Impressionismus#

Impressionism, a style or movement in art which developed in the second half of the 19th century. Started by French painters, the style also had considerable influence on music and literature. The style never really caught on in Austria. Austrian open-air painting derived from older traditions, stressing the "atmosphere" of a landscape, and only occasionally showed similarities in style or technique with French impressionism. The leading Austrian painters of the period were A. von Pettenkofen, T. Blau and E. J. Schindler. Under the influence of 17th century Dutch landscape painters and in particular of the Barbizon school, Schindler gathered around him a small circle of artists who frequently met at Plankenberg castle near Neulengbach, Lower Austria, from 1885 onwards. This school of landscape painters, to which belonged M. Egner, O. Wisinger-Florian, T. von Hoermann and C. Moll, is now considered to represent what is called Austrian "Stimmungsimpressionismus" ("mood impressionism"). Painters like E. Jettel, R. Ribarz, R. Russ were closely associated with this school. In Austria it was the Secession which first came to deliberately deal with the intrinsic problems raised by the Impressionist style, problems which long continued to have an influence on 20th century Austrian painting.

In poetry, the chief Austrian representatives of impressionism, which is above all characterised by onomatopoeia and a musical approach to the use of language, are R. M. Rilke, H. von Hofmannsthal (in their early lyric work), P. Altenberg, A. Schnitzler and others Jung-Wien.

Literature#