Jugendstil

Jugendstil (German pronunciation: [ˈjuːɡn̩tˌstiːl] ^ⓘ; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian counterpart of Art Nouveau. The members of the movement were reacting against the historicism and neo-classicism of the official art and architecture academies. It took its name from the art journal Jugend, founded by the German artist Georg Hirth. It was especially active in the graphic arts and interior decoration.

Its major centers of activity were Munich, Vienna and Weimar and the Darmstadt Artists' Colony founded in Darmstadt in 1901. Important figures of the movement included the Swiss graphic artist Hermann Obrist, Otto Eckmann, the Belgian architect and decorator Henry van de Velde, as well as the Austrians Otto Wagner, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser, among others. In its earlier years, the style was influenced by the British Modern Style. It was also influenced by Japanese prints. Later, under the Secessionists' influence, it tended toward abstraction and more geometrical forms.

From 1898 to 1903, The Vienna Secession, led by Gustav Klimt and Max Kurzweil published the journal Ver Sacrum (magazine) , an important chronicle of many of the groups artistic contributions to the world of art and design.

The Secession Building, completed in 1898 by Joseph Maria Olbrich in Vienna, is widely regarded as one of Europes most noteworthy early modernist buildings in the style of the Vienna Secession.