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Ruth Baumgarte – Africa: Visions of Light and Color

In addition to the great permanent exhibition of the Batliner Collection (Monet – Picasso), we would like to introduce you to a current special show that can be seen in Austria for the first time:

It is with works by the German painter Ruth Baumgarte (1923–2013) that the ALBERTINA Museum sets out to present an outstanding artist of the 20th century shown in Austria for the first time.

At the center of this presentation in the Columned Hall is Baumgarte’s wide ranging body of works born of her travels to African countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Beginning in the 1950s and until well into her old age, the artist made over 40 trips to Africa, whose people she attentively observed and empathetically appreciated. She took an interest in the unfamiliar cultures of a continent that had yet to be discovered by European artists at that time.

These altogether approximately 38 oil paintings, watercolors, and graphic works manifest a near-magical quality when viewed in person. Central to any understanding of Ruth Baumgarte’s art is the relationship between human beings and nature, the melding of figure and landscape.