Summary of Old Masters
For over thirty years, Reger has visited the same room in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where he spends his time viewing Tintoretto‘s painting “White-bearded Man”, complaining about art, society, the weather, and almost everything else. As the novel unfolds, the reader discovers the deeper reasons behind Reger’s disdain and why he continues to visit this particular room in the museum.
Reasons to read Old Masters
“Old Masters” was written a satire of art, culture, and Austrian society. Despite being a ‘professional complainer’ – his complaints run on and on, without any breaks into paragraphs – the protagonist ultimately realises that he must end his solitude and needs others to survive. Thomas Bernhard, known for his difficult personality and outspoken criticism of Austria’s traditional institutions (church, state, cultural institutions, etc.), was one of the major Austrian writers of the twentieth century. He won the Georg BĂĽchner Prize in 1970. Other notable works by Bernhard include “Correction”, “Extinction”, and “Woodcutters”.
Setting: Vienna (Austria)
Original title: Alte Meister
Year of publication: 1985
Nr of pages: 256
