Design for the Emblem of the Union of Austrian Artists, Secession, 1897

Together with Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) and other kindred spirits, Koloman Moser (1868–1918) founded the Union of Austrian Artists Secession in 1897. Moser played a key role in the concept and design of the association’s magazine Ver Sacrum. It was his idea to publish an art magazine as the association’s official organ and he became the head of the committee in charge of the publication as well as the driving force behind it. Moser also took an active part in editorial work and illustrations, creating around 140 graphic designs throughout the six-year run of the Secession’s magazine (1898–1903), including vignettes, see Five Vignettes for Ver Sacrum, Design for Vignettes for Ver Sacrum, initials, ornamental borders, decorative frames for texts lllustration for a Poem by Arno Holz, Original Design Drawing for Ver Sacrum as well as covers and advertisements. Moser created a first draft for the overall layout of the magazine in 1897 and also designed the association’s emblem, which was used for letterheads and other printed matter. Thus, he had a lasting impact on the official visual appearance of the Secession. The square emblem shows three coats of arms linked by a circular line. It evokes the old guild sign of painters and uses the three coats of arms to symbolize the three arts – painting, sculpture and architecture. It hints at the geometric compositions that would come to dominate Moser’s works and also foreshadows the artist’s abandonment of the curved shapes and playful lines of organic Jugendstil in favor of a planar, geometric and abstract stylistic idiom.

LScr, 2024