The Easel

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16th June 2015

The Vienna Seccession in Paris

The decorative arts movement (art nouveau) was an expression of European pride. In Austria, where this movement got the name ‘Vienna Secession’, it was also influenced by Sigmund Freud. Out of Freud’s theories about sex and the subconscious came the idea of the ‘femme fatale’ – the lethal seductress. In Klimpt’s Judith, featured in this Paris show, that whole sexy, luxurious, and decorative aesthetic found one of its defining expressions.