Information from the museum’s website, 18 March 2015
Alluring beauty – fatal charm
Seduction avails itself of lures that are irresistible or perhaps mysterious – even resorting to charms and magic. It makes promises and demands, as we know from the story of Salome and John the Baptist at Herod’s feast: a glittering festivity, a sensuous promise – and the deadly fate of the Baptist is sealed.Ancient writings, the Bible and modern histories from over 2,000 years offer many examples of seduction – stories involving power and influence, but also love, and stories where sensuality and forbidden pleasures exert an irresistible attraction.
Artists: Leandro Bassano, Joos de Beer, Ferdinand A. Bruckmann, Giulio Carpioni, Lukas Cranach d. Ä., Adam Elsheimer, Frans Francken III., Johann Heiss, Anton Hickel, Alfred Hrdlicka, Ernst Klimt, Anton Kolig, Max Liebermann, Koloman Moser, Andreas Nesselthaler, Johann G. Platzer, Carl Rahl, Johann M. Rottmayr, Peter P. Rubens, Francesco Solimena, Johann Spillenberger, David Teniers the Younger., Domenico M. Viani, Johann Zick u. a.
The catalogue for the exhibition discusses artistic rendering, strategies of seduction, seductresses in the Bible, failure and defeat, and death through love. It also includes an article on the exhibition “The Paramour’s Dresses”. Price €14.90
Idea and concept: Thomas Habersatter, Astrid Ducke