Klinger, Beethoven: XIV. Ausstellung der Vereinigung bildender Künstler Österreichs Secession Wien: April-Juni 1902

This little book is a treasure trove of art and information. It describes the Beethoven Exhibition at the Vienna Secession in 1902, a landmark in the development of modern art. Some seventeen artists collaborated to produce an immersive multi-media experience, all centered on the brooding presence of a massive statue of the heroic composer. Along with the details of the exhibition and the community that supported it, the book contains sixteen woodcuts by Secession artists. Formed just five years earlier by artists escaping from the stifling atmosphere of the traditional Austrian Artists’ Association, the Secession already prefigured many artistic tendencies of the 20th century: openness to international ideas, extreme geometric and chromatic simplification, and independent artists’ movements.