Gold

The exhibition is devoted to the precious metal gold and its use in art. Displaying 200 works by 125 artists, this comprehensive show staged in the Lower Belvedere, the Orangery, and the Palace Stables highlights various applications of the shimmering metal. Since the Middle Ages, there have never been more artists working with gold than today. On view are familiar examples and numerous new discoveries, including works by Stephan Balkenhol, Georg Baselitz, Willi Baumeister, William Blake, James Lee Byars, Sylvie Fleury, Richard Hamilton, Yves Klein, Imi Knoebel, Emil Orlik, Gerhard Richter, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Giandomenico Tiepolo, Victor Vasarely, Andy Warhol, and Franz West.

“Gold fires the spirit of life, stimulates the heart and blood, and bestows greatness and vigour.” Paracelsus, 1493–1541
Gold has always held a great fascination for mankind. A symbol of light associated with the sun, it played an important role in all advanced civilizations and was used as a material of the gods, rulers, and the aristocracy. The greed for gold, however, was also a reason for wars, looting, and conquests. In times of crisis, gold is still considered a stabile investment.

In art production, gold was particularly frequently employed during the Middle Ages, yet in the following centuries disappeared from the visual arts almost entirely. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that many artists took to working with gold again.
“The Belvedere is particularly suitable as a venue for such a comprehensive presentation on the subject of gold,” emphasizes director Agnes Husslein-Arco, “not only because gold runs like a red thread through the various collections and the architecture of the Belvedere palaces, but also because the show juxtaposes traditional visual elements with contemporary art.”