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First Secession Poster
The
poster of the first Secession exhibition was a drawing by Klimt entitled
"The Combat of Theseus and the Minotaur." It was a picture of Theseus
battling the Minotaur with a stylized design, recalling ancient architecture
surrounding a central void. It was an allegory of the Secession fighting
the Academy and the Society of the House of Artists.
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Adding
to the symbolism, Pallas Athena -- the recognized protector of artists
-- watches silently... almost approvingly in the foreground. She
was also to be an important symbol for the Secession because she was the
personification of wisdom as well as of inventiveness and creativity.
The print censors, however, objected slightly to the poster,
and Klimt had to device a tree to cover Theseus's offending genitalia.
The poster was to become the offical cover of the Ver Sacrum (Sacred
Spring) -- the official journal of the Secession. |
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