SECESSION BUILDING, Presentation

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Secession Building.

Near the Naschmarkt, Vienna's largest and most popular market, the iconic Secession Building represents Vienna's entry into modernity.

At the end of the 19th century, Vienna rivalled Paris as the capital of culture and research. However, a group of young artists believed there was a need for the arts to move on from the eclectic and solemn style so dear to the Emperor Franz Joseph. This prompted Gustav Klimt to found the "Secession" movement. Although the name may have sounded controversial in an empire that was struggling to control the desire for independence of the various nations comprising it, it signified above all a departure from the traditional teaching of the Academies of Fine Art: the movement did not aspire to rebellion, but appealed to the tastes of the upper middle class, with elegant and expensive paintings and decorative art objects that placed the emphasis on technical skill and fine materials.

Klimt's refined painting style is replete with references to the past, but it is also loaded with messages and allusions....