WIENER WERKSTATTE
(1903-1932)
Austrian company
On 19th May, 1903 the Wiener Werkstätte (German for The "Vienna Workshop") was registered in Vienna as "Productivgenossenschaft von Kunsthandwerkern".
The founders, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, both members of the Vienna Secession
wanted to provide an outlet for graduates from the Kunstgewerbeschule.
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The workshop was involved in jewellery making, the production of fabrics for dressmaking, the construction of furniture, ceramics and other art forms which could be incorporated into daily life.
Hofmann incorporated these designs into his architectural projects.
In 1905, Hoffmann, Klimt and the Wiener Werkstätte artists, designed and built for the Belgian industrialist Mr Stoclet, the magnificent
Palais Stoclet, in Brussels, the Capital of Art Nouveau and city of Victor Horta.
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The Wiener Werkstätte aimed at pursuing elegance, a reduced vocabulary of form, functionality and appropriateness, which stood in contrast to the pronounced imitation of styles of Historicism. The result were : simplified shapes, geometric patterns, and minimal decoration characterising the Wiener Werkstätte products
The majority of designs was supplied by famous artists, including Carl Otto Czeschka, Josef Hoffmann, Bertold Löffler, Dagobert Peche, and, of course, Koloman Moser.
Constantly struggling with its weak financial situation, the Wiener Werkstätte was finally closed down in 1932 and deleted from the commercial register.
LINKS to Exhibitions on ART NOUVEAU:
- "YEARNING FOR BEAUTY - THE WIENER WERKSTAETTE AND THE STOCLET HOUSE"
until the end of May 2006, a superb exhibition on Art Nouveau, the Wiener Werkstätte and the Palais Stoclet in Brussels (Centre for Fine Arts - BOZAR, Brussels, Belgium): Wiener Werkstätte - Stoclet House
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