iLeopold MuseumNeubau
New. Objective: Photography of the 1920s and 30s
Over 100 photographs of the sober, clear New Objectivity, from Renger-Patzsch, Sander and Blossfeldt to Austrians like Trude Fleischmann.
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Preview: written before the show opened
The one picture the museum names ahead of opening is a pair of hands: Albert Renger-Patzsch's Creative Hands (Potter's Hands), made in 1925–27. That is the show's argument in miniature. After the First World War, photographers dropped the soft, romantic "art photography" look for a "sober, clear, objective" one that suited a world of industry and cities.
More than a hundred photographic positions cover Weimar Germany and Austria's First Republic. Karl Blossfeldt, August Sander, Ellen Auerbach and Yva stand beside Austrians such as Trude Fleischmann, Rudolf Koppitz and Otto Skall. Loans come from European museums and collections, plus previously unpublished works from private holdings. The show ends in 1933 and 1938, when the Nazi takeover and the annexation of Austria ended Modernism and drove out Jewish artists.
A century before you turned off the beauty filter, these photographers dropped soft focus on purpose. Entry is €19, and the museum is open daily except Tuesday, 10:00 to 18:00.
Editor's pick
More than 100 photographs of the 1920s and 30s, from Renger-Patzsch, Sander and Blossfeldt to Austrians such as Trude Fleischmann.
Look for
Renger-Patzsch, Creative Hands (Potter's Hands)
A close study of a potter's hands at work from 1925–27, the one image the museum shows in advance of opening.
Good for
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Nerding Out
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Image credits
9
- New. Objective: Photography of the 1920s and 30sCourtesy Skrein Photo Collection; Albert Renger-Patzsch Archiv/Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Zülpich/Bildrecht, Wien 2025
- Tolia Astakhishvili: Figure of the Childmumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
- Terminal Piecemumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
- 20 Years of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK: A City Full of Posters© Graphic Design: SIRENE Studio
- Leopold MuseumPeter Gugerell / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- Kunsthalle WienStephan Wyckoff / PresseKunsthalleWien, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig WienAndrzej Otrębski / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W)Spock1801 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kunsthistorisches Museum WienManfred Werner (Tsui), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0