The Book – 100 years

Excerpt from “An art association in Baden – from yesterday into tomorrow” by Hans Hornyik
“The Kunstverein has been in existence for one hundred years. That’s actually a late birth. The rapid rise of the imperial spa town began in 1793. Viennese nobility and the upper middle classes discovered the high quality of life in Baden and from 1842, the year Baden was connected to the Southern Railway, one villa after another sprouted up as the rich and famous made Baden their home. This development transformed the small town into a veritable Gründerzeit Arcadia with spacious parks, boulevards, and all the urban amenities that made the “world spa resort” one of the leading tourist destinations of the imperial and royal monarchy. Against this background, the founding of the Kunstverein in 1915 appears to have been somewhat of a late birth.

Much has been written about art in Baden. Music, theater, and literature shaped the cultural life of the 19th century. The names of Mozart, Beethoven, Lanner and Strauss adorn commemorative plaques and accentuate the culture of remembrance. While Mozart’s relationship to Baden is exorbitantly overestimated, the city was Beethoven’s favorite health resort, where he spent many a summer searching for a cure for his numerous illnesses.
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Table of Contents

7
An art association in Baden – from yesterday into tomorrow
Hans Hornyik

13
Brief remarks on the rituals of art
Alexandra Schantl

17
The heyday of art associations in the 19th century
Cornelia König

29
The founding period of the Kunstverein
Regina Hadraba

41
The temporary union of artistic sensibilities
Wolfgang Müller-Funk

49
Kunstverein Baden celebrates 100 years
Leo Hemetsberger

57
Artists-in-residence
Hartwig Knack

65
The artists of the Kunstverein Baden

148
Gallery program 1995–2016

156
Biographies