/internal/media/dispatcher/117818/fullVer SacrumSelbstbildnis mit Sohn Peter1901[Elena Luksch-Makowsky]Elena Luksch-MakowskyOil on canvasElena Luksch-Makowsky painted this self-portrait soon after the birth of her son Peter. She solemnly presents her child, fading into the background shadows herself. It is the new generation that counts, as emphasized by the title: Ver Sacrum (sacred spring). This was the motto of the Secession and harked back to an ancient Roman tradition. In the “sacred spring” newborns were dedicated to the gods and would be sent to settle new land upon reaching adulthood. In this work, Luksch-Makowsky thus reflects the dawn of a new art as well as a new phase in her own life as a mother. Ver Sacrum was displayed in 1902 at the Secession’s 13th exhibition, which featured a number of works by Luksch-Makowsky. Painting© Nachlass Elena Luksch-Makowskyhttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/7233/rdf