Madness c. 1922

Karl Wiener made this ink drawing titled, “Madness,” at an unknown date. It depicts several figures in motion. Wiener was born in Vienna, and as a Jewish artist living in Austria during the first half of the twentieth century, his work carries a particular cultural weight. The figures look agitated, and we can read the title as referring to a mental state, perhaps as a coded reference to the collective hysteria that led to the rise of Fascism. It is worth remembering that in the German-speaking world at this time, asylums were sites of eugenics and were used as tools of social control. The drawing prompts us to ask: what visual codes are associated with madness? How has madness been institutionalized? To answer these questions, we might consult medical records, read psychiatric case studies, and research government policy. Art has always been shaped by the society around it, and the role of the historian is to illuminate these forces.