92 - JOSEF HOFFMANN (Brtnice, Czech Republic, 1870 – Vienna, 1956) for Mundus / J. & J. Kohn.

JOSEF HOFFMANN (Brtnice, Czech Republic, 1870 – Vienna, 1956) for Mundus / J. & J. Kohn. Pair of “Fledermaus” chairs. Measurements: Designed in the context of the Vienna Secession around 1905, these chairs are associated with Vienna’s famous Fledermaus Cabaret, which opened in 1907 and whose interior was designed by Hoffmann. They are an outstanding example of early 20th-century Central European modernist design, where the functionality of industrial furniture is combined with geometric simplicity and ornamental refinement. An architect and industrial designer, Josef Hoffmann studied at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts, where he was a student of Carl Freiherr von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner, whose theories of functional and modern architecture would profoundly influence his work. He won the Prix de Rome in 1895, and the following year he joined Wagner’s firm, collaborating with Olbrich on several projects for the subway. He established his own firm in 1898 and taught at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts from 1899 to 1936. He was also a founding member of the Vienna Secession. In 1900, he traveled to London, where he came into contact with the English school and discovered Mackintosh. Upon his return, he established a workshop to produce objects based on designs by Secession artists, and thus the Wiener Werkstätte was born—a workshop that exerted a major influence on 20th-century industrial design. By 1903, production had already begun on an international scale. Throughout his life, Hoffmann undertook various architectural and decorative projects and exhibited his creations around the world. His work is currently represented at the MAK and the Leopold Museum in Vienna, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, the Brohan Museum in Berlin, the Courtauld Institute in London, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among many others.