Madness and Modernity sets out to chart the theme of madness across a variety of territories in Vienna 1900, including art and design, society and architecture, literature and psychiatry. This journey into what madness meant in the Austro-Hungarian capital at the turn of the twentieth century covers new ground and is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of modern European culture.

The book plots the nexus between the study of mental illness and the modernist ideals of groups such as the Secessionists (including Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Otto Wagner). Designs by Wagner for the Steinhof mental hospital are juxtaposed with portraits by Oskar Kokoschka of patients interned there; self-portraits by Egon Schiele are shown alongside photographs of neurological disorder; artworks by patients are explored in the context of the spaces they inhabited and the treatments they received. Over 100 arresting images give voice to these dialogues that existed between psychiatrists, writers, visual art practitioners and patients.

Madness and Modernity alternates between long, thematic chapters and short, focused chapters on specific works of particular significance. Taken in parts or as a whole, it is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how psychiatry influenced early modernism in the visual arts, and how modernism has since influenced our attitudes to the mentally ill.

Contents: Foreword, James Peto; Introduction and acknowledgements, Gemma Blackshaw and Leslie Topp; Scrutinised bodies and lunatic utopias: Mental illness, psychiatry and the visual arts in Vienna, 1898-1914, Gemma Blackshaw and Leslie Topp; Karl Henning, Wax models of two male heads, 1897-98, Nicola Imrie; Mad modernists: imaging mental illness in Viennese portraits, Gemma Blackshaw; Gustav Jagerspacher, Portrait of Peter Altenberg, 1909, Gemma Blackshaw; Modernity follows madness? Viennese architecture for mental illness and nervous disorders, Nicola Imrie and Leslie Topp; Erwin Pendl (studio), model of Lower Austrian Provincial Institution for the Cure and Care of the Mentally and Nervously Ill 'am Steinfhof', c.1907, Leslie Topp; Josef Karl Rädler, Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1913, Luke Heighton; The allure of nerves: class, gender and neurasthenia in Klimt's society portraits, Sabine Wieber; Richard Luksch, Two faience figures for the Purkersdorf Sanatorium, 1905, Sabine Wieber; Madness and literature in Vienna 1900, Geoffrey C. Howes; Bibliography; Object checklist; Picture credits; Index.

About the Editor: Dr Gemma Blackshaw is a Lecturer in History of Art and Visual Culture, University of Plymouth. She is currently co-editing a volume of essays borne out of the conference 'Journeys into Madness: Representing Mental Illness in the Arts and Sciences, 1850-1930' held in London in 2007.
Dr Leslie Topp is Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Architecture, Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of, among other titles, Architecture and truth in fin-de-siècle Vienna (2004).
Nicola Imrie received her Ph.D. in History of Art from Birkbeck College in 2008. She is a member of the AHRC-funded 'Madness and Modernity' project and is a research assistant on the exhibition.
Luke Heighton has recently submitted his Ph.D. thesis in History of Art at Birkbeck College. He is a member of the AHRC-funded 'Madness and Modernity' project.
Sabine Wieber is a Lecturer in History of Art at Roehampton University, London, and is a member of the AHRC-funded 'Madness and Modernity' project.
Geoffrey C. Howes is author of numerous articles on Austrian literature. From 2000 to 2005 he was co-editor (with J. Vansant) of the journal Modern Austrian Literature and has translated texts by Peter Rosei, Doron Rabinovici, Lilian Faschinger and others.

Reviews: 'Nicely presented and well documented with endnotes and an objects checklist, this notable publication will serve as a useful foundation for further reading and research by focused general readers, graduate students, scholars, and professionals.' Cheryl Ann Lajos, Library Journal

‘…Recommended.’
Choice

Dr Gemma Blackshaw's profile page on the University of Plymouth website

Dr Leslie Topp's profile page on University of London website

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