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The "Sonderbund" — as it is normally called; its complete name beingSonderbund westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler (the "Separate League of West German Art Lovers and Artists"), and also known asSonderbund group — was a "special union" of artists and art lovers, established 1909 inDüsseldorf and dissolved in 1916. In its first years, the Sonderbund mounted some landmark exhibitions, successfully introducingFrenchImpressionist,Post-Impressionist andModern Art to the western parts ofGermany.
The international movement ofSecessionism, which since 1890 began to cover the European art scene, entered Düsseldorf, its renowned art school and artist societies at a very late date. In 1908, a group of younger artists first organized a "special exhibition" ("Sonderausstellung"), the year following they reunited in a "Sonderbund" exhibition works of their own with French contemporary art lent by local collectors and the GalerieBernheim-Jeune of Paris. Encouraged by museum professionals, in August 1909 the Sonderbund was officially established.
The lasting fame of the "Sonderbund" is founded on its three "International Art Exhibitions", 1910 and 1911 in Düsseldorf, and, especially, the 1912 Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne,[1][2] which supplied a breathtaking review of early modern art with numerous iconic works from artists includingVincent van Gogh,Paul Cézanne,Paul Gauguin,Pablo Picasso and the neo-impressionistsHenri-Edmond Cross andPaul Signac. There was a special focus onEdvard Munch.[3]
The Board of Directors of the Sonderbund included many luminaries from the world of modern art,[4] such asJosef Feinhals, Herbert Eulenberg,Alfred Flechtheim,Karl Ernst Osthaus, Richard Reich,Max Creutz, Max Clarenbach, and Walter Cohen.
The organizers of the 1913Armory Show were highly impressed by the exhibition in Cologne, and thus first rate European art soon made its way to the United States.
The 1912 Sonderbund is considered a precursor to the Documenta exhibitions.[5]
In 2012, the Sonderbund of 1912 was reconstructed in an exhibition "1912 - Mission Moderne" atWallraf Richartz Museum in Cologne. (31 August to 30 December)[6][7][8][2]
Vincent van Gogh, who had over 100 works in the exhibition, served as the fulcrum, along with French artists Paul Cézanne, Maurice Denis and Paul Signac. In addition, then relatively unknown artists like Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky popped up. There were also Austrians (Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschaka), Scandinavians (Edvard Munch), Swiss (Giovanni Giacometti, Ferdinand Hodler) and Dutch (Kees van Dongen, Piet Mondrian). Germany was represented by two important art collectives, The Blue Riders and The Bridge.
Today, the Sonderbund exhibition is considered a precursor to dOCUMENTA. And not only that - many art historians regard the Cologne show as the first example of a truly modern exhibition and the beginning of a new era in art shows.
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