In the last several years, turn-of-the-century Vienna has been the subject of a number of exhibitions which have variously explored the creative potential of this fascinating cultural landscape. The most important of these retrospectives was certainly last year’s special show Le Arti a Vienna, at the Venice Biennale. The new and significant aspect of “Dream and Reality” was that, for once, the exploration took place in ’‘Vienna itself.

The scholarly concept behind the show, as conceived by Robert Waissenberger, divided the enormous wealth of material into 24 sections. Each of these centered on