Founded on April 3rd 1897 by a group of artists including Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, Max Kurzweil and Joseph Maria Olbrich the Vienna Secession objected to the prevailing conservatism of the Vienna Künstlerhaus with its traditional orientation. The movement included painters, sculptors, and architects, there wasn´t one single style among the artists. They wanted to explore all the possibilities of creating art outside of the academic tradition.
The building for their exhibition, designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich, was built near Naschmarkt in 1898 and soon became the icon of the movement.
