Slecht uur
1897
Emil Rudolf Weiss plunges viewers into a tempest of anxiety with this 1897 work, where frantic, swirling lines carve a ghostly, dog-like figure out of the darkness. Titled 'Böse Stunde' (Evil Hour), the piece feels like a visual representation of a panic attack, predating the raw energy of German Expressionism by over a decade. The aggressive, scratchy texture creates a sense of movement so violent it feels like the landscape itself is attacking the central figure. It’s a striking example of how Art Nouveau artists began pushing beyond decorative flowers into the darker, psychological corners of the human experience, turning a simple illustration into a scream of visual tension.