The German and Austro-Hungarian answer to the growing Art Nouveau movement of the 1890s was first dubbed the Jugendstil, or “Youth Style” movement, characterized by its stylized graphics. More broadly recognized as the Secessionists, pioneers of this new movement took influence from the Arts and Crafts movement of England, Japonisme in France, and an interest in new forms that broke away from the historicism of the art academies. With heavy hitters like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele among their ranks, the Secessionists aimed to create an “art of using forms that, although they signify nothing, represent nothing and recall nothing, can move the human soul,” as said by one of its founders, August Endell. Posters of this period, used to advertise the movement’s magazines and exhibitions as well as products, offer a first-hand look into the elements of style that defined the movement as it evolved.
Munich
The first of the Secessionist movements, the Munich Secession, was founded around 1892, when more artists were living in Munich than in Berlin and Vienna combined. The first Secession was a response to the more close-minded artistic institutions of Germany who discredited modern styles and held only historical painting in esteem. A group of Munich artists were inspired by the Art Nouveau, Impressionist, Pre-Raphaelite, and other “non-academic” forms being exhibited throughout Europe and decided to break away, or “secede,” from the traditional, mainstream art scene.
Franz Von Stuck, one of the co-founders of the Munich Secession, created what would become the iconic emblem of the Secession in his depiction of the head of Athena, which was used to advertise the group’s first international exhibition. This poster is considered to be “the first modern artistic German poster” (Rademacher p. 58), and the head of Athena continued to be used by Secessionist artists like Gustav Klimt, whose own depiction of the goddess later became the emblem for the Vienna Secession:
(left) Franz von Stück, Internationale Kunst – Ausstellung / (Secession), circa 1898. Sold in 2020 $3,500; (right) Gustav Klimt, XVIII Secession Ausstellung, 1903. Sold in 2004 for $29,000.
Franz Von Stuck, one of the co-founders of the Munich Secession, created what would become the iconic emblem of the Secession in his depiction of the head of Athena, which was used to advertise the group’s first international exhibition. This poster is considered to be “the first modern artistic German poster” (Rademacher p. 58), and the head of Athena continued to be used by Secessionist artists like Gustav Klimt, whose own depiction of the goddess later became the emblem for the Vienna Secession.
Vienna
The most notable of the Secession schools, the Vienna Secession, was formed by Austrian artists across disciplines. Led by Gustav Klimt, artists such as Joseph Maria Olbrich, Josef Hoffmann, and Otto Wagner, who resigned from the conservative Association of Austrian Artists in 1897 and formed their own group.
(right) DIE FLÄCHE, an incredible design magazine by the Wiener Werkstätte who had come out of the Vienna Secession. Sold in 2020 for $3,750.
Ver Sacrum was the official magazine of the Vienna Secession, striking at first glance with its square and grid-like structure that took inspiration from artists of the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement like Charles Rennie Mackintosh: “This format allowed for a designer’s use of multiple text columns, decorative borders, and negative space.” The style was characteristic of the Vienna Secession, allowing for elaborate decorative “lettering ornamented to the limit of legibility” (Weill p. 115), also utilized in the posters of the time.
Alfred Roller, one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession—Koloman Moser, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoshka and Otto Czeschka—contributed often to Ver Sacrum and became editor after its seventh issue. His posters promoted the magazine and the group’s exhibitions, one of the most popular of which was for the fourteenth exhibition dedicated to Ludwig von Beethoven. The theme of this exhibition came from the Vienna Secession’s desire to unite all artistic disciplines, harkening back to the ideal originated by Richard Wagner in the early 19th century of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” or “total work of art.” This poster of a muse appeared as the frontispiece in the catalogue for the exhibition, where Klimt’s famous Beethoven Frieze was first unveiled.
Berlin
Max Lieberman and Walter Leistikow founded the Berlin Secession in 1898. This secession found its origins in a dispute in 1891 when the commission of the Association of Berlin Artists rejected works by Edvard Munch. After a series of major rejections of works by modern artists, reaching a climax with the Great Berlin Art Exhibition’s rejection of a painting by Walter Leistikow, the Berlin Secession was created with an initial 65 members, all agreeing that they did not have the support of the academy. This rare poster by Ludwig von Hofmann might be the first ever to advertise a Secession exhibition in Berlin.
While this piece (below) was designed one year before the founding of the Berlin Secession, the artist, Otto V. Holten, takes great inspiration from the decorative designs of William Morris, creating a work considered the first “pure Art Nouveau” image published in Germany, without any of the Hellenistic influences that were found in mainstream German art up to this time.
The innovative vision of the Secessionist artists has continued to endure through the ages, its design values appearing in psychedelic posters from the likes of Wes Wilson in the 1960s to graphic designers inspired by its timeless style today.
The post An Overview of Secessionist Posters appeared first on Swann Galleries News.