"Hans Makart left his mark on his age like no other artist of the nineteenth century. He became the symbol of his time, which has gone down in history as the Makart Era. summoned to Vienna by the emperor as a talented young artist, his painting were popular among the rising bourgeoisie and were ultimately regarded as the measure of social recognition and reputation. Makart's free painterly use of color and light derives from French art, especially that of Eugene Delacroix. At the same time as Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, and Gustave Moreau he cultivated color as one of the core elements in his art. Through the accentuation of sensuality--of taste, eroticism, and a robust joie-de-vivre--he also struck the chord of decline and is thus a typical representative of the Age of Decadence. Makart was skilled in using the possibilities offered by new reproduction techniques to popularize his works and his own specific aesthetic. His images and theme became trademarks and reflections of his age and aroused national and international attention. Makart's artistic approach was open to experiment; it was evidenced in his intensive study of Richard Wagner's 'Ring de Nibelungen' and the architecture of Gottfried Semper, and it expressed itself in large-format painterly interpretations of the operas and in visionary architectural fantasies. Makart was highly respected internationally when he died in 1884 at the age of 44." --Jacket.