The Vienna Secession Exhibitions

One of the main goals of the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession, founded in 1897, was to bring the European avant-garde to Vienna. The Viennese bourgeoisie was to become acquainted with the latest trends, especially those of Western European art, such as the French Impressionists, the works of Auguste Rodin, Ferdinand Hodler, and the Belgian Symbolists.

According to Gustav Klimt, the first president of the Secession, there was a need "to bring Viennese art life into closer correlation with the progressive developments in foreign art, and to base the exhibition system purely on the art itself, rather than market demands."

Within the first eight years of its existence, the Secession developed a great number of activities that presented groundbreaking exhibition themes in new ways to the Viennese people. By 1905, the year in which the Klimt Group left the Secession, a total of 23 exhibitions had been held.

The Secession forged new paths during the design of the exhibitions and surprised its audiences with modern forms of presentation. Koloman Moser was particularly influential and created half the exhibitions until 1905. Other important architects of the exhibitions were Josef Hoffmann and Alfred Roller.

One year after its foundation, the first exhibition by the Secession took place in the "Wiener Gartenbausälen" (Horticultural Halls). Emperor Franz Joseph personally visited the show on April 6, 1898, and was ceremoniously welcomed by the members of the association, led by the elderly watercolorist, Rudolf von Alt.

Joseph Maria Olbrich was responsible for designing the first exhibition, along with Josef Hoffmann. Olbrich was also the architect of the Secession building, which was under construction at the time. However, the architects were only able to demonstrate their new ideas for presentation to a limited extent in the "Gartenbausäle" rooms.

A postcard designed by Koloman Moser was issued for the first exhibition by the Secession. Next to the three coats of arms—the symbol of the new artists' association—a winged genius appears, which alludes to the motif on the glass window designed by Moser in the foyer of the Secession.

On November 12, 1898, the Secession building was ceremonially opened. At the same time, the Secession presented their second exhibition. A postcard was issued showing the view of the middle hall designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich. The green plants used for decoration are striking.

Otto Wagner, a member of the new artists' association and former teacher of Olbrich and Hoffmann, also participated in setting up the opening exhibition of the Secession. He created structure in the main room using monumental columns and covered the walls with fabrics.

Part of the second Secession exhibition included the "Ver Sacrum" Room, which was located in the entrance area of the building. Josef Hoffmann designed the furniture, wall paneling, and door frames in the curved shapes of floral art nouveau.

In the spring of 1899, the fourth Secession exhibition took place. In the main hall, Joseph Maria Olbrich staged the presentation of a large group of sculptures named "Triumphzug des Marc Anton" (Triumphal Procession of Mark Antony), created by the sculptor, Arthur Strasser. Olbrich's architecture added to the monumental effect of this work of art.

The Association of Visual Artists—the official name of the Secession—always staged its openings as a major social event. An elegantly designed invitation was also sent out for the opening of the fourth exhibition on March 17, 1899.

After Joseph Maria Olbrich was called to Darmstadt in the summer of 1899, Josef Hoffmann succeeded him as the lead designer of the Secession exhibitions. The fifth exhibition already bore Hoffmann's signature. It ran from November through December 1899 and was dedicated exclusively to graphic art.

Alongside Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser also increasingly appeared as a designer. Moser arranged the sixth exhibition, which was shown from January through February 1900 and was dedicated to Japanese art. The show, comprising 700 objects, was a sensation for the Viennese art world.

The French pointillist, Paul Signac, was invited to participate in the seventh exhibition of the Secession, which took place in the spring of 1900. Signac decided to show only watercolors in Vienna. He sent a detailed plan for the hanging of his work in advance.

The eighth Secession exhibition, which ran from November through December 1900, was dedicated to international crafts. The British designer, Charles Robert Ashbee, along with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his peers, and the Parisian art house "La Maison Moderne," all made sensational appearances at this exhibition.

The show's main hall, in which the works of Charles Robert Ashbee were displayed, was designed by Josef Hoffmann. He chose a surprisingly strict, geometric design, which departed significantly from the curved shapes he had previously used. With it, Hoffmann made a groundbreaking stylistic turnaround.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh presented his work and that of his wife Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh in the "Ver Sacrum" Room, which the Scottish artists themselves designed. He chose contrasting colors of black and white, surprising the Viennese audience with his innovative design.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was also appointed as a "corresponding" member of the Vienna Secession during the course of his participation in the eighth Secession exhibition. In a letter addressed to Carl Moll—written in German while in Glasgow—he expressed his gratitude for this great honor.

For the ninth Secession exhibition from January through February 1901, Alfred Roller was responsible for the first time for its design. The central octagon was spectacular. It was made of fabric panels that formed a tent-like roof. Other works were shown by Auguste Rodin and Giovanni Segantini, among others.

Alongside Segantini, Auguste Rodin was the main artist at the ninth Secession exhibition. The Secession's archive contains participation records, in which Rodin personally noted 16 sculptures and 8 framed works together with their respective prizes. Rodin then also attended the Vienna Secession in 1902.

At the tenth Secession exhibition from March through May 1901, Klimt presented the second of the three "Faculty Paintings," "Medizin" (Medicine), to the public for the first time. Once again, his work sparked a heated debate and split the public into supporters and opponents of Klimt.

The 12th Secession exhibition, running from November 1901 through January, 1902 was mostly devoted to Scandinavian and Russian art. Since some wall friezes had already been completed for the upcoming Beethoven exhibition, Hoffmann covered them with large, fabric panels hanging from the ceiling.

The positioning of the artwork was entrusted to a separate hanging commission. The often-tedious way to agree on where a certain piece of artwork should be hung could seem strange to outsiders, as depicted by the caricature that Friedrich König published in 1901 in the Ver Sacrum magazine.

Koloman Moser was responsible for the design of the 13th Secession exhibition, running from February through March 1902. His preference for strict, geometrically simple interior design became increasingly evident in his conspicuous use of rectangular and square grid modules.

One of the most spectacular events in the history of the Secession was undoubtedly the 14th exhibition, which took place from April through June 1902. The theme was an homage to Ludwig van Beethoven, who dominated the main room of the Secession in the form of a sensational sculpture by Max Klinger.

In Germany, Max Klinger was a master of symbolism. His statue shows Beethoven in a contemplative sitting position, with a mighty eagle resting at his feet. Through the use of different types of marble and metal, the figure creates a spectacularly colorful effect.

Klinger's Beethoven sculpture inspired a number of artists such as Gustav Klimt, Friedrich König, Ferdinand Andri, Alfred Roller, and Josef Maria Auchentaller to create wall friezes and other works of art for this show. Their stylish initials were presented in the show's catalog.

Wall friezes by several artists were displayed together in the right side room, which afforded a glimpse through to the main hall. The friezes along the long walls were designed by Ferdinand Andri and Josef Maria Auchentaller, and the friezes along the narrow walls were by Friedrich König and Ernst Stöhr.

The walls in the left side room, on the other hand, were dedicated solely to the Beethoven Frieze designed by Gustav Klimt. At a length of 112 feet, it covered three sides of the room. Like the other wall friezes, it was positioned on the upper part of the wall only.

The Beethoven Frieze follows a program of work derived from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Klimt was particularly inspired by the final chorus, whose words were written by Friedrich Schiller. Suffering humanity encounters hostile forces and finds fulfillment in the famous "Ode to Joy."

Josef Hoffmann was responsible for the spatial concept and overall design of the 14th Secession exhibition. At the end of the exhibition, the wall friezes were destroyed. Only the Beethoven Frieze was laboriously removed from the wall and was therefore kept for posterity.

Leopold Bauer designed the 15th Secession exhibition, which ran from November through December 1902. The room containing Klimt's Beethoven Frieze was given a new ceiling with a skylight, so the frieze was not visible. It was only to be seen again at the 18th exhibition, the great "Klimt Show."

The 18th exhibit by the Vienna Secession, which took place from November 1903 to January 1904, was dedicated exclusively to the work of Gustav Klimt. It was Klimt's first solo exhibit. There would be no other solo exhibit during his lifetime. The show was a curation of all the artist's important works that he had primarily created in the years immediately preceding it. Among them were all three Faculty Paintings. Although "Jurisprudenz" (Jurisprudence) was not quite finished, it was the first time it had been displayed publicly. The Beethoven Frieze, which Klimt had created for the Beethoven Exhibit the previous year, was also part of the exhibit. In this photo, which is one of the rare pieces of photographic evidence from the Klimt Exhibit in 1903, it is possible to make out the Klimt paintings "Silberfische" (Silverfish), "Judith," and "Nuda Veritas" beneath the Beethoven Frieze.

Numerous works by international artists were presented at the 19th Secession exhibition from January through March 1904, including "Death and the Child" and "Summer Night by the Beach" by the Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch. Munch announced the prices for the two pictures to Carl Moll in a telegram.

The 21st Secession exhibition, which ran from November through December 1904, was designed by and featured the so-called "naturalists." The naturalists were a group within the Secession that had long been opposed to the craft character of the paintings produced by Gustav Klimt and his friends.

For all Secession exhibitions, it was customary to make artistically sophisticated invitations to the openings. An invitation to the 21st exhibition, addressed to Koloman Moser, is held in the archives of the Vienna Secession.

The secessionists at the Beethoven exhibition 1902. From left to right: Anton Stark, Kolo Moser, Gustav Klimt, Maximilian Lenz, Adolf Böhm, Ernst Stöhr, Wilhelm List, Emil Orlik, Maximilian Kurzweil, Leopold Stolba, Carl Moll, Rudolf Bacher.