Term applied to a group of artists who secede from academic bodies or associations in protest at their constraints. The term comes from the Latin secessio plebis, the revolt of the plebeians against the patricians. The Secessions in German-speaking Europe in the late 19th century developed out of the political and literary movement of the 1870s, Die Jungen, which had broken away from the rigidity of historicism (typified by the Ringstrasse style in Vienna), an eclectic synthesis of styles, and sought a modern style for modern living. The three main Secessions were those of Munich, Berlin and Vienna, although others were formed in Dresden, Karlsruhe, Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Weimar. Secessions also took place in other parts of Europe, including Rome (La Secessione, 1913) and Budapest (Szecesszió, 1896–1914; see HUNGARY, fig. 5), and, under different names, elsewhere, for example in Prague (Mánes Union of Artists, 1895) and Kraków (Sztuka Polish Artists Society). At issue in all areas was control over exhibiting policies and the art market. An underlying problem was the tension between the élite, successful artists and the increasingly large numbers of mediocre and impoverished artists. This tension was exacerbated by experimentation in styles heralded by the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and adopted by some though by no means all of the Secessionists.

• secessions
  • Modernism
  • see also SEZESSION