Secession Building

The Secession Building (German: Secessionsgebäude) is an exhibition hall in Vienna, Austria. It was completed in 1898 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession,[1] a group of rebel artists that seceded from the long-established fine art institution.

Secession Building
Secessionsgebäude
The Secession Building in 2017
General information
TypeExhibition pavilion
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
LocationVienna, Austria
Coordinates48°12′1.86″N 16°21′56.43″E
Construction started1897
Completed1898
Dimensions
Diameter40 m × 30 m (131 ft × 98 ft)
Technical details
Floor area1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
ArchitectJoseph Maria Olbrich
Other designersKoloman Moser, Gustav Klimt
Website
www.secession.at

Description

The building features the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt,[2] one of the most widely recognized artworks of Secession style (a branch of Art Nouveau, also known as Jugendstil in Germany and Nordic countries). The building was financed by Karl Wittgenstein,[3] the father of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

The motto of the Secessionist movement is written above the entrance of the pavilion: "To every age its art, to every art its freedom" (German: Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit). Below this is a sculpture of three gorgons representing painting, sculpture, and architecture.

The building has been selected to figure on the national side of the €0.50 Austrian coin. It also appears as the main motif of one of the Austrian gold collectors' coins: the 100 euro Secession commemorative coin, minted in November 2004, on the obverse side. The reverse depicts a detail from the Beethoven Frieze, which is housed in the building.

Images

Influences
Palace of Art, also known as "Secession", of the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts, in Krakow Old Town

Young Poland (Polish: Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918 during Austria-Hungary. Many of the exhibitions were held at the Palace of Art, also known as "Secession", of the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts, in Krakow Old Town.

References
  1. Secession hall official web site: The Building Archived 2008-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Secession hall official web site: The Beethoven Frieze
  3. Monk, Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius: p.8

Media related to Secession Building, Vienna at Wikimedia Commons


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