Almost forgotten now, The Vienna Secession was a group of artists: painters, sculptors and architects, including Gustav Klimt, Kolman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, later joined by the very influential Otto Wagner, who broke away from the conservative constraints of the Association of Austrian Artists in 1897. Their first exhibition in 1898 influenced others and a Munich and Berlin Secession soon followed.
Secessionist Swags
It would be difficult to ascribe one particular style to the secessionist movement that prided itself on experimentation. The group of textile swatch documents offered here,from a Swiss collection, circa 1900, would be difficult to describe as anything but Secessionist. The modifying of Art Nouveau decoration in the classical manner by Otto Wagner is evident in the use of line and subdued colouring and, in the context of their time, can only be described as modern. This is a unique collection of vintage textile document swatches from early twentieth century Europe is ready to be converted by twenty-first century designers. There is only one of each of these lovely fabric documents in this collection and I would be surprised if there is a similar collection anywhere in the world.
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