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ONLINECOLLECTION

Poster for the 2nd Exhibition of the Vienna Secession, 1898

Leopold Museum,
Wien © Collection Richard Grubman
Color lithograph
86.5×46 cm

Artists

  • Joseph Maria Olbrich

    (Opava 1867–1908 Düsseldorf)

  • Lithograph and print Albert Berger, Vienna
Unfortunately not on display at the moment
Joseph Maria Olbrich (1867–1908) is now primarily known as the architect of the exhibition pavilion of the Vienna Secession at Friedrichstraße 2 – an iconic Jugendstil building. The exhibition hall opened in late 1898 and is located on the banks of the canalized Wien River, opposite the Naschmarkt and the Baroque building of the Karlskirche. Maybe Olbrich was inspired to conceptualize the pavilion’s facade with a golden cupola by the court architect’s design of the church’s famous cupola. His soujourn in North Africa – Olbrich had won the Prix de Rome at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1893 – might be another possible source of inspiration for his combination of a flat roof and a cupola. The poster for the 2nd Exhibition of the Vienna Secession celebrated the building, which was completed in only six months. The whitewashed walls were intended to symbolize purity and festivity, while the golden cupola and the ornaments alluded to the building’s role as “temple of the arts”.

Object data

Artist/author
  • Design: Joseph Maria Olbrich
  • Execution: Lithograph and print Albert Berger, Vienna
Title
Poster for the 2nd Exhibition of the Vienna Secession
Date
1898
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Color lithograph
Dimensions
86.5×46 cm
Credit line of the permanent loan
Collection Richard Grubman
Selection of Reference works
  • Wien 1900. Aufbruch in die Moderne, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2019 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, ab 15.03.2019).
  • Joseph Maria Olbrich 1867-1908. Architekt und Gestalter der frühen Moderne, eine Ausstellung in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Leopold Museum Wien und der Kunstbibliothek - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, hrsg. von Ralf Beil/Regina Stephan, Ostfildern 2010 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 18.06.2010-27.09.2010).
  • Wien 1900. Sammlung Leopold, hrsg. von Diethard Leopold/Peter Weinhäupl, Wien u.a. 2009.
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

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