In its new exhibition “Biedermeier. The Rise of an Era”, the Leopold Museum is devoting itself to an era that is often regarded as quiet and domestic, showing just how much movement there actually was in this period.

Anyone who believes that Biedermeier was merely an era of well-behaved living rooms and staid modesty will be proven wrong at the Leopold Museum. Over 190 works by around 70 artists as well as numerous everyday objects provide an insight into life between 1815 and 1848, between family security and social change.

A walk through living rooms, landscapes and revolutions

In the period between the Congress of Vienna and the revolution of 1848, a profound social change took place that found its very own expression in the Biedermeier period: a retreat into the private sphere as a response to political repression, a longing for idyll and order in the face of a rapidly changing world. It is precisely this tension between external constraints and an inner spirit of optimism that makes this epoch so exciting. The exhibition picks up on these contrasts – for example through portraits that show the new self-image or landscape depictions that reflect a longing for harmony.

On display are not only works from Vienna, but also from other centres of the Habsburg monarchy such as Prague, Budapest and Milan. The result is a broad view of an era whose forms of expression extended far beyond Austria.

Everyday life and innovation

Special attention is paid to the role of the private sphere: Furniture, glass, porcelain and fashion tell of everyday culture and the retreat into the domestic sphere. At the same time, the exhibition refers to the beginning of industrialisation, which brought with it new production methods and economic dynamics.

Themes such as the tense relationship between progress and retreat, the search for harmony in turbulent times and the rediscovery of traditional values are also highly topical in today’s debate surrounding the emergence of a ‘Neo-Biedermeier’

Audio guide to the exhibition “Biedermeier. The Rise of an Era” at the Leopold Museum on your smartphone

You can also enjoy the exhibition on your smartphone: With the Hearonymus app and the audio guide “Biedermeier. The Rise of an Era”, your smartphone becomes an interactive guide to the exhibition. In 20 chapters, the audio guide leads you through selected exhibits as an acoustic key to a time full of contrasts, whose quiet tones often say more than loud slogans.

The app and audio guide can be downloaded to your smartphone in just a few clicks. For €4.99, the guide can be listened to indefinitely and without an internet connection. Whether at home or directly on site. The audio guide “Biedermeier. The Rise of an Era” can be listened to anywhere, as often as you like. The Hearonymus app is available free of charge in the App Store and Google Play Store.

Article image: FRIEDRICH VON AMERLING, Portrait of a Girl, 1839 © Leopold Museum, Vienna, donation from private collection, photo Leopold Museum, Vienna
Article banner: Joseph Rebell, Vesuvius erupting at night with a view of the Scuola di Virgilio, 1822 © Belvedere, Vienna, photo Belvedere Vienna Johannes Stoll