Vienna: Secession

1897 – 1898

Architect: Joseph Maria Olbrich

Friedrichstrasse 12, Vienna, Austria

The Secession, an artists’ association in Vienna, commissioned Joseph Maria Olbrich to design its exhibition building, which was completed between 1897 and 1898.

Vienna Secession

In 1897, a group of artists, designers and architects, including Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Max Kurzweil, and Wilhelm Bernatzik, left the Vienna Künstlerhaus in protest of its exhibition policy. They then founded the Vienna Secession, which was modeled after the Munich Secession.

Emblazoned in golden letters below the dome is the Secession’s motto: “Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst ihre Freiheit” (To the age its art, to art its freedom), by Ludwig Hevesi.

To the left of the entrance door is a second motto, “Ver Sacrum” (Holy Spring), which expresses the artists’ hope for a new flowering of art. It was also the title of their publication.

Building

The building rests on eight-meter-high concrete columns that extend to the Vienna River, which flows underground at this point.

Olbrich divided the structure into a representative main building and a simple hall.

Sliding interior walls allow the size of the rooms to be changed and adapted to different situations.

Beethoven Frieze

Gustav Klimt‘s Beethoven Frieze was originally created in 1902 for a temporary exhibition at the Vienna Secession. It is now on permanent loan from the Belvedere and can be seen in the basement.

Total Work of Art

The cubic building, which has four pylons and a cross wing, is topped by a dome adorned with laurel leaves made of gilded bronze.

Above the entrance is a frieze featuring gorgons that symbolize painting, architecture, and sculpture. Othmar Schimkowitz designed the gorgons.

The side facades of the building are adorned with groups of owls and a roundelay of wreath-bearing women, which were designed by Koloman Moser. Josef Hoffmann designed the abstract line decorations.

Georg Klimt, Gustav Klimt’s brother, designed the bronze entrance doors. Robert Oerley designed the two mosaic bowls next to the staircase leading to the entrance portal.

Renovation and Restoration

In December 2017, the façade was renovated and the dome was restored.

The 8.5-meter-diameter wrought-iron dome was dismantled for about six months.

In addition to repair welding and improvements to the supporting structure, all 2,500 leaves and 311 berries were recoated and regilded.

The dome’s restoration was completed in mid-May 2018.