Overview

At the turn of the 20th century, Vienna became an epicentre for new thought. A multi-disciplinary environment emerged where music, writing and intellectual thought all flourished, often brought together in the capital's famous coffee houses. This was the time of Freud and Wittgenstein, of Mahler and Schönberg, and of the Secession (1897-1905), the modern movement led by Klimt, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser that aimed to bring different arts together in a 'Gesamtkunstwerk', a total work of art; of Jugendstil, Vienna's Art Nouveau; and of the Wiener Werkstätte, the workshop founded in 1903 by Moser and Hoffmann that revolutionized the decorative and graphic arts. There have been many exhibitions and publications devoted to this efflorescence, and even more monographs devoted to its key players. None, however, brings together a selection of visual material from across the different artistic disciplines as significant as this current volume, curated and authored by three leading scholars of the period. The book covers all areas of production: painting and drawing; decorative arts and crafts; applied art and book design; fashion, photography and architecture. In each section the illustrations take the lead, creating an invaluable visual reference point for all those eager to identify a given category of the arts within this period, particularly in the field of the decorative arts, from ceramics to glass, silverwork, furniture, jewelry; and graphic arts, from book design to posters and postcards. There are also many less familiar works in the field of fashion and photography, and a particular focus is given to the role of women in all disciplines of the time.

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9780500519301

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Reviews

'Magisterial' - World of Interiors 'As wonderfully self-indulgent as Vienna itself' - Mature Times 'A lavish visual journey … comprehensive and exquisitely produced' - The Lady Books of the Year 'Gorgeous!' - Antiques Diary 'Splendid … lavishly documents the aesthetic reflection of a wider political and cultural struggle, one destined to remain very much alive' - Literary Review 'A decadent delve into the city’s turn-of-the-century artistic output, spanning everything from furniture design to the unsung women of the city’s cultural scene' - National Geographic Traveller

Author Information

Christian Brandstätter is a Viennese author, curator and publisher. Among his previous books is Wonderful Wiener Werkstätte, also published by Thames & Hudson. Rainer Metzger is an art historian and author who has been a professor at the Kunstakademie Karlsruhe since 2004. His books include Gustav Klimt: Drawings and Watercolours (2005), Berlin in the 20s (2007) and Munich: Its Golden Age of Art and Culture 1890–1920 (2009), all published by Thames & Hudson. Daniela Gregori studied Art History in Vienna and Hamburg. As an author and journalist she works especially in the field of applied arts.

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