Nachtphantasie 1939

Karl Wiener created this watercolor and collage work, Nachtphantasie, in Austria in 1939. In it, we see a woman's torso emerging from an abstract dreamscape accompanied by a grinning skeleton. Wiener worked in a cultural milieu dominated by rising fascism. Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, setting the stage for the horrors of World War II. Given this context, the phantasmagoric imagery suggests a dreamlike escape from the anxieties and looming threat of death present in everyday life. The collage technique speaks to the splintering of cultural and personal identity, something many Austrians experienced during this time. To understand this artwork, one might research the history of collage as a medium for social commentary, as well as the artistic responses to rising fascism in Austria. It reminds us that art is not made in a vacuum, but is deeply intertwined with the social and political realities of its time.