NGV Vienna Art and Design: Decorative Arts

NGV Vienna Art and Design - Klimt Schiele Hoffmann Loos

18 Jun 2011 - 09 Oct 2011

NGV International

180 St Kilda Road

Decorative Arts

'The boundless evil, caused by shoddy mass-produced goods and by the uncritical imitation of earlier styles, is like a tidal wave sweeping across the world.'

Josef HOFFMANN (designer)
Austria 1870-1956
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, Vienna (retailer)
Vienna 1903-1932
Vase 1908
zinc-plated sheet iron, paint, glass
30.0 x 15.0 x 8.2 cm
Ernst Ploil Collection
Photo © Ernst Ploil
© Josef Hoffmann Estate

So wrote architect and designer Josef Hoffmann, who in 1905 penned the Prospectus for the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop) , a progressive alliance of artists, designers and craftsmen who fundamentally shaped the development of the arts in early twentieth century Vienna.

Jutta SIKA (designer)
Austria-Hungary 1877-1964
WIENER PORZELLAN-MANUFAKTUR JOSEF BÖCK, Vienna (manufacturer)
Austria-Hungary est.1898
Tea and coffee service (1901/02)
porcelain (hard-paste)
(a-b) 18.5 x 12.5 x 9.0 cm (overall) (coffeepot)
(c-d) 17.5 x 19.5 x 3.5 cm (overall) (teapot)
(d) 8.5 x 10.5 x 8.5 cm (creamer)
(e-f) 7.5 x 11.3 cm diameter (overall) (demitasse and saucer)
(g-h) 10.5 x 16.7 cm diameter (overall) (cup and saucer)
(i) 9.5 x 10.5 cm diameter (sugar box)
Ernst Ploil Collection
© Jutta Sika

Hoffmann, along with artist and designer Koloman Moser, was the major force behind the founding of the Werkstätte. His aspirations for art and design as outlined in the Prospectus offer a wonderful insight into the development of decorative arts in Vienna at this time. The Prospectus continues:

Josef HOFFMANN (designer)
Austria 1870–1956
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, Vienna (manufacturer)
Austria 1903–32
Eugen PFLAUMER (goldsmith)
Austria active c.1908
Brooch (Model no. G 362) 1905 designed, 1911 manufactured
silver, gold, carnelian, coral, hematite, jelly opal, lapis lazuli, moonstone, sapphire
(5.1 x 5.1 x 1.4 cm)
Asenbaum Collection, London
© Asenbaum Photo Archive

'We wish to create an inner relationship linking public, designer and worker and we want to produce good and simple articles of everyday use. Our guiding principle is function, utility our first condition, and our strength must lie in good proportions and the proper treatment of material.

We shall seek to decorate when it seems required but we do not feel obliged to adorn at any price.

We shall use many semi-precious stones, especially in our jewellery, because in our eyes their manifold colours and ever-varying facets replace the sparkle of diamonds.

Exhibition highlights

Egon SCHIELE
Austria 1890–1918
Self-portrait with hands on chest 1910
charcoal, watercolour and gouache
44.8 x 31.2 cm
Kunsthaus Zug, Stiftung Sammlung Kamm

Gustav KLIMT
Austria 1862–1918
Fritza Riedler 1906
oil on canvas
152.0 x 134.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna

Egon SCHIELE
Austria-Hungary 1890–1918
Portrait of the painter Hans Massmann 1909
oil and metallic paint on canvas
120.0 x 110.0 cm
Kunsthaus Zug
Stiftung Sammlung Kamm

Koloman MOSER (designer)
Austria-Hungary 1868-1918
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, Vienna (manufacturer)
Austria-Hungary 1903-32
Flower basket (Model no. S 781) 1906
silver
21.3 x 7.2 x 4.3 cm
Asenbaum Collection

Josef HOFFMANN (designer)
Austria-Hungary 1870–1956
WÜRBEL & CZOKALLY (CARL WÜRBEL), Vienna (manufacturer)
Austria-Hungary 1892–1913
VINZENZ MAYER’S SÖHNE, Vienna (retailer)
Austria-Hungary 1810–1922
Sports trophy 1902
silver, gilt, malachite
26.0 x 7.1 cm diameter
Private collection
© Josef Hoffmann Estate

George MINNE
Belgium 1866-1941
Kneeling youth 1898
plaster
79.5 x 19.4 x 44.3 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Women’s Association to commemorate their 50th Anniversary and the 150th Anniversary of the NGV and with the assistance of the proceeds of the National Gallery of Victoria Annual Dinners, 2011 (2011.10)
Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia

Egon SCHIELE
Self-portrait with peacock waistcoat, standing 1911
gouache, watercolour and crayon
51.5 x 34.5 cm
Private collection

Oskar KOKOSCHKA
Austria-Hungary/Czechoslovakia/England 1886-1980
Conte Verona (1910)
oil on canvas
70.6 x 58.7 cm
Private collection, New York
Approved: Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia

Otto WAGNER (designer)
Austria 1841–1918
Alexander ALBERT (manufacturer)
Austria active c.1904
Chair for Dr Karl Lueger 1904
Rosewood (Dalbergia sp.), mother-of-pearl, leather
98.5 x 63 x 59.5 cm
Wien Museum, Vienna
Estate of Karl Lueger, 1910
Enver Hirsch

Unknown
Gustav Mahler conducts his Symphony No. 1 in D major
Cartoon from Wiener Illustrated Front Page of 25 November 1900
Photo: Imagno
IMAGNO/Austrian Archives

Gustav KLIMT
Austria 1862–1918
Johanna Staude 1917–18
oil on canvas
70.0 x 50.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna

Koloman MOSER
Austria 1868–1918
Self-portrait c.1916–17
oil painting on canvas on cardboard
74.0 x 50.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna

Oskar KOKOSCHKA
The painter Carl Moll 1861-1945 1913
oil on canvas
128.0 x 95.5 cm
Belvedere, Vienna
Approved: Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia

Koloman MOSER (designer)
Austria 1868-1918
Plate from Flächen Schmuck series, published in Die Quelle 1901
26 x 30
National Gallery of Australia Research Library

Koloman MOSER (designer)
Austria 1868-1918
Plate from Flächen Schmuck series, published in Die Quelle 1901
26 x 30
National Gallery of Australia Research Library

Dagobert PECHE (designer)
Austria 1887–1923
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, Vienna (manufacturer)
Austria 1903–1932
Jewel box (S 4880) 1920
silver-gilt
38.4 x 19.7 x 12.7 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Purchase, Anonymous gift, 1978
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource, New York

Egon SCHIELE
Austria 1890–1918
Self-portrait with hands on chest 1910
charcoal, watercolour and gouache
44.8 x 31.2 cm
Kunsthaus Zug, Stiftung Sammlung Kamm
ColApImg_EXHI012197

Gustav KLIMT
Austria 1862–1918
Fritza Riedler 1906
oil on canvas
152.0 x 134.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna
ColApImg_EXHI013492

Egon SCHIELE
Austria-Hungary 1890–1918
Portrait of the painter Hans Massmann 1909
oil and metallic paint on canvas
120.0 x 110.0 cm
Kunsthaus Zug
Stiftung Sammlung Kamm
ColApImg_EXHI013309

Egon SCHIELE
Self-portrait with peacock waistcoat, standing 1911
gouache, watercolour and crayon
51.5 x 34.5 cm
Private collection
ColApImg_EXHI014224

Oskar KOKOSCHKA
Austria-Hungary/Czechoslovakia/England 1886-1980
Conte Verona (1910)
oil on canvas
70.6 x 58.7 cm
Private collection, New York
Approved: Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia ColApImg_EXHI012902

Unknown
Gustav Mahler conducts his Symphony No. 1 in D major
Cartoon from Wiener Illustrated Front Page of 25 November 1900
Photo: Imagno
IMAGNO/Austrian Archives ColApImg_EXHI012199

Gustav KLIMT
Austria 1862–1918
Johanna Staude 1917–18
oil on canvas
70.0 x 50.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna
ColApImg_EXHI012200

Koloman MOSER
Austria 1868–1918
Self-portrait c.1916–17
oil painting on canvas on cardboard
74.0 x 50.0 cm
Belvedere, Vienna
ColApImg_EXHI012201

Oskar KOKOSCHKA
The painter Carl Moll 1861-1945 1913
oil on canvas
128.0 x 95.5 cm
Belvedere, Vienna
Approved: Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia ColApImg_EXHI014409

Koloman MOSER (designer)
Austria 1868-1918
Plate from Flächen Schmuck series, published in Die Quelle 1901
26 x 30
National Gallery of Australia Research Library
ColApImg_EXHI014461

Koloman MOSER (designer)
Austria 1868-1918
Plate from Flächen Schmuck series, published in Die Quelle 1901
26 x 30
National Gallery of Australia Research Library
ColApImg_EXHI013996

We love silver and gold for their sheen and regard the lustre of copper as just as valid artistically. We feel that a silver brooch can have as much intrinsic worth as a jewel made of gold and precious stones.

Josef HOFFMANN (designer)
Austria 1870–1956
WIENER WERKSTÄTTE, Vienna (manufacturer)
Vienna 1903–1932
Eugen PFLAUMER (goldsmith)
Austria active c.1908
Brooch (Model no. G 1034) 1908 designed, 1910 manufactured
silver, gold, agate, amethyst, bloodstone, coral, jasper, lapis lazuli, moonstone. opal, tourmaline
(5.4 x 5.4 x 1.4 cm)
Asenbaum Collection, London
© Asenbaum/Ploil
© Josef Hoffmann Estate

The merit of craftsmanship and artistic conception must be recognised once more and be valued accordingly. Handicrafts must be measured by the same standards as the work of a painter or sculptor.'

Timeline

- 1857 Architecture Work on the Ringstrasse begins
  Franz Joseph I orders demolition of city walls for the creation of a grandiose 'ring road'.
- 1864 Architecture Founding of the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry. The first Applied Arts museum on the continent modeled after the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
  Joseph Gayetty's medicated paper for the water-closet is advertised to American consumers as 'the greatest necessity of the age!'
- 1894 Architecture Otto Wagner appointed professor of architecture at Academy of Fine Arts
  Famously, the Akademie der bildenden Künste (Academy of Fine Arts) twice rejected applications from an aspiring painter named Hitler.
- 1899 Architecture Architect Otto Wagner joins Secession
  Two years after the union of Austrian artists was founded, architect Otto Wagner joined.
- 1890 The Arts Egon Schiele born
  The son of a syphilitic station master, Schiele was born in Tulln an der Donau in Austria.
- 1898 The Arts First issue of Ver Sacrum (Sacred Spring) published
  The year of the first Secession exhibition also saw the publication of Ver Sacrum, an influential journal produced by Secession members.
- 1904 The Arts Oskar Kokoschka studies under Czeschka
  The 18 year-old Expressionist artist and poet studied for a time under Carl Otto Czeschka.
- 1899 The Arts Moser and Hoffmann appointed as professors
  Moser and Hoffmann appointed as professors at the School of Applied arts.
- 1900 The Arts Gustav Klimt reveals his University paintings
  Commissioned to paint a trio of works for the University of Vienna's Great Hall, Klimt's art was roundly criticised for its sexual imagery.
- 1902 The Arts Czeschka starts teaching at the School of Arts & Crafts
  Carl Otto Czeschka was an illustrator, graphic artist, designer and member of Wiener Werkstätte.
- 1904 The Arts Wiener Werkstätte manifesto published
  The Werkstätte, a progressive alliance of artists and designers formed in 1903, declared that artisans and fine artists were equals.
- 1905 The Arts Klimt Gruppe quits the Secession
  The Klimt Gruppe, also called the Stilisten (Stylists), were a design-oriented faction within the Secession.
- 1906 The Arts Schiele transfers to the Academy of Fine Arts
  Barely 16, Egon Schiele was sent from the Kunstgewerbeschule to the more formal Akademie der bildenden Künste at the urging of teachers.
- 1907 The Arts Schiele and Klimt meet
  The teenage Schiele met Gustav Klimt who mentored the young artist.
- 1908 The Arts Richard Gerstl commits suicide
  After an ill-fated affair with the wife of composer Arnold Schoenberg, the Austrian painter took his own life on 4 November.
- 1910 The Arts Eduard Wimmer-Wisgrill sets up fashion section of Wiener Werkstätte
  Fashion and textiles went on to become one of the most lucrative parts of the Wiener Werkstätte.
- 1912 The Arts Schiele imprisoned briefly
  Schiele was convicted of – and imprisoned briefly for – exhibiting erotic images in a place accessible to children.
- 1915 The Arts Schiele marries and is drafted
  Schiele marries Edith Harms and is drafted into the army.
- 1917 The Arts Klimt made honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts
  Denied a professorship for the fourth time, Klimt is made an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts.
- 1918 The Arts Klimt, Schiele and Otto Wagner die
  Klimt dies after a stroke and Schiele dies in the Spanish influenza epidemic.
- 1873 Commerce Great Vienna stock market crash
  In May 1873, the Vienna stock market crashed sparking an economic panic through the world's industrialised nations. The 5th Great International Exhibition opens in Vienna.
- 1882 Commerce Künstler-Compagnie (Painters Company) formed
  Gustav and Ernst Klimt and Franz Matsch provided paintings and murals for luxury interiors and public projects.
- 1867 Education Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts & Crafts) founded
  The Kunstgewerbeschule would offer a range of practical subjects taught by leading Secessionist artists and designers.
- 1857 Invention America: first commercial toilet paper hits the market
  Joseph Gayetty's medicated paper for the water-closet is advertised to American consumers as 'the greatest necessity of the age!'
- 1867 Invention France: Alfred Nobel patents dynamite
  The Swedish industrialist, engineer and inventor patents his blasting gelatine in Paris.
- 1867 Invention France: Alfred Nobel patents dynamite
  The Swedish industrialist, engineer and inventor patents his blasting gelatine in Paris.
- 1875 Invention Canada: the light bulb is invented
  Thomas Edison buys the patent.
- 1876 Invention America: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
  The Scottish-born inventor patents his device that can transmit speech electrically (the telephone).
- 1903 Invention America: Wright brothers make their first engine-powered air flight
  Orville and Wilbur Wright fly the first powered, controlled, heavier-than-air airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17 December.
- 1908 Invention America: Henry Ford produces his Model T automobile
  The Model T is the first automobile to be mass produced and marketed to America's middle class.
- 1913 Invention America: Mary Phelps Jacob invents the bra
  The New York socialite patents her design for a modern brassiere, developed as an alternative to the corset.
- 1913 Invention America: Gideon Sundback invents the zipper
  The Swedish-born scientist patents his design, based on interlocking teeth, as the "Hookless Fastener".
- 1890 Music Premiere of Brahms' Second String Quintet in G, Op.111
  Composed at Ischl during the summer, it was a sensation when it premiered in Vienna. At the time Brahms thought his composing days were over.
- 1892 Music Conducted by Hans Richter, the revised version of Bruckner's 8th Symphony premieres in Vienna.
  Anton Bruckner, born in 1824, was seen as “emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism” with his use of dissonance, progressive harmonies and complex polyphony.
- 1893 Music Tchaikovsky, 53 years old, dies in St Petersberg.
  On October 28, nine days before his death, Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his newly-composed Sixth Symphony (Pathétique). Mahler gave the Viennese premiere of Eugene Onegin on 19/11/1897.
- 1897 Music Johannes Brahms, not quite 64 years old, dies in Vienna.
  Not long before he died, Brahms attended a performance of his own Fourth Symphony. He died on the same day as the founding of the Secession.
- 1897 Music Mahler conducts Lohengrin in his debut as Kapellmeister in Vienna.
  On October 8 he was named Director of the Hofoper. This gave him supreme power over all aspects of production.
- 1898 Music Mahler is appointed Chief Conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic.
  Mahler remained in this position for three seasons introducing his own “revisions” of Beethoven which created great tension between players and conductor.
- 1899 Music Johann Strauss II dies in Vienna aged 73.
  Strauss II, affectionately known as the Waltz King, composed hundreds of pieces. His operettas such as Die Fledermaus also enjoyed great popularity.
- 1902 Music Mahler conducts a special wind/brass arrangement of Beethoven's 9th at the Secession.
  For the Beethoven exhibition, Mahler conducted the Seid Umschlungen section (4th movement) the day before the opening in honour of Max Klinger.
- 1902 Music The opera,Pelléas et Mélisande by Debussy premieres in Paris.
  Apparently unaware of Debussy's opera, Schoenberg began composing his tone poem in 1902, based on the same play by Maeterlinck. It premiered in Vienna on 26/1/1905.
- 1903 Music A new production of Tristan and Isolde opens at the Hofoper.
  Mahler's first collaboration with his new designer Roller heralded the modern era of opera production with costumes, scenery and lighting all contributing to the Gesamtkunstwerk (universal artwork) ideal.
- 1904 Music Berg and Webern join Schoenberg's new composition classes.
  Amongst his strongest followers, Berg and Webern embraced the use of twelve-tone technique. Together, the three became known as the Second Viennese School.
- 1905 Music Mahler records four piano rolls at Welte-Mignon in Leipzig.
  Mahler recorded two songs and two symphonic movements signing the guestbook: “In my astonishment and admiration, I join those who preceded me.”
- 1905 Music The controversial opera Salome by Richard Strauss premieres in Dresden.
  Despite Mahler's support, Salome was banned at the Hofoper. The first Viennese performance – 25/5/1907 – was at the Deutsches Volkstheater by a company from Breslau.
- 1907 Music With his own Second Symphony, Mahler conducts his farewell concert in Vienna.
  In 1907 Mahler was forced to resign as Director. On October 15 he conducted his last opera - Beethoven's Fidelio.
- 1909 Music Schoenberg completes the first of his Three Pieces for Piano, Op. 11.
  This piano piece was the first fully atonal piece to be published. Schoenberg had been gradually developing his Method of Composing with Twelve Tones.
- 1910 Music The First String Quartet by Béla Bartók premieres in Budapest.
  In 1898 Bartók attended the Vienna Conservatory. His six String Quartets are considered masterworks of 20th century classical repertoire.
- 1911 Music Mahler dies in Vienna, fifty days short of his 51st birthday.
  Mahler's last word was Mozartl – “Little Mozart”. Bruno Walter conducted posthumous world premieres of Das Lied von der Erde (Munich, 20/11/1911) and Symphony 9 (Vienna, 26/06/1912).
- 1913 Music A concert conducted by Schoenberg at the Vienna Musikverein ends in riots.
  Fights broke out at the “Scandal concert” as hissing and laughter contended with applause. The performance was stopped before Mahler's Kindertotenlieder could be performed.
- 1913 Music Diagilev's The Rite of Spring premieres in Paris with music by Stravinsky.
  The audience, shocked at what they were hearing and seeing, caused the most famous musical riot in history.
- 1918 Music Schoenberg inaugurates the Verein für Musikalische Privataufführungen (Society for Private Musical Performances).
  Only members were admitted; a sign above the door read: Critics are forbidden entry. New works (Stravinsky, Bartok, Berg, etc.) were often performed twice. It disbanded in 1922.
- 1848 Politics Pro-democracy uprisings across Europe
  A wave of revolutionary and nationalist uprisings swept through 50 countries in 1848, including the Habsburg Empire.
- 1860 PoliticsEmperor Franz Josef replaces the neo-absolutistic régime by a constitutional monarchy.
  Emperor Franz Joseph dies on 21 November and is succeeded by Karl I.
- 1893 Politics Christian Social Party founded
  Karl Lueger founds the anti-Semitic Christlichsoziale Partei
- 1893 Politics Austria's first feminist organisation founded
  The United Austrian Women's Association (Allgemeine Österreichische Frauenverein) was Austria's first and most radical feminist organisation.
- 1897 Politics Karl Lueger elected Mayor of Vienna
  Populist and anti-Semitic, Karl Lueger was a moderniser and instrumental in the renewal of Vienna after the 1873 crash.
- 1897 Politics Founding of the Secession
  Founding of the Secession
- 1916 Politics Emperor Franz Joseph dies
  Emperor Franz Joseph dies on 21 November and is succeeded by Karl I.
- 1891 Psychology Sigmund Freud born
  The founder of modern psychoanalysis was born in Freiberg, Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic.
- 1914 War Outbreak of World War One
  Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie assassinated on 28 June in Sarajevo. War declared. Kokoschka volunteers.
- 1918 War The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses, war ends
  Following the defeat of its army at Vittorio Veneto in Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapses.