The recent exhibitions “Gothic Modern” at the Ateneum in Helsinki, National Museum in Oslo and the Albertina in Vienna (lead curators Juliet Simpson and Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff) explored the modern turn to the medieval, the museum networks that fostered a fascination with Gothic art as an expression of a latent, uncanny modernity, and the visibility of diverse imaginaries shaped through these networks. They highlighted a fascination with the Gothic that transcends national, cultural, and gender boundaries. Building on these perspectives, the workshop on Gothic Modern/Vienna 1900 in Vienna, organized by Juliet Simpson (Warburg Institute, London), Assaf Pinkus (University of Vienna), and Andreas Nierhaus (University of Vienna/Wien Museum), seeks to explore the significance of the Middle Ages and the Gothic in the context of Vienna around 1900, and to outline directions for future research on a broad methodological and thematic basis.

Date and venue: 30.04.2026, 09:00-16:00; Seminar Room 5, Institute for Art History, University of Vienna, Garnisongasse 13, Hof 9, 1090 Vienna

9:15–9:30 Welcome and Workshop Opening

9:30–10:00
Structure and Iconography of the Votivkirche
Wojciech Bałus (Krakow, Jagellonian University)

10:00–10:30
Armouring the Modern Body. Medieval Knights in Vienna Around 1900
Andreas Nierhaus (University of Vienna)

10:30–11:00
Gothic Modern and the Vienna Secession
Arnika Groenewald Schmidt (Belvedere Museum, Vienna)

11:00–11:30 Coffee/Tea Break

11:30–12:00
Das Rätsel (in) der Kunstgeschichte: Discourse on Gothic Art in Vienna after 1900
Tomáš Murár (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, and University of Vienna)

12:00–12:30 Discussion

12:30-13:30 Lunch Break

13:30–14:00
Embodied Vienna Gothics - Women and the Medieval as Artistic Agency, c. 1900s
Juliet Simpson (The Warburg Institute, London)

14:00–14:30
Fritz Lang’s Nibelungenlied and the Vision of Gothic Modernity
Assaf Pinkus (University of Vienna)

14:30–15:00
Please Don't Mind the Gap: Toward Authorized Medieval Heritage Discourses in Austrian State Museums (1922–1953)
Cedric Huss (University of Vienna)

15:00–15:15 Coffee/Tea Break

15:15-16:00 Plenary and Future Research Directions

The workshop is organized by Prof. Juliet Simpson, Prof. Assaf Pinkus, and Prof. Andreas Nierhaus and is a joint collaboration between The Warburg Institute, London-University of Vienna and Wien Museum.

For more information, please contact Hanna Herceg (hanna.hercegunivie.ac.at) and Juliet Simpson (juliet.simpsonsas.ac.uk)