Secession Building

Secession Building
Secession Building
Secessionsgebäude
	Secession Building, Vienna, Austria
General information
Type	Exhibition pavilion
Architectural style	Art Nouveau
Location	Vienna, Austria
Coordinates	48°12′1.86″N 16°21′56.43″E / 48.2005167°N 16.3656750°E
Construction started	1897
Completed	1898
Dimensions
Diameter	40 m × 30 m (131 ft × 98 ft)
Technical details
Floor area	1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Joseph Maria Olbrich
Other designers	Koloman Moser, Gustav Klimt
Website
	www.secession.at

48°12′02″N 16°21′57″E / 48.200465°N 16.365746°E / 48.200465; 16.365746

The Secession Building (German: Secessionsgebäude) is an exhibition hall in Vienna, Austria, built in 1898 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession,^[1] a group of rebel artists that seceded from the long-established fine art institution.

Description

The building features the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt,^[2] one of the most widely recognized artworks of Secession style (a branch of Art Nouveau, also known as Jugendstil in Germany and Nordic countries). The building was financed by Karl Wittgenstein,^[3] the father of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

The motto of the Secessionist movement is written above the entrance of the pavilion: "To every age its art, to every art its freedom" (German: Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit). Below this is a sculpture of three gorgons representing painting, sculpture, and architecture.

The building has been selected to figure on the national side of the €0.50 Austrian coin. It also appears as the main motif of one of the Austrian gold collectors' coins: the 100 euro Secession commemorative coin, minted in November 2004, on the obverse side. The reverse depicts a detail from the Beethoven Frieze, which is housed in the building.