The pictorial motifs contained in the paintings at the Austrian Theatre Museum refer to the world of the theatre. Around six hundred portraits, character and scene pictures done in various techniques bear witness to the fascination that theatre has exercised over such visual artists as Alfred Hrdlicka and Anton Kolig.

In contrast to the collection of hand sketches, which contains primarily stage and costume designs, only a few of these pictures were conceived as part of a specific theatre production. The lion’s share serves first and foremost to commemorate famous artistic personalities and their roles.

Gustav Klimt’s “Nuda Veritas” comes from the estate of Hermann Bahr, a patron of the Secession, who purchased the painting from the artist in 1899.

The free-form works of Caspar Neher, Alfred Roller and Richard Teschner afford an interesting look at the communicating relationship between their paintings and their works for the stage.