Published by Mercure de France in 1985, this work by Michael Pabst constitutes a major study of the artistic effervescence in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Translated from German by Pierre Rusch, the book explores in depth the Viennese Secession movement and its... ☞ Read more
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Published by Mercure de France in 1985, this work by Michael Pabst constitutes a major study of the artistic effervescence in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. Translated from German by Pierre Rusch, the book explores in depth the Viennese Secession movement and its revolutionary contributions to graphic arts. This copy possesses remarkable provenance: it bears the monogram of Monique Roy Gaubert, dated 1988, daughter of Sylvain Sauvage, a renowned French illustrator close to Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. This family connection establishes a fascinating link between French and Austrian artistic movements of the modern era. The work meticulously documents the output of emblematic figures such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser and the artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, offering detailed analysis of their innovations in illustration, poster art and graphic design. For collectors, this volume represents not only an essential academic reference on Viennese graphic art, but also an object charged with personal history, testifying to the networks of influence and admiration between artists of different generations and nationalities.
Why add it to your collection?
- Exceptional provenance: copy of Monique Roy Gaubert, daughter of illustrator Sylvain Sauvage
- Definitive study on the Viennese Secession and graphic arts around 1900
- Comprehensive documentation on Klimt, Schiele, Moser and artists of the Wiener Werkstätte
- Rare French translation by Pierre Rusch, important contribution to francophone literature on Viennese art
- Testimony of artistic transmission between generations, linking French and Viennese Art Nouveau
Michael Pabst's L'Art Graphique à Vienne autour de 1900 belongs to the lineage of in-depth studies on the Viennese Secession, a movement founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt and his colleagues in revolt against conservative academicism. The French translation by Pierre Rusch, a specialist in German-language literature, provides francophone readers access to a rigorous analysis of this pivotal period in art history. Mercure de France, a historic publisher associated with Symbolism and the avant-garde, was particularly well-positioned to publish this work in 1985, a moment of renewed interest in Art Nouveau and fin-de-siècle movements.
The work systematically explores the major innovations of Viennese artists in graphic arts: posters, magazine illustrations (notably Ver Sacrum, the Secession's organ), bookplates, typography and ornamental design. Pabst analyzes how Klimt, Moser, Josef Hoffmann and their contemporaries revolutionized graphic aesthetics by fusing Byzantine, Japonist and Symbolist influences with modernist geometry. The book also documents the crucial role of the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops), founded in 1903, in spreading a totalizing approach to design, where graphic art dialogues with architecture, furniture and decorative arts. The reproductions illustrate the stylistic evolution from the organic curves of Art Nouveau toward geometric abstraction heralding modernism.
What particularly distinguishes this copy is its documented provenance. The monogram of Monique Roy Gaubert, dated 1988, establishes a moving connection with the history of French illustration. Her father, Sylvain Sauvage (1888-1948), was a major illustrator, student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, close to Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. Sauvage illustrated numerous prestigious works for publishers like Piazza and collaborated with couturier Paul Poiret. This artistic lineage suggests that Monique Roy Gaubert, in acquiring this book in 1988, maintained an intellectual dialogue with her paternal heritage and recognized the aesthetic affinities between French and Viennese graphic arts of the early 20th century. This provenance transforms the work into a tangible witness of cultural transmission and the continuing appreciation of European avant-gardes.
For bibliophiles and collectors of art history works, this copy offers triple value: academic, as a reference on the Viennese Secession; historical, through its provenance linked to a French artistic family; and symbolic, as a bridge between two great national traditions of modern art. The book remains an essential resource for understanding how Vienna, at the turn of the century, became a laboratory of graphic modernity whose influence extends to our present day.
Copy formerly owned by Monique Roy Gaubert (1988), daughter of illustrator Sylvain Sauvage
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