Secession poster (1899).
Since I’ve been delving over the past year into the fin de siècle culture of Germany and Austria, the name of Koloman Moser (1868–1918) has kept recurring. This is partly because of Moser’s associations with the Viennese Secession and the Wiener Werkstätte, of course, but I’ve made a point of drawing attention to his work since it’s struck me as some of the most remarkable being produced anywhere in Europe during the period 1895–1910. Moser’s poster designs are a good example of his authority as an artist and graphic designer who quickly evolved from Mucha-derived Art Nouveau flourishes to a degree of stylisation that was incredibly advanced for the early 1900s. The graphics of Moser and fellow artist/design Alfred Roller point the way to Art Deco twenty years later, and also to the psychedelic era whose poster artists eagerly borrowed motifs, figures and lettering designs from Moser, Roller, Mucha and others.
Frommes Kalender poster (1899).
Wikimedia Commons has a generous sampling of Moser’s work that shows his incredible versatility in a variety of media. The Secession designers, and Moser in particular, and memorialised in Paul Shaw’s typeface design, Kolo.
Illustrierte Zeitung poster (1900).
Richardsquelle poster (1899).
Secession poster (1902).
Jung Wiener Theater poster (1903).
Poster for the Jacob & Josef Kohn furniture company (1904).
Poster for a Beethoven sonata evening (1908).
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Secession posters
The was an exhibition in Melbourne over winter featuring the art & design of the Vienna Secession – Klimt, Schiele and others. It encompassed all sorts of art works and I was most taken with those of Kolomon Moser, who I admit I had never heard of. It was a wonderful exhibition, up there with the equally marvellous Art Deco exhibition of three years ago.
What an astonishing array of works. Remarkable inventiveness and freedom. Thanks for the turn on!