Published in Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century, Die Quelle (The Source) is one of the most significant portfolios of the Vienna Secession and an important landmark in the history of graphic and decorative design.
The Vienna Secession postcards produced for the 1898 exhibition represented a new and progressive form of advertising. Unlike traditional picture postcards, which typically featured picturesque views and tourist attractions, these cards embodied the graphic ambitions of the Vienna Secession through their innovative integration of image, typography, and symbolism.
At the turn of the 20th century, Vienna stood as Europe’s unchallenged capital of grand social fêtes—especially its legendary balls and redoutes (Masked Balls). These lavish gatherings were more than social evenings; they reflected the city’s cultural aspirations, political alliances, and artistic revolutions.
The Vienna Secession’s contribution to graphic design has surprisingly garnered little attention within the canon of the graphic arts.
In a career that spanned nearly 4 decades, graphic artist Julius Klinger embraced a variety of different styles from Jugendstil, Art Deco, and eventually becoming an advocate of the ‘New Typography’ that was being developed by the Bauhaus and Jan Tschichold.
Last year, I was honoured to have an article published in the Art Nouveau Journal Coup de Fouet. The article is a condensed version of my research into German and Austrian Art Nouveau Magazines, and is now available online on their website.
As one of the leading poster designers in history, Julius Klinger is responsible for developing many of the principles of design still used today. As a writer and educator, he devoted himself to creating a universal model of design based upon principles of negative space, simplification of form and colour, and the power of visual symbols.
I've added a new gallery page for the Austrian designer Maximilian [...]
Oscar Kokoschka is credited as being the artist who broke with the Jugendstil style–Austria’s equivalent of Art Nouveau– to create Austrian Expression. The true father of Expressionism in Austria was in fact the young and timid painter Richard Gerstle, but because of his early death from suicide and the relatively small body of work he left behind, the title is often given to Kokoschka instead.
On May 10th, Swann Galleries Auction house in New York [...]
