The Secessions artist groups at the dawn of modernism in a splendid new volume. At the end of the 19th century the term “Secession” stood for the artistic beginnings of modernism. Art was surging forward towards freedom. Avant-garde artists showed their new creative works in the exhibitions of the Secession. In doing so they introduced innovative art movements to the public and helped Impressionism and Symbolism, for example, to achieve a breakthrough in the German-speaking region. The new alliances of artists in the Secession meant the abandonment of traditional artists’ associations and old-fashioned structures, and a new artistic freedom. The most important Secessions in the German region arose in 1892 in Munich, in 1897 in Vienna and in 1899 in Berlin. They are associated to this day with the figures who helped to shape them: Franz von Stuck, Gustav Klimt and Max Liebermann. This volume illustrates their artistic diversity in over 200 works by some 80 artists of the Secessions in Vienna, Munich and Berlin as well as international guests including Hodler, Munch, Rodin, Segantini and Toorop.

The painting Paris Street, Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) is an icon of Impressionism.This volume presents the work in the context of Caillebotte's innovative artistic work, introducing him as a driving force in the establishment of Impressionism and describing his intensive exchanges with his fellow-artists. With its almost life-sized figures and unconventional perspective, Paris Street, Rainy Day was presented in 1877 at the third Impressionist exhibition and is regarded as one of Caillebotte's principal works. The publication describes his personal interpretation of Impressionism, which convinces with its striking directness and bold image sections, as well as his activities as a patron of art. Caillebotte helped to finance and organize the Impressionist exhibitions and attempted as a collector to establish the works in public collections in a similar manner to that of Hugo von Tschudi with his spectacular purchases for the Nationalgalerie.