Sezession

Sezession, or Sezession in German, is a term used to describe the act or process of withdrawing from a larger political, administrative, or cultural body to form an independent entity or to redefine membership within a federation or empire. In political contexts, a secession denotes a claim to statehood or a change in political alignment by a region or faction, often triggered by disagreements over governance, autonomy, or national identity. Secessions can be peaceful and constitutional or prolonged and contentious, depending on legal rules and power dynamics.

In cultural history, particularly within German-speaking regions, Sezession refers to groups of artists and architects who left established academies, salons, or official exhibitions to organize independent shows and pursue new artistic directions. The Vienna Secession is the best-known example, founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, and Josef Hoffmann. It sought to break with academic historicism and to promote modern art, design, and architecture, publishing the journal Ver Sacrum and staging prominent exhibitions such as the Kunstschau. The movement contributed to the development of modernism and the Jugendstil style and influenced broader European art trends.

Other regional Sezession groups emerged in German-speaking cities as part of a broader challenge to established institutions, supporting experimentation in painting, sculpture, and design and linking to contemporary currents in modernist culture. Sezession, as a concept, thus encompasses both political movements aiming for independence or reorganization and cultural collectives that broke with tradition to pursue new artistic directions.