VIENNA SECESSION.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Die Fläche. First edition of both numbers of the second volume of Die Fläche, one of the great triumphs of the Vienna Secession, "the most important and influential pattern book of its time" (Rennhofer, p. 131).Alongside the earlier Ver Sacrum, this was the principal periodical of the Vienna Secession, the group of Austrian artists led by Gustav Klimt who, in 1897, broke away from the conservative Künstlerhaus to promote modern art and the ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Die Fläche was formulated as a pattern book of graphic ornament, insignia, and poster design, almost devoid of text. The first volume of Die Fläche was issued in 12 numbers from 1902 to 1904. Volume II was left unfinished after these two numbers were issued in 1910 and 1911."Die Flache II extends the first volume's vision of a dazzling design periodical, with notable innovations in format and style... Each issue of Die Flache II consists of four single-sided leporello foldouts (also known as accordions or concertinas). These allow four panels to be seen at once and, in their original unbound format, stood upright for display. At the time, the leporello was a popular format for souvenir albums, panoramas, and illustrated children's books, but in Die Flache, a further artistic reference is implied: the four walls of a gallery room" (Saunders, p. 284).

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