125 - Ernst Lichtblau* (Vienna 1883 - 1963 Vienna)

Ernst Lichtblau* (Vienna 1883 - 1963 Vienna) On the stage, 1920 pencil and colored pencil/paper 25,6 x 24 cm signed E. Lichtblau, dated 1920 SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 800 - 1200 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 800 Ernst Lichtblau grew up as the youngest of three brothers in a well-to-do Viennese Jewish family. His father, Johann Lichtblau, was the manager of a meerschaum pipe factory owned by the family, located on Hermanngasse in the Spittelberg district. After attending the State Trade School, Lichtblau studied from 1902 to 1905 in Otto Wagner’s master class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In doing so, he aligned himself with the tradition of Viennese Modernism, which combined functionality, technical innovation, and contemporary design. Subsequently, he taught specialized drawing for furniture making at the State Trade School until 1914. Architecture, interior design, and the applied arts formed the core of his creative output; comparable design principles were championed by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Richard Luksch within the circle of the Wiener Werkstätte. Adolf Loos and Joseph Maria Olbrich represent other, differently oriented positions within Viennese Modernism. Lichtblau became a member of the Deutscher Werkbund in 1912 and a founding member of the Österreichischer Werkbund in 1914. Alongside his work for the Wiener Werkstätte, he practiced as a freelance architect. His major works include the "Schokoladenhaus" (Chocolate House) in Vienna-Hietzing and a semi-detached house in the Vienna Werkbund Estate, where Hugo Häring, Eugen Wachberger, and Arthur Grünberger were also active. In 1922–23, he oversaw the renovation of the "Zum Schwarzen Mohr" building. During the interwar period, his work intersected with the housing and reformist ideas of "Red Vienna," a movement shaped by architects such as Hubert Gessner, Karl Ehn, and Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky. Oskar Strnad and Josef Frank represented a more individualistic approach to domestic living, while Clemens Holzmeister stood for a more monumental conception of architecture. In 1939, Lichtblau emigrated to the USA via England. From 1947 onwards, he taught interior design at the Rhode Island School of Design. Like Richard Neutra, he thereby contributed to the international dissemination of Austrian Modernism; Gerrit Rietveld, with his interest in space, furniture, and design, also offers a point of comparison. In 1961, Lichtblau returned to Vienna and resumed working as an independent architect. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.