The Secession museum at Vienna was built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich for exhibitions of the Secession group. Above the entrance you can read the motto of the secessionist: “Der Zeit ihre Kunst. Der Kunst ihre Freiheit.” (To the Age its Art. To Art its Freedom.)

In 1902 the artist association planned an exhibition as an homage to the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven, whose music suited the secessionists’ idea of the ‘gesamtkunstwerk’. Gustav Klimt was invited to contribute and created a monumental wall cycle, the famous Beethoven Frieze, which you can admire all year round at the Secession.

– Justin