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| Secession |
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The construction of a proper
exhibition space was already among the programmatic concerns at the
foundation meeting of the “Association of visual artists Vienna
Secession”. The Secessionists commissioned the barely 30-year-old
architect Joseph Maria Olbrich, (at that time a member of staff at
the studio of Otto Wagner), with the conception of the structure,
which would become one of the key achievements in Viennese
Jugendstil (art nouveau). |
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| Initially, land at the Ringstraße was
acquired as a site for the building. However, Olbrich’s drafts raised
sharp protest in the Viennese municipal council. Not until the
relocation of the building site to the Friedrichstraße did the municipal
council authorise the “edification of a temporary exhibition pavilion
for a period of ten years at the longest” (protocol of the municipal
council meeting from 17 November 1897). The necessary financial means
for the construction were partly provided by patrons, above all by the
industrialist Karl Wittgenstein, and partly from the proceeds of the
first exhibition in the Imperial and Royal Horticultural Society. The
construction site at the Wienzeile was given by the township of Vienna.
The building was developed by Joseph Maria Olbrich in a ten-month
planning within which he had to adapt to ever changing conditions; he
had to rework and refine his design. On 28 April 1989, the foundation
stone was laid during a small celebration. Only six months later, on 29
October 1898, construction was complete. |
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| The construction typology |
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| The ground plan and front view of the
Secession offers a very simple geometry. The building spreads over an
area of about 1000m² and is located over a centralised layout. For the
entrance and exhibition area, Olbrich interlocks the basic motif of a
square with several cruciform arrangements. This layout pattern in turn
generates the elevation and thus the entire sculptural shape of the
building. The exterior gives the unbroken surface a particular
prominence. Because of the manifold enclosed walls, the building appears
from the outside as if it is built from massive cubes. However, Olbrich
uses the strict geometry only as general frame, which he then emblazoned
with lines, curvatures and overlapping. He subdivides the building into
a “head” and “body”; that is, the “representative” entrance area and the
“functional” exhibition area. The foyer is flanked by hermetical blocks
and overtopped by four pylons which incorporate the dome. The exhibition
room is divided according to the plan of a Basilica, namely a raised
central nave, two lower side aisles and a locking transept. It is almost
entirely covered with tent-like glass roofs which provide the interior
with an even distributed of light. |
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| The iconic language of
architecture |
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| The laurel is the dominating symbolic
element on the finished building. It is situated on the pilasters of the
front wing and the niche on the entrance. Furthermore, it also appears
within various annular motives on the façade and it towers above the
building in the form of a dome consisting of 3000 gold plated leaves and
700 berries. What is more, the entrance area is adorned by three gorgon
heads that represent the architectural, sculptural and pictorial arts.
The façades are decorated with owls, shaped by Joseph Maria Olbrichs
himself (after Kolo Moser’s designs). Gorgons and owls are the symbols
of Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, victory and the industrial
arts. Joseph Maria Olbrich interconnected the construction with a
symbolic and iconic language, which found a new and popular utilisation. |
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| Contemporary criticism |
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| The construction of the Secession, today
a highlight of every trip to Vienna, was faced with scorn at the turn of
the century. The building was described as “temple for tree frogs”,
“temple of the anarchistic art movement”, “mausoleum”, “Egyptian royal
tomb”, “tomb of Mahdi” and “crematorium”. The dome was denoted as
“cabbage“, and the entire building was known as “hybrid of temple and
warehouse” and “crossover between a glasshouse and a furnace”. |
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| The building history |
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| In its hundred years of history, the
Wiener Secession has been renovated and converted several times. Already
in 1901 the entrance area was reorganised. 1908 saw the removal of some
parts of the décor and of the slogan “To every age its art and to art
its freedom“ (“Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit”). At the
end of the Second World War, the building was damaged by bombs and set
on fire in the German Wehrmacht withdrawal. During renovation in 1963,
the original décor was reconstructed and a gallery in the entrance hall
was added. 1984/85 saw another overall refurbishment, lead-managed by
Adolf Krischanitz. Alongside the rearrangement of the original room
typology of the central entrance and exhibition area, the rooms for
exhibition organisation and technology were newly organised and updated.
Altogether, about 20 exhibitions a year take place in the premises of
the Wiener Secession (main room, gallery, graphic cabinet and Ver Sacrum
room). The entire exhibition space amounts to 1000m². Every exhibition
is accompanied by a publication, often paralleled by a range of events,
lectures, symposia, art discussions, etc. |
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| Beethoven frieze |
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“The three Gorgons.
Sickness, Madness and Death”
Gustav Klimt – The Beethoven frieze. Item on loan from the
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
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| Gustav Klimt created the famous Beethoven
frieze for the XIV exhibition of the Association of visual artists
Vienna Secession, which took place from 15 April – 27 June 1902. During
this exhibition the idea of the secessionistic synthesis of the arts
really took shape and prominence under the direction of Josef Hoffmann.
The frieze was intended as homage to the composer Ludwig van Beethoven,
and the works of art by 21 members of the association of visual artists
corresponded, as regards content and space, to the just completed
Beethoven figure by Max Klinger. Klimt’s monumental wall cycle was
situated in the left side hall, which was the room in the exhibition a
visitor saw when first entering. Today, the frieze is considered a
self-contained work of art and is regarded as among the culmination of
Wiener Jugendstil. |
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