Explore the 'Wiener Werkstätte' (1903-1932), a pivotal design movement that aimed to integrate high-quality artistic products into everyday life. This exhibition delves into its trendsetting designs, which left a lasting mark on design history, featuring furniture, interiors, porcelain, glass, jewelry, and fashion.
The Wiener Werkstätte, founded in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Fritz Waerndorfer, was a production community of visual artists that sought to infuse everyday life with artistic and aesthetic quality. Emulating the Arts and Crafts movement, it stood against historicism, advocating for simplicity, appropriateness, and elegance as central tenets of Modernism. The concept of the 'Gesamtkunstwerk,' or total work of art, was fundamental, with the organization manufacturing high-quality items ranging from furniture and interiors to porcelain, glass, jewelry, and fashion, all aimed at refining daily living.
Operating from its production site in Vienna's 7th district, the Wiener Werkstätte established sales outlets in Vienna, New York, Berlin, and Zurich. Landmark projects like the Sanatorium Purkersdorf and Stoclet Palace were furnished entirely by the Werkstätte. Despite its success and influence over its nearly 30-year existence (1903-1932), the company consistently faced financial challenges, ultimately succumbing to the global economic crisis that impacted its primary buyer base among the Viennese middle classes. The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, now houses the extensive archive of the Wiener Werkstätte, comprising design drawings, fabric samples, posters, and business correspondence, alongside a rich collection of its objects, including a comprehensive inventory of Josef Hoffmann's work.