THE CONCEPT OF GESAMTKUNSTWERK AND 14TH SECESSION EXHIBITION

Abstract

Art Nouveau, which shows various original and local qualities in every country where it appears, has existed in Austria under the name of Style. With the desire to implement their new ideas, Secession artists left the Austrian Artists’ Society and founded the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession in 1897 under the leadership of Gustav Klimt. Between 1898-1905, they organized 23 exhibitions presenting the pioneers of International Modernism and the innovations they wanted to implement to lovers from Vienna. The 14th Exhibition of the Association, held between April 15 and June 27, 1902, was held as a tribute to the Composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. Held on the 75th anniversary of Beethoven's death, the exhibition revealed the Secession artists' vision of the inclusive synthesis of art. Curated by Josef Hoffmann, the exhibition in which twenty-one artists worked together. At the center of the exhibition Beethoven statue by Max Klinger was located, while Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze, which covers the three walls in the hall, was one of the most important works of the exhibition. Besides these works; There were works by Alfred Roller, Adolf Bohm, Ferdinand Andri and other artists. The purpose of the exhibition was to unite different branches of such as architecture, painting, sculpture and music under a common theme and to create a total work of art from the mutual interaction of all these works. In this study; the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk meaning total work of art and how this concept was embodied in the 14th Secession Exhibition are evaluated.