Jugend, 1899

Continuing the delve into back issues of Jugend magazine, the German fin de siècle periodical of “art and life”, this post covers the year 1899. The earlier years of the magazine are replete with a variety of elegant and often bizarre graphics, as well as some classic examples of Art Nouveau graphic design. 1899 is the point in the magazine’s history that the variety (and, for me, the interest) begins to diminish. The covers lose their earlier inventiveness while the Art Nouveau stylings within are being replaced by drab illustrations of the German middle classes and patriotic depictions of country folk. There are still gems to be found, however, some of which follow below. As before, anyone wanting to see more of these graphics is advised to explore the bound volumes at the Heidelberg University archive. The two books for 1899 can be found here and here.

Otto Eckman (above) and Julius Diez (below) were heavily featured in the earlier years of the magazine and Diez in particular produces some of the best work in this year’s run.

The magazine may be shedding its Art Nouveau flourishes but many of the adverts in each issue retain the style.

A surprise piece by the Belgian Symbolist, Félicien Rops, who died the year before.

A few more illustrations by Hugo Höppener, aka “Fidus”, appear throughout this year, all of them showing his preoccupation with nude figures. Fidus maintained his naturist obsession in later years, oblivious to the magazine’s increasingly staid and conservative attitude.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Jugend, 1898
• The Savoy magazine
• Jugend, 1897
• Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration
• Jugend, 1896
• Jugend Magazine revisited
• The Great God Pan
• Jugend Magazine
• The art of Félicien Rops, 1833–1898