In the style of JOSEF HOFFMANN (Brtnice, Czech Republic, 1870 - Vienna, 1956). Pair of armchairs. Walnut wood. Fabric upholstery with floral decoration. With signs of wear and tear. With xylophages. The wood needs to be reworked. Measurements: 73 x 55 x 47 cm. Pair of armchairs of Central European style, framed within the Viennese Secession, with structure in walnut wood with structure of parallel bands, functional and of refined volumes. An architect and industrial designer, Josef Hoffmann studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he was a disciple of Carl Freiherr von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner, whose theories of functional, modern architecture would profoundly influence his work. He won the Prix de Rome in 1895, and the following year he joined Wagner's office, collaborating with Olbrich on some projects for the Metropolitan. He established his own office in 1898, and taught at the School of Decorative Arts in Vienna between 1899 and 1936. He was also a founding member of the Viennese Secession. In 1900 he travelled to London, where he came into contact with the English school and discovered Mackintosh. On his return, he set up a workshop for the production of objects based on designs by Secession artists, and the Wiener Werkstätte was born, a workshop which had a great influence on 20th-century industrial design. By 1903, production began on an international scale. In the course of his life, Hoffmann produced a variety of projects for buildings and furnishings, and exhibited his creations all over the world. He is currently represented in the MAK and the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Metropolitan and MoMA in New York, the Brohan in Berlin, the Courtauld Institute in London and the Victoria & Albert in London, among many others.