Josef Maria Auchentaller (1865-1949): A Secessionist on the Borders of the Empire
Gorizia, Bolzano, Vienna 2008-2009
In collaboration with Musei Provinciali of Gorizia, the Galleria Civica of Bolzano and the Leopold Museum of Vienna
Edited by Roberto Festi; esaExpoedizioni Catalogue
The exhibition may be remounted.

This entirely new exhibition presents the work of Josef Maria Auchentaller (Vienna 1865-Grado 1949), one of the leading artists participating in the Viennese art revolution occurring at the beginning of the 20 th century. Auchentaller, painter and graphic artist, was active for over a decade in the 1897 Secession movement founded by Gustav Klimt in Vienna. His decision to leave Vienna in 1901 following his wife Emma on a "touristic" adventure to Grado, prematurely isolated him from the Vienna art scene. However, Auchentaller's influence on the extraordinary artistic environment of the Austrian capital left its mark decisively. The availability of his heirs to provide works on loan while familiarizing the public with the work of an artist still somewhat unknown are factors contributing to an ever-expanding collection of turn-of-the-century Viennese art and its protagonists; only in this way can one understand the true significance of the movement found at the base of this travelling exhibition to three locations: Gorizia, Bolzano and Vienna. The exhibition includes approximately 400 works divided into nine sections, many of which are being shown for the first time publicly: paintings, designs, studies, commercial posters, sketches, jewelry, crafted objects and photographs. Several pieces are on loan granted by some of the most important Viennese museums. This exhibition, revived in light of recent findings, is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue (Italian/German) listing all displayed works and their critical commentaries.