Belvedere Without Men

The Belvedere Collection draws visitors with big names in art history: Klimt, Schiele, van Gogh, Monet, Cranach, and Waldmüller shape our view of European art and its various styles. As diverse as their works may be, they have one thing in common – they were all created by men.  

But what happens when art history is told differently – deliberately without men? With the Belvedere Without Men audio tour, the Belvedere invites visitors to discover its own collection from a new perspective.
 

The tour is part of the international series Museums Without Men, initiated by art historian, curator, and author Katy Hessel. Together with the platform Smartify, she develops audio formats for museums worldwide. In doing so, she specifically highlights works by women artists and challenges the art-historical canon.
 

At the Belvedere, this alternative narrative guides visitors through familiar spaces and opens up unfamiliar perspectives. The central question is who has become visible in art history and who has long been overlooked. The selection of works – from Elena Luksch-Makowsky and Anna Maria Punz to Maria Lassnig and VALIE EXPORT – not only highlights female artists but also encourages a fresh look at familiar works: How are women depicted? Who is looking, and who is being looked at?

The English-language tour is available via the Smartify app and can be used anywhere – including right inside the museum – inviting visitors to experience the Belvedere and its collection anew and perhaps see it in a different light.
 

Formats like this audio tour make it clear that museums are not static places. Their collections remain the same, but the perspectives from which we view them are changing.

Even in 2026, women around the world are still fighting for equality, equity, and above all, self-determination over their own lives and bodies. This makes it all the more important to make their perspectives visible and ensure their voices are heard. The Belvedere sees itself as a place that gives space to marginalized positions and feminist perspectives – and invites us to reexamine art history and critically question our present.