Berlin Secession

The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating against the standards of academic or government-endorsed art. The movement is classified as a form of German Modernism, and came on the heels of several other secessions in Germany, including Jugendstil and the Munich Secession. History Rise and reign of the Secession The upheavals that led to the formation of the Berlin Secession began in 1891 on the occasion of the Great International Art Exhibition in Berlin. A dispute began after the commission of the Association of Berlin Artists rejected images done by Edvard Munch. In May 1898, under the leadership of Walter Leistikow, Franz Skarbina and Max Liebermann, various artists converged to form a "free association for the organization of artistic exhibitions". This group was governed by a President, Max Liebermann, and a Secretary, Walter Leistikow, along with an executive committee. At the time of its inception, there was a total of 65 members, including both men and women as full members. All those involved in the Secession followed a constitution that defined terms of involvement in the group, and nothing could be changed without a three-fourths majority from the committee. The Free Union of the XXIV was founded in Munich and exhibited under this name in Berlin. There was a variety of causes that led to the break in German art. In November 1892, a scandal occurred when an Edvard Munch exhibition was closed by a majority of the members of the Association of Berlin Artists. They described Munch's art as "repugnant, ugly and mean". Other artists in favor of Munch, however, were not yet organized enough to leave the established exhibition system of the academy.