Rudolf Wacker

This richly illustrated catalog accompanies the first major retrospective dedicated to Rudolf Wacker (1893–1939), a pivotal figure in Austrian art and a pioneer of magical realism. Held at the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the exhibition gathered nearly 200 works, including paintings, drawings, and personal diary excerpts, offering an intimate look into Wacker’s unique artistic world.

Wacker’s work captures quiet domestic scenes, eerie still lifes, and psychologically charged portraits rendered with unsettling precision. Among his most haunting motifs are dolls and mannequins – silent companions that blur the line between innocence and unease. Though often luminous in color, his compositions carry a deep undercurrent of melancholy. He was among Austria’s most significant voices within the European New Objectivity movement.

The catalog also delves into Wacker’s dramatic life: from his time as a soldier in World War I and years in Russian labor camps to his persecution under the Gestapo, which ultimately led to his death. Scholarly essays explore the tension between order and anxiety in his work, placing him in the broader context of interwar European art.

A powerful document of both visual beauty and emotional resonance, this volume is an essential addition to the libraries of those interested in 20th-century art, realism, and Austrian modernism.