Gustav Klimt, Judith, 1901, Öl auf Leinwand, 84 x 42 cm © Belvedere, Wien, Foto: Johannes Stoll

BERLIN - “Secessions. Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann” at the Alte Nationalgalerie is the first exhibition dedicated to a comparison of the three turn-of-the-century art metropolises: Munich, Vienna, and Berlin. As modernism dawned, the artistic avant-gardes pushed for freedom in both the institutions of art and the subject matter it expresses. Many artists of the new art currents of Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and Impressionism were first presented in the highly regarded Secession exhibitions. This exhibition comprises more than 200 paintings, sculptures, and graphic works by 80 artists. Through a collaboration with the Wien Museum, it features not only many artists who can be discovered for the first time, but also foregrounds the oeuvre of Gustav Klimt with numerous examples of his work. This is the first time such a comprehensive presentation of Klimt’s work has been shown in Berlin.

In their departure (or secession) from traditional artists’ associations and outdated structures such as the art academies, the new groups strove for aesthetic pluralism and artistic individuality. The most significant secessions in German-speaking Europe emerged in quick succession, their members overlapping: in 1892 in Munich, 1897 in Vienna, and 1899 in Berlin. Still today, they continue to be connected with the influential protagonists Gustav Klimt, Franz von Stuck, and Max Liebermann and their work. In addition to these protagonists, the current exhibition shows works by Lovis Corinth, Josef Engelhart, Hugo von Habermann, Emilie von Hallavanya, Thomas Theodor Heine, Dora Hitz, Josef Hoffmann, Max Klinger, Käthe Kollwitz, Max Kurzweil, Walter Leistikow, Sabine Lepsius, Elena Luksch-Makowsky, Carl Moll, Koloman Moser, Maria Slavona, Max Slevogt, Fritz von Uhde, Lesser Ury, Otto Wagner, Julie Wolfthorn as well as works by international guests such as Ferdinand Hodler, Edvard Munch, Auguste Rodin, Giovanni Segantini and Jan Toorop.

The juxtaposition of the three Secessions helps illustrate common goals and ambitions beyond specific local characteristics, all while shedding light on the phenomenon of secessions and their contribution to the development of art in Western Europe. Important in this respect – alongside new exhibition formats – were internationality and the promotion of the avant-garde in every form, which not least of all helped innovative currents such as Impressionism and Symbolism achieve a breakthrough in the German-speaking world.

Curated by Ralph Gleis, Director of the Alte Nationalgalerie and Ursula Storch, Vice Director of the Wien Museum.
An exhibition catalog featuring many illustrations is published by the Hirmer Verlag in German and English with texts by Karin Althaus, Ralph Gleis, Anke Matelowski, Ursula Storch (328 pages, 265 color images, Museum edition: 30 Euro (German); 45 Euro (English); Book shops: 45 Euro).
The exhibition will be shown at the Wien Museum in May 22, 2024 until October 13, 2024.
The exhibition has been made possible by the Freunde der Nationalgalerie (Friends of the Nationalgalerie) with support from White & Case LLP.

Gustav Klimt, Pallas Athene, 1898, 75 x 75 cm, Wien Museum, Foto: Birgit und Peter Kainz, Wien Museum

Franz von Stuck, Die Sünde, um 1912, Öl auf Leinwand, 88 x 52,5 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Andres Kilger

Max Liebermann, Landhaus in Hilversum, 1901, Öl auf Leinwand, 65 x 80 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Thomas Theodor Heine, Der Teufel, 1902/1903, Bronze, 41 x 19 x 22cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Andres Kilger

Dora Hitz, Kirschenernte, vor 1905, Öl auf Leinwand, 160 x 232 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Reinhard Saczevski

Gustav Klimt, Nach dem Regen, 1898, Öl auf Leinwand, 80 x 40 cm, © Belvedere, Wien

Gustav Klimt, Bildnis Emilie Flöge, 1902, Öl auf Leinwand, 184,3 x 86,6 cm, Wien Museum, © Birgit und Peter Kainz, Wien Museum

Gustav Klimt, Seeufer mit Birken, 1901, Öl auf Leinwand, 90 x 90 cm, © Privatsammlung

Max Kurzweil, Dame in Gelb, 1899, Öl auf Leinwand, 171,5 x 171,5 cm, Wien Museum © Birgit und Peter Kainz, Wien Museum

Carl Moll, Salon im Haus von Carl Moll auf der Hohen Warte, 1903, Öl auf Leinwand, 53,5 x 35,5 cm, Wien Museum © Birgit und Peter Kainz, Wien Museum

Maria Slavona, Häuser am Montmartre, 1898, Öl auf Leinwand, 116,5 x 81 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Maximilian Lenz, Sirk-Ecke (Ringstraße), 1900, Öl auf Leinwand, 73,8 x 163,8 cm, © Wien Museum, Foto: Birgit und Peter Kainz

Wilhelm Schulz, Plakat für die 2. Ausstellung der Berliner Secession, 1900, Lithografie, 57,1 x 45,5 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Foto: Dietmar Katz

Thomas Theodor Heine, Plakat für die 3. Ausstellung der Berliner Secession, 1901, Lithografie, 65,5 × 90 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Foto: Dietmar Katz

Ernestine Schultze-Naumburg, Dame in Weiß, 1898, Öl auf Leinwand, 90 × 120 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie, Foto: Kunsthaus Lempertz, Foto: Robert Oisin Cusack, Köln

Max Liebermann, In den Zelten (Restaurationsgarten – Biergarten in Leiden), 1900, Öl auf Leinwand, 51 × 76 cm, © bpk / Hamburger Kunsthalle / Elke Walford

Käthe Kollwitz, Selbstbildnis en face, 1904, Farblithografie, 41,2 x 31,8 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Anna Hillermann, Selbstbildnis im Atelier, um 1900, Öl auf Leinwand, 44 x 35 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München