''Jugend'' (German for 'Youth') (1896–1940) was an influential German arts magazine. Founded in Munich by Georg Hirth who edited it until his death in 1916, the weekly was originally intended to showcase German

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

, but became famous for showcasing the German version of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

instead. It was also famed for its "shockingly brilliant covers and radical editorial tone" and for its avant-garde influence on German arts and culture for decades, ultimately launching the eponymous

Jugendstil (; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian cou ...

('Youth Style') movement in Munich, Weimar, and Germany's Darmstadt Artists' Colony. The magazine, along with several others that launched more or less concurrently, including '' Pan'', ''

Simplicissimus :''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel ''Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus, Simplicius Simplicissimus'' and its protagonist.'' ''Simplicissimus'' () was a German language, German weekly satire, satirical magazine, founded by Albert ...

'', '' Dekorative Kunst'' ('Decorative Art') and ''Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration'' ('German Art and Decoration') collectively roused interest among wealthy industrialists and the aristocracy, which further spread interest in Jugendstil from 2D art (graphic design) to 3D art (architecture), as well as more applied art. Germany's ''

gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

'' ('synthesized artwork') tradition eventually merged and evolved those interests into the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

movement.

History

Georg Hirth founded the journal in 1896 to launch a new cultural renaissance in Munich. From the start, he intended the magazines to be collectible, and therefore distinct. In the first seven volumes, he featured more than 250 artists, the vast majority unknown. After the First World War, the magazine went out of style with young artists. Among its regular contributors was

Bruno Paul Bruno Paul (19 January 1874 – 17 August 1968) was a German architect, illustrator, interior designer, and furniture designer. Trained as a painter in the royal academy just as the Munich Secession developed against academic art, he first ca ...

. Hirth was chief editor of the magazine for 20 years until his death in 1916. At that time, Franz Schoenberner was made publisher, and an array of art editors played a role in its cover and illustrations, including Hans E. Hirsch, Theodore Riegler, and Wolfgang Petzet, with and editing the text, and serving as photo editor.

Associated influences

In its early years, ''Jungend'' provided a nostalgic counter to the rapid industrialization of Germany during the 1800s and, toward the end of the century, the shift in population from a romanticized, idyllic countryside to urban centers. As the early Arts and Crafts ambitions faded and German Art Nouveau took hold of the magazine's aesthetic, iconic imagery of nude youth in idealized nature scenes were depicted more frequently. Along with other symbols of nature at its most magical — nymphs, centaurs, and satyrs — the associations between Jugendstil and the

Lebensreform ''Lebensreform'' (; 'life reform' in English) is a German term that serves as an umbrella for various social reform movements that have emerged since the mid-19th century, particularly originating from Germany and Switzerland. In its early d ...

('life reform') movement, which encouraged a return to a "natural" life-style, grew. In addition to modern illustrations and the ornamentation of Art Nouveau, the magazine featured

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

art, as well. The journal also covered satirical and critical topics in culture, such as the increasing influence of the churches (especially Catholicism), and the political right in the Centre Party. The

Yale Literary Magazine The ''Yale Literary Magazine'', founded in 1836, is a student literary magazine that publishes poetry, fiction, and visual art by Yale University, Yale undergraduate education, undergraduates twice per year, academic year. Notable alumni feature ...

critic summarized the editorial attitude by noting that "''Jugend's'' political and social platform asone opposition—opposition to everything." For all that, ''Jugend'' contribution to the literature of the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

remained modest, especially compared to

Albert Langen Albert Langen (8 July 1869 – 30 April 1909) was a German publisher and founder of the satirical publication ''Simplicissimus''. Early years Langen was, after Martha and Martin, the third of four children born to Antwerp industrialist Friedrich ...

's competing journal ''

'', which was also founded in 1896. ''Jugend's'' editorial identity originally focused on national and Bavarian regional issues. That changed in the mid-1920s, when it began catering to, and then entered into dialogue with groups of young artists breaking with traditional approaches to art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Jugendstil in multiple German cities, as well as a series of so-called secessions in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, and elsewhere. After 1933, the magazine was forced to cater to the Nazis, which restricted its editorial vision to the neoclassical propaganda approved by the regime, in the Great German Art Exhibition of 1937, which was presented in counterpoint to the 650 pieces confiscated from German museums in the

Degenerate Art Exhibition The Degenerate Art exhibition () was an art exhibition organized by Adolf Ziegler and the Nazi Party in Munich from 19 July to 30 November 1937. The exhibition presented 650 works of art, confiscated from German museums, and was staged in count ...

Legacy

* The use of integrating and matching typefaces into the illustration continues to influence graphic design. *Germany's ''

'' ("synthesized artwork") tradition, which came to the fore in German Art Nouveau led to a reexamination of "how to reconcile art with industry, ornamentation with functionalism."

Gallery

File:Titelblatt der Zeitschrift Jugend 1896, Nr. 12 von Ludwig von Zumbusch.jpg, Vol. I, No. 12 (1896) by File:Otto Eckmann - Jugend Nr. 14, 1896.jpg, Vol. I, No. 14 (1896) by Otto Eckmann File:Jugend magazine cover 1896.jpg, Vol. I, No. 22 (1896) by Hans Pfaff. A

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

listens to Pan play a pan pipe. File:Gloeden, Wilhelm von (1856-1931) - n. 0354.jpg, ''Sicilian Boy'', a photograph by

Wilhelm von Gloeden Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931), commonly known as Baron von Gloeden, was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boys ...

. Inspired Hans Christiansen's cover for Vol. I, No. 30 (1896). In a style reminiscent of the

File:Hans Christiansen - Jugend Nr. 30, 1896.jpg, Vol. I, No. 30 (1896) by Hans Christiansen File:Fritz Dannenberg - Jugend. Münchner illustrierte Wochenschrift, 1897.jpg, An 1897 poster for ''Jugend'' by Fritz Dannenberg. A black-and-white version of the image appeared in Vol. II, No. 1 (1897). File:Ludwig Raders - Jugend.jpg, Vol. II, No. 30 (1897) by File:Christiansen Andromeda.jpg, '' Andromeda'' by Hans Christiansen. Used as cover for Vol. III, No. 48 (1898) File:Heinrich Kley - Loreley - Jugend 1911.jpg,

Loreley The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at ...

Heinrich Kley Heinrich Kley (15 April 1863 in Karlsruhe – 1945 in Munich) was a German illustrator, editorial illustrator and painter. Kley studied "practical arts" at the Karlsruhe Akademie and finished his studies in Munich. His early works were conventio ...

. Appeared in Vol. XVI, No. 34 (1911) File:Paul Rieth - Jugend 1915 - vol 1.jpg, Vol. XX, No. 1 (1915) by . A German soldier File:Titel Jugend 1930 32.JPG, Vol. XXXV, No. 32 (1930) by . A German soldier

References

External links

''Jugend'' – Münchner illustrierte Wochenschrift für Kunst und Leben – digital version
at

University Library Heidelberg The Heidelberg University Library (, International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations, ISIL DE-16) is the central library of the Heidelberg University. Together with the 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and ins ...