Wiener Werkstätte – Page 3

Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #20

More sculptual work by Franz Metzner for a building whose interiors are in that ponderous Teutonic style which resembles designs for a fantasy film.

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. Volume 20 covers the period from April 1907 to September 1907, and this is where this fascinating publication starts to run out of steam. A few more editions are worth looking at but after volume 25 the content collapses into the same welter of excessively dull genre painting and academic work that was plaguing Jugend magazine at this time. More about that later.

As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire number at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

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Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #19

Water Serpents I by Gustav Klimt. See it in colour here.

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. Yesterday’s post concerned a Klimt-like artist, today volume 19, covering the period from October 1906 to March 1907, includes further work by Klimt himself. The Wiener Werkstätte, with whom Klimt was affiliated, continues to dominate these editions, understandably so when the architecture, art and design being produced by the group was some of the most advanced in the world. In addition to the customary graphics and interiors there’s also some examples of dress design by Gustav Klimt which I hadn’t seen before.

As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire number at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

A portrait of Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein by Gustav Klimt. The sitter was the sister of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

A poster by Koloman Moser.

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Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #18

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. There’s yet another frustrating jump in the numbers here, from volume 16 to volume 18 which covers the period from April to September 1906. Inside there’s more rectilinear interior design from the Wiener Werkstätte (above) as well as a great deal of less interesting interior design from elsewhere. The most notable feature of this edition is the article on the illustration work of Marcus Behmer, a member of Adolf Brand’s pioneering gay rights circle in Berlin whose drawings from this volume were featured in an earlier post.

As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire number at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

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Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #16

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. Volume 16 covers the period from April 1905 to September 1905, and includes further rectilinear interior design from the Wiener Werkstätte. There’s a lot of architecture in this edition, not all of it very distinctive. Of more interest for me is another feature on the peacock-haunted illustrations of Heinrich Vogeler, and an article about the work of Edward Gordon Craig, an English theatre designer who we’re told was the son of Ellen Terry and, later on, one of the numerous lovers of Isadora Duncan.

As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire volume at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

Continue reading “Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #16”

Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #15

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. This week there’s another jump in the running order, from volume 12 to 15, and it’s impossible to avoid feeling frustrated by this when some of the previous editions have been so good. Volume 15 covers the period from October 1904 to March 1905, and includes work by the Wiener Werkstätte whose rectilinear designs mark the transition from Art Nouveau to what would eventually be called Art Deco. There’s also another feature on the Glasgow Arts and Crafts movement based around Charles Rennie Mackintosh with a look at the designs for Hill House in Helensburgh, Scotland. As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire volume at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

The peculiar Symbolist paintings of gay artist Sascha Schneider are featured once again, and typically for this artist there’s a profusion of male flesh on display.

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