Wiener Konzerthaus
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History Tales. Fact and Fiction in History Painting

A historical oil painting showing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius over the Gulf of Naples at night.
Michael Wutky, Ausbruch des Vesuvs über dem Golf von Neapel, um 1780 © Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
A historical oil painting showing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius over the Gulf of Naples at night.

27 September 2023 - 26 May 2024

The exhibition explores the representation of history in terms of identity and nation. How is the rise and fall of civilisations depicted? How is the hubris of humankind allegorised? And what sort of media transformations has the invention of photography and film brought about on the representations of myths, heroes, heroines, rulers and sovereigns as well as on pivotal historical events since the 19th century right through to the present day?

History Tales. Fact and Fiction in History Painting examines history painting in the light of the Academy’s own historical collections – its Paintings Gallery, Graphic Collection, Plaster Cast Collection – and prominent loans from museums as well as of works by contemporary artists. The capacity of the history painting and its variations in the age of mass media to oscillate between fact and fiction and make historicity itself the subject matter of the image is examined from today’s perspective.

At a time when the talk everywhere is of a "turning point", a Zeitenwende, and new nationalist tendencies and wars threaten to rip apart the political fabric, both in Europe and globally, the exhibition questions and challenges our understanding of history in depictions while analysing how myths and historical events are always subject to interpretations shaped by the age in which they are "revisited". History Tales tells the story of these revisionary movements in the interpretation of "history paintings", through which images of the past can become encapsulated commentaries on the present.

Venue

Academy of Fine Arts, Picture Gallery (Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste)

Schillerplatz 3
1010 Wien

Tickets & Info

Current Dates

  • Sat. 20 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 21 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 23 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 24 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 25 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 26 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 27 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 28 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 30 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 01 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
All dates

All Dates

April

  • Sat. 20 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 21 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 23 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 24 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 25 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 26 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 27 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 28 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 30 Apr 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

May

  • Wed. 01 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 02 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 03 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 04 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 05 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 07 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 08 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 09 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 10 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 11 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 12 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 14 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 15 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 16 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 17 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 18 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 19 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 21 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Wed. 22 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Thu. 23 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Fri. 24 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 25 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Sun. 26 May 2024, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Fewer dates