Vienna in 1900 saw a creative shift in art and design, led by a dynamic movement that sought to split from the past in order to create new traditions for the future. The Secessionist Movement (founded in 1897) and the Wiener Werkstätte (1903) consisted of young innovative artists, such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Dagobert Peche.
Inspiration for this new form of design came from many sources. Nature was a particularly common theme, as was the abstraction of geometry. Japanese art was known to the secessionists through its display at the 1873 Vienna World Fair and was a major influence on their work.
As such, modern design in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century encompassed the organic as well as the geometrical, the warm swirl of nature and the cool straight lines of the abstract. Both became integral in the development of modern design in the 20th century, and both have left their dynamic mark on the history of the decorative arts.
(box) 230x170x35 mm (c. 9”x 6¾” x 1½”)
40 sheets (A5), 20 envelopes (C6), 8 greeting cards (A5 folded to A6) and 30 stickers and labels
