Biedermeier exhibition explores roots of Modernism

THE MILWAUKEE Art Museum’s current special exhibition represents the first major display in North America of furniture, decorative objects and fine art from the Biedermeier period in Austria, Germany and Northern Europe (1815-1830).

“Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity” already has received national and international recognition. Containing more than 400 works that show a stunning link to the Modernism of the 20th century, the exhibition will be in Milwaukee through Jan. 1, 2007.

Visitors are able to view furniture set against a backdrop of wallpaper reproduced from patterns of the period. In addition, there are paintings silver, porcelain, glass, textiles, metalwork, jewelry and fashion. Many of the works are on view in the U.S. for the first time.

The significance of the exhibition is demonstrated by its destinations after leaving Milwaukee. It travels first to the Albertina in Vienna, then to the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin and finally to the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Organized in collaboration with the Deutsches Historisches Museum and the Albertina, the exhibition was assembled by Laurie Winters, curator of Earlier European Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The term “Biedermeier” is often assumed to be the surname of a cabinetmaker of the period, but is actually an imaginary character–a pseudonym that played on the German adjective “bieder,” meaning plain and unpretentious, and “Meier,” a common German surname. “Biedermaier” was the name of a fictitious character whose daily “common man” activities were portrayed in a Munich satirical newspaper in the mid-1840s. Ironically, what began as an intellectual critique of the typical German citizen turned into a new model for living. Emphasizing less extravagant means, the gilding and frills of the 18th century were stripped away to emphasize the natural beauty of materials and classical shapes.

As Winters writes in the 400-page catalog for the exhibition, Biedermeier “is interpreted not as a lowly product of bourgeois taste, but rather as a highly cultivated and refined quest for simplicity and purity that has its roots in the late 18th century. The provenances for many of the works clearly indicate that the patrons were members of the courts or the aristocracy.”

The exhibition was made possible by The Argosy Foundation, Sotheby’s and others.

The Milwaukee Art Museum includes the world-renowned Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., except Thursdays when it remains open until 8 p.m. Convenient underground parking is available. For more information, visit www.mam.org.