![]() ![]() ![]() Photo: Photographic archives of the Austrian National Library, Moriz Nähr There was no strict coda or written philosophy attached to the Vienna Secession but to strive for “art as life” or an art which did not distinguish between ‘great art’ and the crafts, or art for the rich and art for the poor, was high on their agenda. Left to right: Anton Stark, Gustav Klimt (in armchair), Kolo Moser (in front of Klimt, wearing hat), Adolf Böhm, Maximilian Lenz (reclining), Ernst Stöhr (with hat), Wilhelm List, Emil Orlik (sitting), Maximilian Kurzweil (wearing cap), Leopold Stolba, Carl Moll (reclining), Rudolf Bacher. Group portrait of Vienna Secession members on the occasion of the XIV exhibition in 1902. This conflict between new ideals and the establishment came to a head in 1897 when forty members of the Kunstlerhaus seceded and founded their own association with Gustav Klimt as their president. The Kunstlerhaus was, in Gustav Klimt’s eyes, directed by commercial motivations which were limiting in their disregard of foreign artists and maintained art as something separate from the lives of the majority of the Austrian people. Unwanted reflections and flickering are not an issue with Zumtobel luminaires, and this accentuates the work all the more.The Vienna Secession grew out of a dissatisfaction with the traditional practices of the Kunstlerhausgenossenschaft an association which could have been called the Vienna Academie. The mixture of diffuse lighting and clear highlights creates a three-dimensional effect for Gustav Klimt’s series of pictures. “Tecton slim tunableWhite” LED luminaires by Zumtobel gently illuminate the ceiling of the high room, while “ Supersystem II” LED spotlights immerse the “Beethoven Frieze” in direct light. In the case of Klimt all the more so, because even if the immense frieze has a dramatic effect in itself, it is only through the incidence of light that the fine details, shining gold and silver sections, glass buttons, and small mirrored panels fully come into their own. Anyone who has ever been to an exhibition space knows how crucial the right lighting is for the impact a work makes. The museum’s gem is in the basement, Gustav Klimt’s “Beethoven Frieze,” a 34-meter mural dating from 1902 that is devoted to the composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony. It is as if the main exhibition space, a textbook white cube, has a skylight. In terms of its color temperature, the ceiling can be adapted such that the impression is of natural daylight. “ Tecton slim tunableWhite” is the name of the new lighting solution, which delivers even brightness by means of LED luminaires in the form of an illuminated ceiling. As part of the general refurbishment of the Secession Building, Vienna-based architect Adolf Krischanitz and Zumtobel developed a new lighting concept. In order for visitors to the building to be able to experience the pleasant feeling of immersing themselves in a gentle lighting ambience, a modern approach was needed for the artificial lighting in the evening and on dark winter days. Olbrich gave light a decisive role in the architecture and created spaces in which people and the works are happy to linger. The atmosphere in the Secession Building is calm and bright, with natural daylight pouring into the white exhibition space through long wall openings. And the building is also something special for those who have the good fortune to actually live in the Austrian capital. Located in a prominent position on Wienzeile and directly next to Naschmarkt, the exhibition venue is even today one of the first attractions tourists to Vienna like to visit. In the late 19th century Joseph Maria Olbrich designed the snow-white structure as an exhibition building for the Vienna Secession group of artists, whose founding president he was. “The frothy golden ball” is how the Viennese lovingly refer to the gilt laurel leaf dome which crowns one of the best-known Art Nouveau buildings there is.
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