Josef Maria Auchentaller

In 1897, the Vienna Secession was formed by artists who had left the Association of Austrian Artists. The Auchentallers returned from a vacation in Italy to take part. Between 1898 and 1904, Auchentaller showed his work in 10 Secessionist shows.[2] Auchentaller designed the poster and the catalog covers for the Seventh (1900) and Fourteenth (1902) exhibitions. He also played a role in the Secession's organizing committee from the Fifth to the Tenth Exhibition (1899–1901). In 1905, he left the Secession along with Gustav Klimt due to differences of artistic opinion.[2]

Auchentaller was a contributor to the magazine Ver Sacrum, a Secessionist publication, and sat on its editorial board between 1900 and 1901. For this magazine, he contributed two title pages and many graphics. His work consisted primarily of floral motifs and linear drawings influenced by Japanese woodcuts which were the popular during that time (see Japonisme).[1] The eighth issue of Ver Sacrum was entirely devoted to Auchentaller.

His family connections to the Scheids and Thonets continued to provide him with further work. For Georg Adam Scheid's company, G.A.S. Silver Jewelry Manufacturers, the artist designed jewelry heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau and Jugendstil movements.[1] Auchentaller also produced numerous billboards and posters for companies including Aureol (1898), Schott and Donnath, Kath Reiners Kneipp barley (1899), Continental pneumatic (1900), International Fisheries Exhibition, and G.A.S. Silver Jewelry Manufacturers (1902).

Pension Fortino in Grado, 2009

Advertisement poster Seebad Grado

In 1903, he moved with his wife and children to Grado, Italy, seeking a better climate and financial stability. From 1904, the Auchentallers spent every summer in Grado, where they contributed significantly to the growth of tourism in the Adriatic seaside resort town. He provided ornamentation for a new pensione, the "Pension Fortino", designed by the architect Julius Mayreder. His wife, Emma, later installed a steam laundry and bought an island where fruit and vegetables were grown for the town.[2] Grado soon became a popular holiday destination of the Viennese bourgeoisie and for Auchentaller's circle of artist friends, including Carl Moll, Alfred Roller, Wilhelm List, Max Kurzweil, and the architect Otto Wagner. In 1906, Auchentaller designed the advertisement poster Seebad Grado, which endures as one of his most famous art nouveau works.

Although he spent winters in Vienna, Auchentaller became increasingly isolated from the Austrian art world after leaving the Secession in 1905. Increasingly, he began to paint moody landscapes and portraits. His family life became strained: his daughter, Maria Josepha, committed suicide in 1914, and there were rumors that his wife was involved with another man in Grado.[2] In 1914, war was declared and the Auchentellers moved back to Austria. In 1919, the Auchentallers took Italian citizenship and moved to Grado for good. Emma died in 1945, and Auchentaller died four years later in 1949.