Amazing Covers of the Jugend in the 1890s

Jugend (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, but became famous for showcasing the German version of Art Nouveau 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”) movement in Munich, Weimar and Germany’s Darmstadt Artists’ Colony.

Jugend covers in the 1890s

The magazine, along with several others that launched more or less concurrently, including Pan, Simplicissimus, Dekorative Kunst (“Decorative Art”) and Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration (“German Art and Decoration”) collectively roused interest among wealthy industrialists and the artistocracy, which further spread interest in Jugendstil from 2D art (graphic design) to 3D art (architecture), as well as more applied art.

Germany’s gesamtkunstwerk (“synthesized artwork”) tradition eventually merged and evolved those interests into the Bauhaus movement.

Here is a photo collection of Jugend covers from the 1890s.

"Armseelchen", Jugend, October 31, 1896

Jugend, 1896

Jugend, 1896

Jugend, 1896

Jugend, 1896

Jugend, August 1896

Jugend, Carneval, February 1896

Jugend, July 1896

Jugend, May 1896

Jugend, May 1896

Jugend, Nr. 12, March 21, 1896

Jugend, October 10, 1896

Jugend, 1897

Jugend, 1897

Jugend, 1897

Jugend, 1897

Jugend, April 1897

Jugend, February 20, 1897

Jugend, February 1897

Jugend, March 27, 1897

Jugend, March 1897

Jugend, April 1898

Jugend, December 17, 1898

Jugend, January 1898

Jugend, 1899

Jugend, April 8, 1899

Jugend, April 22, 1899

Jugend, April 29, 1899

Jugend, February 1899

Jugend, January 7, 1899

Jugend, January 1899

Jugend, January 1899

Jugend, March 25, 1899

Jugend, May 13, 1899

Jugend, September 30, 1899

Jugendr, March 4, 1899