Ver Sacrum Magazine of the Union of Austrian Artists, May-June 1898, 1st year, no. 5/6

• May-June 1898
• Union of Austrian Artists
• Letterpress
• Leopold Museum, Vienna

This cover is famous for using a reproduction of Klimt’s poster design for the First Exhibition of the Vienna Secession, on which Theseus, the Athenian hero, boldly advances to slay Minotaur, the monster with a bull’s head on a human body. Theseus was originally depicted in nude, but censors interfered, forcing Klimt had to add thick trees around him. On the right side of the cover stands Athena, the goddess of arts and war, symbolizing the Vienna Secession’s intention to declare war against traditional art styles.