Modernity refers to a change in numerous areas

Modernity historically refers to a change in numerous areas of life compared to tradition, caused by the Industrial Revolution, Enlightenment and secularization. In the history of philosophy, the beginning of modernity coincides with the skepticism of the thinkers of the Enlightenment (Montaigne, Descartes, Spinoza). Modernity, as part of the modern period, follows the early modern period and, depending on the definition, continues to the present or ended in the twentieth century.

From an art historical perspective, this is the era that reached its climax in the 20th century in Europe with the revolutionary works of the Fauves, Cubists, Futurists, Vorticists, Expressionists and Avant-Gardists, initially in painting, sculpture, new music and theater performances. Its end was forced in (Western) Europe by the National Socialists' seizure of power in Germany (see “degenerate art”, “degenerate music”). Few artists managed to further develop the aesthetics of modernism in the inner emigration.

Modern architecture encompasses a complex of styles, including architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry van de Velde, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ernst May, Konrad Wachsmann and Oscar Niemeyer. The German Bauhaus stood out as the cultural nucleus of modernity. In Austria this applies in particular to the architect Adolf Loos and the architects and representatives of applied art who formed the Wiener Werkstätten.