Page 32 - Studio International - January 1971

3
a more functional kind of architecture and of A. Hrdlicka
Haarman 1966
a more unified kind of design in which the Pencil, tempera and pen
interior and exterior of a building would be paper and canvas
210x 300 cm.
the result of a single conception. An important Courtesy Royal Academy
part of the first exhibition was therefore the of Arts, London
Ver Sacrum room, designed by Josef Hoffmann 4
Egon Schiele
and exhibited in its entirety, mirrors, vases, Poster for Vienna
curtains and all. By carefully planning such Secession Exhibition 1918
environments the architects of the Secession 5
F. Wotruba
hoped that art might affect life more directly Figure 1962-3
and improve its quality for those lucky enough Marble
160 x 80 X 50 cm.
to inhabit their houses. Coll: Lehmbruck-
For its approach to architecture and design Museum Duisburg
Photo : Helmut Baar
the Secession must therefore be seen as the
6
Austrian contribution to Art Nouveau, and Georg Eisler
there is no doubt that it was a considerable Phoenix-Club 1969
Oil on Canvas
contribution, influenced greatly by develop- 46 X 35 cm
ments in England and France, but exerting in Photo : Otto Breicha
turn an enormous influence on other Euro-
pean countries, and particularly Germany.
But even here the progress which the Secession
achieved was limited. Otto Wagner, who was
persuaded to become a member of the group
in 1899, and who had described the beauties
of functional form and logical design in his
book Modern Architecture (1894), never man-
aged to make his work mirror his ideas, and
his pupils, Hoffmann and Olbrich, although
they came closer to Wagner's theories than