Blutige Kräuze c. 1923

"Blutige Kräuze" (Bloody Crosses) is a haunting watercolor painting by Austrian Expressionist artist Karl Wiener, created around 1923. The stark composition depicts a field of red crosses against a dark background, suggesting a graveyard or battlefield. Wiener's use of bold lines and vivid colors creates a powerful and unsettling atmosphere, reflecting the anxieties of post-World War I Europe. The work's powerful imagery and emotional resonance make it a key example of Expressionism, a movement that sought to convey the artist's inner world and subjective experience.