewitter” from 1892 is one of the masterpieces of Austrian atmospheric impressionism, while Friedrich Gauermann's painting “Hirsch, von einem Luchs verfolgt” (1831) is a highlight of Biedermeier realism. Anton Hanak's “Letzter Mensch” from 1917 is a major work of Expressionism.
Artists (Selection)
Tina Blau-Lang, Hugo Darnaut, Thomas Ender, Marie Egner, Anton Faistauer, Friedrich Gauermann, Anton Hanak, Felix Albrecht Harta, Franz Herdel, Anton Hlavacek, Theodor von Hörmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Meister des Florian Winkler-Epitaphs, Carl Moll, Michael Neder, Robert Russ, Egon Schiele, Emil Jakob Schindler, Martin Johann Schmidt, Maximilian Suppantschitsch, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Olga Wisinger-Florian, Michael Wutky
Curated by: Gerda Ridler, Nikolaus Kratzer
With many thanks for the kind support of Rhenus Logistics
Lower Austria is a discovery! With masterpieces from five centuries, we invite you on a special journey through the province. From Gothic altarpieces to expressionist works from the early 20th century, the show provides an insight into the wealth of the Lower Austrian state collections.