Art in Vienna 1898-1918

By Peter Vergo

"Handsomely reproduces some of the work that so shocked the conservative Viennese public." —Observer

"The continuing value of this seminal title is demonstrated by its publication as a fourth edition." —Library Journal

"[T]he go-to volume for the artists of the Vienna Secession." —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The artistic stagnation of Vienna at the end of the nineteenth century was rudely shaken by the artists of the Secession. Their works at first shocked a conservative public; but their successive exhibitions, their magazine "Ver Sacrum", and their application to the applied arts and architecture soon brought them an enthusiastic following and wealthy patronage. This book traces the course of this development, of the Wiener Werkstätte that followed, and the individual works of the artists concerned. Peter Vergo quotes extensively from the writings of contemporary reviewers, critics and the artists themselves. He has eyewitness accounts of the exhibitions, the opening of the Secession building, the work in progress on the Palais Stoclet and Kabarett Fledermaus. The result is a documentary study of the successes and failures, hopes and fears of the members of an artistic movement which is still admired today.

Hardcover
285 pages | 150 color images, 75 black-and-white images
Phaidon Press, 2015
10.2 x 1.1 x 11.8 inches
ISBN 9780714868783
Austrian History, Art History, Viennese Secession, Wiener Werkstätte