Cultural history and masterpieces of art from around 1900: the Secessions exhibition at the Wien Museum delivers a triumvirate of pleasure.
- Covers the secessionist art movements in Munich, Berlin & Vienna
- Numerous important art works and names feature
- …including, of course, Gustav Klimt
- All text in English, too
- Runs May 23 – Oct 13, 2024
- See also:
Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann
(A trio of Klimts; press photo courtesy of the Wien Museum and © Klaus Pichler)
The time around 1900 in Vienna seems to have acquired an almost mystical aura to it. You begin to imagine the city was 90% inspired creatives and intellectuals, 7% coffee house waiters and 3% artist’s models.
Reality was very different, of course (ask the people working on the Ringstrasse construction sites). But it was indeed a time of transition toward modernity in a melting pot of a city.
The art world, for example, began to throw off the shackles of traditional structures and abandon rigorous definitions of what was right and wrong, chipping away at the existing barriers between approval and rejection.
In Vienna, you had Klimt and colleagues leaving the Künstlerhaus artist association to establish the Secession in 1897: an association built around greater creative freedom, openness to external and international influences, and more autonomy for the individual artist.
(Max Liebermann: Country House in Hilversum, 1901, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm; press photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Jörg P. Anders. Liebermann was the driving force behind the Munich Secession)
The results led to a thunderstorm of creativity and a diversity of artistic expression.
But Vienna did not have the monopoly on secessionist movements (whatever we Viennese would like to think).
The Munich Secession, for example, appeared in 1892…five years before the Viennese equivalent. Berlin followed in 1899. All driven to move away from the corset of controlled conservatism.
All three groups had their figureheads: the names always mentioned in association with the relevant secession. So while the Vienna Secession counted the likes of Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann among their founders, people always think of Gustav Klimt in this context.
In Munich, it was Franz von Stuck. In Berlin, Max Liebermann.
(Auguste Rodin: Jules Dalou, 1883; press photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / photo by: Andres Kilger. Rodin enjoyed a regular exchange with secessionist artists)
These three secessions form the topic of the same-named exhibition at the Wien Museum, created in cooperation with Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie.
Secessions explores the movements in terms of their commonalities and differences, their art and its themes. All with the help of numerous illustrative works, exhibition posters, publications and other documents.
Which means we get to see a fair few masterpieces. And not just from the three named protagonists, though the opening room showcases their talent in particular.
Expect to also view art by the likes of Lovis Corinth, Edvard Munch, Max Klinger, Käthe Kollwitz, Auguste Rodin, Max Kurzweil, Carl Moll, Ferdinand Hodler, Koloman Moser, Otto Wagner, and many more.
(Pallas Athene as interpreted by von Stuck on the left, Klimt on the right); press photo courtesy of the Wien Museum and © Klaus Pichler)
My highlights:
- The juxtaposition of two Pallas Athene paintings, one by Klimt and one by Franz von Stuck. Klimt’s version has a couple of cheeky touches taking aim at the artists group the secessionists left behind (like the protruding tongue on the breastplate)
- Three iconic Klimt “portrait” paintings lined up next to each other, perhaps for the first time(?): 1899’s Nuda Veritas, 1898’s Sonja Knirps and 1902’s Emilie Flöge
- The variety of styles and motifs, hinting at the creativity drawn out by secessionist approaches
- The discovery of German artists I’d not encountered before (or not taken to heart), such as:
- Dora Hitz (co-founder of the Berlin Secession, which allowed women artists to become members from Day 1, unlike the Vienna equivalent)
- Lovis Corinth (look for his 1903 portrait of The Pianist Conrad Ansorge)
- Walter Leistikow (look for the astonishing Grunewaldsee riparian landscape from 1895)
Special mention goes to Teresa Feodorowna Ries for her 1902 self-portrait, which has a strong, “Yes, I’m a woman, I’m an artist and I’m here… you have a problem with that?” vibe. Loved it.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy Secessions from May 23rd to October 13th, 2024. Entry to the permanent exhibition of the Wien Museum is free but special exhibitions require a €12 ticket at the time of writing.
The Secession continues in Vienna today, and their famous home is just a short walk from the Wien Museum. Inside you find contemporary art exhibitions and Klimt’s monumental Beethovenfries.
For more secessionist art, your best bets are the permanent exhibitions at Upper Belvedere and the Leopold Museum. Both have extensive collections from that period, including many paintings by Klimt.
How to get to Secessions
Follow the travel tips on the Wien Museum Karlsplatz page. The special exhibition is on the fourth floor.
Address: Karlsplatz 8, 1040 Vienna