The Berliner Secession was a German artists' association founded in 1898 under the direction of Walter Leistikow. It initially consisted of 65 artists and acted as a counterpart to the dominant academic art scene. Its main achievement was the dissemination of the international avant-garde, through which it became a platform for the development of Impressionism in Berlin. However, this led to several splits in the group, from which the "Neue Secession" and the "Freie Secession" emerged. Well-known members included Max Beckmann, Lovis Corinth, Ernst Barlach and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.