[1st Art Exhibition of the Union of Austrian Artists – Secession (Uncensored)]

The Vienna Secession was founded on 3 April 1897 by Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Joseph Maria Olbrich, and other artists who had decided to secede from the Vienna Künstlerhaus. These “Secessionists” rejected the conservatism and the traditional concept of art that prevailed there and strove to create a modern, Austrian style. For their first exhibition, held on the premises of the k. k. Gartenbaugesellschaft [Imperial Royal Horticultural Society] in 1898, Gustav Klimt designed a poster that went beyond being a mere announcement to function as a manifesto of sorts. Klimt depicted the battle between Theseus and the Minotaur: Theseus, sheltered by Pallas Athena, personified the Secessionists’ new conception of art, while the Minotaur stood for the conservative Künstlerhaus. This depiction was taken as an affront, and the k. k. Censurbehörde [Imperial Royal Censorship Office] objected to the fig leaf (which they deemed too small). It was only after this detail had been “corrected” that the poster was allowed to be displayed.