12/09/17
Klimt and Antiquity: Erotic Encounters
Lower Belvedere, Vienna
23 June – 8 October 2017
In 1898, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) designed
the poster for the first exhibition held by the newly founded Vienna secession,
of which he was a founding member and president. The depiction of the Greek
hero Theseus wrestling the Minotaur symbolised the intention of the young
avant-garde movement to break with the past and rebel against the out-dated
structures of the Künstlerhaus. On the right-hand-side, standing watch is the
figure of Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craft, and war in ancient Greek
mythology. Turned thus into a sphinx-like demon, an image that was repeated on
the catalogue for this first exhibition, as well as on bookplates for the
movement, the goddess emerged as the patron saint and symbol of the Vienna secession. Klimt’s
use of symbolism embodied one of its key ideals.
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