Else Unger was an Austrian designer of the decorative arts. Unger was connected to the
Vienna Secession movement.
Education
Unger was a student of the
Kunstgewerbeschule Wein (School of Applied Arts, Austria).
Work
A member of the
Wiener Werkstätte,
Unger designed many decorative objects, including fabric, vases, furniture.
Unger made a splash at the
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...
with a secretary desk carved with a
hydrangea motif. This piece in particular brought together both a curved style and botanical patterns that were associated with Secessionist designs. Art critic Ludwig Hevesi noted that the piece's motif was "taken from less frequently tread areas of botany." Unger's carved desk fit nicely with the Secession motto "Ver Sacrum" (Sacred Spring).
Unger was a part of a larger group of
Kunstgewerbeschule Wein students participating in the exhibition who gained critical recognition of their skill with objects and fabrics deemed appropriate for the home.
Unger, along with her colleagues Jutta Sicka and Marietta Peyfuss, contributed fabric embroidery designs to the magazine ''Wiener Mode;'' their contributions largely worked to elevate such a handicrafts section in a magazine to a higher art form.
The magazine published the designs in the "Handarbiet" section, so that at-home readers could reproduce them.
Unger was a founding member, along with
Gisela Falke von Lilienstein and
Josef Hoffmann, and others, of the Wiener Kunst im Hause (Viennese Art in the Home), an exhibiting group, established in 1901. During the winter of 1901–1902, the group showcased three fully furnished interiors — a bedroom, a men's room, a dining room — to show that rooms could be well-designed on a budget. The group's women artists produced the decorative objects, including the rugs, linens, porcelain, and silver; these objects received more critical attention than the items made by the men of the group.
Wiener Kunst im Hause exhibited in other artistically styled rooms in different periodicals like the style magazine ''Das'' ''Interieur'' and the feminist periodical ''Dokumente der Frauen'' (co-founded by
Marie Lang
Marie Lang (8 March 1858 – 14 October 1934) was an Austrian feminist, theosophist and publisher. Born in 1858 in Vienna, Lang was raised in a liberal, upper-middle-class home. After divorcing her first husband in 1884, she married Edmund Lang ...
.)
Examples of Unger's work are held at the
Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
References
External links
Else Unger's work at the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Else
Members of the Vienna Secession
Austrian designers
Embroidery designers