Female artists in the context of Viennese Art Nouveau
This article analyzes the activity of female artists and the problems of their relationships in the society during the period of Viennese Art Nouveau of the late XIX – early XX centuries. The subject of this research is the works of female artists of the Vienna Secession and the materials of the Belvedere art exhibitions. It is noted that the problem of gender relationship during the period of Viennese Art Nouveau was given considerable attention; the cultural and artistic creativity were viewed from the perspective of the impact of this problem upon the mentality and minds of the society. The relevance of the selected topic is substantiated by the heightened interest in studying the specificity of the phenomenon of Viennese Art Nouveau and the role of woman in its formation. The novelty of this research lies in the attempt to determine the specificity of the impact of female beginning upon the culture of Viennese Art Nouveau, both as an artistic image that is the centerpiece, and in the image of female artists who supported its development. The conclusion is made that despite the shift in worldview orientations and artistic paradigms fin-de-siècle, the problem of gender relationship and apparent competition between female and artists for their position remained strongly pronounced. The author determines the considerable impact of female artists (many of whom were of Jewish descent immigrated or deceased during the World War II) upon comprehension of the phenomenon of Viennese Art Nouveau.