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Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870 – 7 May 1956) was an
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
- Moravian
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
. He was among the founders of
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
and co-establisher of the
Wiener Werkstätte The Wiener Werkstätte (engl.: ''Vienna Workshop''), established in 1903 by the graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, the architect Josef Hoffmann and the patron Fritz Waerndorfer, was a productive association in Vienna, Austria that b ...
. His most famous architectural work is the
Stoclet Palace The Stoclet Palace (french: Palais Stoclet, nl, Stocletpaleis) is a mansion in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann for the Belgian financier Adolphe Stoclet. Built between 1905 and 1911 in the Vienna ...
, in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, (1905–1911) a pioneering work of
Modern Architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...
,
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
and peak of
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
architecture.


Biography


Early life and education

Hoffmann was born in Pirnitz / Brtnice,
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...
(now part of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
),
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. His father was modestly wealthy, the co-owner of a textile factory, and mayor of the small town. His father encouraged him to become a lawyer or a civil servant, and sent him to a prestigious upper school, but he was very unhappy there. He later described his school years as "a shame and a torture which poisoned my youth and left me with a feeling of inferiority which has lasted until this day." In 1887 he transferred instead to the Higher School of Arts and Crafts State in
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
/ Brünn beginning in 1887 where he received his baccalaureate in 1891. In 1892 he began his studies at the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
under Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner, two of the most prestigious architects of the period. There he also met another rising architect of the time, Joseph Maria Olbrich. In 1895, Hoffman, together with Olbrich, Koloman Moser and Carl Otto Czeschka and several others, founded a group called the ''Siebener Club'', a forerunner of the future Vienna Secession. Under Wagner's guidance, Hoffman's graduation project, an updated Renaissance building, won the ''Prix de Rome'' and allowed Hoffmann to travel and study for a year in Italy.


The Vienna Secession (1897–1905)

Upon his return from Italy in 1897, he joined Wagner's architectural firm, and in the same year he joined the new movement launched by Wagner,
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's pr ...
, and others; the Society of Austrian Fine Artists, better known as the
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
. He immediately went to work on the design of the Secession Building, the first gallery of the movement, designing the foyer and the office, and planning the first exhibitions in the building. He wrote his first manifesto for the Secession at this time, calling for buildings which were stripped of useless ornament. "It is not a matter of overlaying a framework with ridiculous ornament in molded cement, made industrially, nor imposing as a model Swiss architecture or houses with
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...
s. It is a matter of creating a harmonious ensemble, of great simplicity, adapted to the individual... and which presents natural colors and a form made by the hand of an artist..." In his writing, Hoffmann did not entirely reject historicism; he praised the model of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, and urged artists to renew local forms and traditions. He wrote that the basic elements of the new style were authenticity in the use of materials, unity of decor, and the choice of a style adapted to the site. In 1899, at the age of twenty-nine, he began to teach at the
Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...
, now University of Applied Arts Vienna. He designed the Vienna arts exhibition for the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition, which exposed the Secession style to an international audience. In 1899, he also designed the Eighth Exposition of the Secession, one of the most important exhibitions it, due to its international participants. In addition to works by Secession artists, it featured works by the French artist Jules Meier-Graefe, the Belgian
Henry van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.' ...
, Charles Ashbee, and especially the works by the Scottish designers Charles Rennie Mackintosh and
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (5 November 1864 – 7 January 1933) was an English-born artist who worked in Scotland, and whose design work became one of the defining features of the Glasgow Style during the 1890s - 1900s. Biography Born Marg ...
from
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
. This exhibit included a group of model houses in the Hohe-Wart neighborhood of Vienna which displayed features of Arts-and-Crafts movement, including windows divided in small squares, and the
gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ...
. During this period, Hoffmann's work became more rigorous, more geometric, and less ornamental. He favored the use of geometric forms, especially squares, and black and white surfaces, explaining later that "these forms, intelligible to everyone, had never appeared in previous styles". He was in charge of designing the frequent exhibits held in the Secession gallerias, including the setting for Gustav Klimt's celebrated frieze devoted to Beethoven. File:Beethovenfries (1902).jpg, Installation by Josef Hoffmann of the Beethoven Frieze by
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's pr ...
in the Secession Building (1902) File:Josef hoffmann per w. müller, mobiletto per fotografie, vienna 1902 ca.jpg, Cabinet for photographs (circa 1902)


The ''Wiener Werkstätte'' (1903–1932)

Hoffmann was married in 1898 to Anna Hladik, and they had a son, Wolfgang, born in 1900. He was extremely occupied with Paris Exposition of 1900, and the other exhibitions in Vienna. During this period, he built only a small number of buildings, including the transformation of a house for his friend
Paul Wittgenstein Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War. He devised nove ...
. He also built several town or country houses for his colleagues and friends, as well as a Lutheran church and a house for the pastor in St. Aegyd am Neuwald, in lower Austria. In 1903, along with Koloman Moser, and banker Fritz Wärndorfer, who provided most of the capital, he launched a much more ambitious venture, the ''
Wiener Werkstätte The Wiener Werkstätte (engl.: ''Vienna Workshop''), established in 1903 by the graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, the architect Josef Hoffmann and the patron Fritz Waerndorfer, was a productive association in Vienna, Austria that b ...
'', an enterprise of artists and craftsmen working together to create all the elements of a complete work of art, or '' Gesamtkunstwerk''. including architecture, furniture, lamps, glass and metal work, dishes and textiles. Hoffmann designed a wide variety of objects for the ''Wiener Werkstätte''. Some of them, like the ''Sitzmaschine'' Chair, a lamp, and sets of glasses are on display in the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...
in New York. and a tea service in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
. Many of the works were hand-made by the artisans of the group and some by industrial manufacturers. Some of Hoffmann's domestic designs can still be found in production today, such as the ''Rundes Modell'' cutlery set that is manufactured by Alessi. Originally produced in silver, the range is now produced in high quality stainless steel. Another example of Hoffmann's strict geometrical lines and the quadratic theme is the iconic ''Kubus'' Armchair. Designed in 1910, it was presented at the International Exhibition held in Buenos Aires on the centennial of Argentinean Independence known as
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
. Hoffmann's constant use of squares and cubes earned him the nickname ''Quadratl-Hoffmann'' ("Square Hoffmann"). Hoffmann's style gradually became more sober and abstract and his work was limited increasingly to functional structures and domestic products. The workshop concept flourished in its early years and spread. In 1907, Hoffmann was co-founder of the '' Deutscher Werkbund'', and in 1912 of the ''Österreichischer Werkbund'' (or Austrian Werkbund). But the workshop ran up against the First World War and then the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, which hit Germany and Austria especially hard. It was forced to close in 1932. File:Armchair MET DT8308.jpg, Armchair of wood and cane (1903), Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser (
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) File:Manifattura jacob & josef kohn, joseph hoffmann, sedia per la sala da pranzo del sanatorium westend a pürkesdorf, vienna 1904-05.JPG, Chair for the Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1904–05) File:Ngv design, josef hoffmann, adjustable-back chair (stitzmachine) 1905 circa 02.JPG, Sitzmaschine Armchair (1905) File:Josef Hoffmann - Kubus Fauteuil (1910).jpg, ''Kubus'' armchair (1910) File:Wiener werkstätte, josef hoffman, recipienti in lamiera, 1904-07.JPG, Designs by Hoffmann (1904–08)


The Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1904–05)

In 1905, Hoffmann finished his first great work in the town of Purkersdorf near Vienna, the
Sanatorium Purkersdorf The Sanatorium Purkersdorf was built as a sanatorium in Purkersdorf, Wien-Umgebung, Lower Austria. It was built in 1904-05 by the architect Josef Hoffmann for the industrialist Victor Zuckerkandl and is an example of the style of the Viennese Se ...
. It was a distinct move away from the arts and crafts style, as a major precedent and inspiration for the
modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...
that would develop in the first half of the 20th century, It had the clarity, simplicity, and logic that foreshadowed ''
Neue Sachlichkeit The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the '' Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, ...
''. File:Sanatoriumpurkersdorf1-2.JPG, General view File:Purkersdorf Sanatorium Eingangshalle 3.jpg, Entrance Hall File:Purkersdorf Sanatorium Gallerie.jpg, Gallery File:Purkersdorf Sanatorium Gallerie 1.jpg, Meeting room


The Stoclet Palace (1905–1911)

The
Stoclet Palace The Stoclet Palace (french: Palais Stoclet, nl, Stocletpaleis) is a mansion in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann for the Belgian financier Adolphe Stoclet. Built between 1905 and 1911 in the Vienna ...
in Brussels, made in collaboration with
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's pr ...
, is the most famous work of Hoffmann, the
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
, and of the Wiener Werkstätte. It is a visible turning point from historical styles to
modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...
. It was built for Adolphe Stoclet, the heir of a wealthy Belgian banking family, who had lived in Milan and Vienna, and was familiar with the
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
. Hoffmann presented the plans in 1905, but the construction, in three stages, was not completed until 1911. The exterior is extraordinarily modern, in strict geometric forms, with touches of decoration. It is covered in white Norwegian marble, while the edges of the forms and the windows are bordered with sculpted metal. The central tower, nearly twenty meters high, is made of assembled cubic forms and crowned with four copper statues with statuary. The plan has two axes, perpendicular to each other. The railings around the building and on the tower have had stylized ornamental designs, and even the plants in the garden are sculpted into geometric forms to complement the architecture. The interior, by Hoffmann and the artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, is like a series of stage sets, offering carefully planned views from one room to the other, and decorated with colorful mosaics made by Klimt, as well as walls of white marble and antique green marble. The floors are made of parquet from exotic woods, with different designs in each room. The dining room features a set of two mosaic murals by Klimt, in a setting of marble columns and mosaics by Klimt, along with geometric marble columns and walls covered with stylized floral patterns designed by Hoffmann and Klimt. Every detail of the house, including the rectangular while marble bathtub, surrounded by marble plaques with sculpture and placed on a blue marble floor; the polished pallisander wood paneling in the bedroom, and the kitchen counters, floor and furniture, were made by the Werkstätte and planned to harmonize with the overall design. The building is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. File:20120923_Brussels_PalaisStoclet_Hoffmann_DSC06725_PtrQs.jpg, Stoclet Palace (1905–1911) File:20120923 Bruessels PalaisStoclet Hoffmann DSC06760 PtrQs.jpg, Windows of the Stoclet Palace File:Bruxelles - Palais Stoclet (6).jpg, Detail of the facade, made of reinforced concrete covered with marble plaques File:Ansichtskarte Speisesaal Palais Stoclet.jpg, Photograph of the Stoclet Palace's dining room, with furniture by Hoffmann and ceramic frieze by
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's pr ...


Villas and interiors (1906–1914)

In the years during and after he designed the Stoclet Palace, Hoffmann continued to build interesting structures, but none gained the attention of the earlier work. notable works made by Hoffmann included a hunting lodge designed for Karl Wittgenstein (1906), the father of the philosopher
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian- British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is consi ...
. Wittgenstein was an important patron of the arts, and provided funding for the construction of the Secession House in Vienna. The hunting lodge has a rustic exterior but an extremely modern interior; the interior walls are paneled with exotic woods in geometric patterns, with gilded decorative elements. Every element, from the dishes to the chairs and parquet floor, was carefully harmonized and proportioned. The antechamber was decorated by the Werkstätte, and features paintings by Carl Otto Czeschka, ceramics by Richard Luksch, and painting on glass attributed to Koloman Moser. A more modest but colorful creation of Hoffmann was the interior of a popular avant-garde night club, the Fledermaus Cabaret in Vienna (1907) made with the help of the Vienna ''Werkstätte''. The walls and counters were covered with white plaster and or multicolor tiles, while the floors had a checkerboard pattern of black and white. It was designed, following the Werkstätte doctrine, as a total work of art, from the furniture and dishes to the light fixtures, menus, tickets and posters. Hoffmann designed the Fledermaus chairs, which became a symbol of the style. Other important works include the Hochstetter House in Vienna (1906–1907); and the Villa Ast in Vienna (1909–1911) which was constructed for Eduouard Ast, a businessman and building contractor who pioneered the use of reinforced concrete in Austria, and was a major funder of the ''Werkstätte''. The house was built of reinforced concrete, encrusted with decoration and sculpture. Strongly vertical in design,it was sited atop a stone pedestal that contained the basement, and featured a modern interpretation of a classical facade. It had a loggia with windows on one side, looking out at the garden, which connected with a gallery giving access to the garden, decorated with winding water basins made of concrete. Like the Stoclet Palace, the interior was decorated with fine veined marble plaques of a different colors, and with a colorful painting by Klimt. In 1911–1912 Hoffman was engaged by Moriz Gallia, a major patron of the Werkstätte, to design the interiors of the five main rooms of his new apartment, including all furniture, rugs, and light fittings. Much of the furniture, mostly in richly carved, ebonised wood with boldly coloured upholstery, survives in the
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
in Melbourne, Australia, as the Hoffmann Gallia apartment collection. Another major work was the Villa Skywa-Primavesi (1913–1916), also in Vienna, for the industrialist Otto Primavesi. This was a veritable palace, 1000 square meters not counting the adjoining buildings, placed in a park and built in the neoclassical modern style, all in white, that Hoffmann favored during this period. The frontons of the building featured sculptures by Anton Hanak. The interiors were in the same modernized neoclassical style, decorated with parquet floors of rare woods, marble plaques on the walls, and sculptural decoration. File:Cabaret Fledermaus Vorraum um 1907.jpg, Decoration for the Cabaret Fledermaus (1907) File:Manifattura jacob & josef kohn, joseph hoffmann, sedia n° 728, creata per il cabaret fledermaus a vienna, 1904 ca.JPG, Chair for the Caberet Fledermaus (1906–14) File:Josef Hoffmann, 1913-1915, A1130 Wien, Gloriettegasse 14-16, Villa Primavesi, p2.jpg, Villa Skywa-Primavesi (1913-1916)


Between the Wars (1918–1938)

Following the First World War, Hoffmann built his last two villas. The first was a country house for Eduard Ast at Velden am Worthersee in
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
. It was in a simpler geometric style, with white walls, cubic forms, and just a touch exterior decor, s classical pediment over the front door with topped with statuary. The second project was a villa for Sonya Knips, famous as the model for one of Klimt's earliest works. She had married the industrialist Anton Knips, who was a major patron of the Werkstätte. This house was different from the others, less geometric in its facade and showed the inspiration of the British Arts and Crafts Movement in its roof and dormer windows. The interior featured a perfect harmony of furniture, wall decoration and detail, and was originally highlighted complemented by three major Klimt paintings, now in museums. In the 1920s, Hoffmann became particularly interested in building public housing and apartment buildings for working-class residents, to relieve the severe housing shortage after the War. His first such project was in Klosehof, a wealthy neighborhood in Vienna. This was a square building five stories high, sixty meters by sixty meters, with a central courtyard, in which he planned a tower six stories high, with more apartments and, on the ground floor, a day care center for children. The facade was simple, covered with white plaster. The only decorative details were simple columns and pediments over the entrances, and a gabled roof, red trim around the windows. As the economic crisis of the 1930s deepened, Hoffmann built more public housing in Vienna. The largest project was at Laxenburgerstrasse 94, built between 1928 and 1932. It contained 332 apartments, each with a small balcony, organized in a block six-story buildings around a central courtyard. This simple, functional structure became a model for similar buildings built in Vienna and other cities after the War. Hoffmann had been a founding member of the Austrian ''Werkbund'', founded in 1914, modeled after the celebrated German ''Werkbund''. He organized several exhibitions for the Werkbund, experimenting with modern architecture. In 1930–32, the Austrian ''Werkbund'' created an experimental city, modeled after the German "White City" version created at Suttgart in 1928. For the Exposition, Hoffmann designed four different houses, of different sizes and designs, all simple and practical. They were made of brick covered by plaster. One innovative feature added by Hoffmann was a glass-enclosed stairway on the exterior of each house, which made the interior of the house larger and gave variety to the facade. Another modern feature, borrowed from Corbusier, was a roof terrace on each residence. File:Haus Knips I.jpg, Sonya Knips House (1924–25) File:Haus Knips IV.jpg, Entrance to Knips House (1924–25) File:Josef Hoffmann, 1931-1932, A1130 Wien, Veitingergasse 85, back, Werkbundsiedlung.jpg, ''Werkbund'' model house, Veitingergasse 85 (1930–32)


Austria Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1934)

The last major work of Hoffmann before the Second World War was Austria Pavilion at the 1934 Venice Biennale. The building was of an extreme simplicity, in a U form, with one side slightly longer than the other. The walls were made of ''crepi'' in horizontal stripes. The original entrance portal and sculptural decoration designed by Hoffmann were never made due to budget difficulties, but their absence added to the final priority of structure. The building was unused after 1938, when Nazi Germany took over Austria, but was restored in 1984 to its original appearance. File:Biennale Venedig, Austria Pavillon, Josef Hoffmann 1.jpg, Austria Pavilion for the
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
(1934)


Later Years (1939–1956)

In 1936 became Professor Emeritus at the Fine Arts, essentially retired, though he continued to work with his earlier students. In 1937 he presented a model interior, "The Boudoir of a great actress", at the Paris International Exposition of 1937, and designed new interiors for the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. In 1940, he redesigned the interior of the Meissen factory and offices in Vienna. After Nazi Germany forced Austria to unite with Germany, he redesigned the former German Embassy in Vienna to serve as new headquarters of the German Army in Austria. During the War, he made more than eighty projects for houses and other buildings, but there is no record if any were constructed. In 1945, following the War, Hoffmann rejoined the
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...
, the artistic movement that he, Klimt and Otto Wagner had dramatically quit in 1905. He was elected President of the Secession from 1948 to 1950. Between 1949 and 1953, based on his experience before the War, he designed three large public housing projects in Vienna. He died on May 7, 1956, at the age of eighty-five, at his apartment at 33 Salesianergasse in Vienna.


Teaching at Kunstgewerbeschule

Although he said little to his students, Hoffmann was a highly esteemed and admired teacher. He tried to bring out the best in each member of his class by means of challenging assignments, which were occasionally work on real commissions. Where he detected talent among young artists he was willing or eager to promote it;
Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...
,
Egon Schiele Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portrai ...
and
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
were the most prominent beneficiaries of his benevolence towards a promising next generation; others strongly influenced by his aesthetic included the American designers Edward H. and Gladys Aschermann and Louise Brigham. German designer Anni Schaad was another of his students. Le Corbusier was offered a job in his office, Schiele was helped financially and Kokoschka was given work in the Wiener Werkstätte. As a member of the international jury for the competition to design a palace for the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
at Geneva in 1927, Hoffmann belonged to the minority who voted for Le Corbusier's project, and the latter always spoke with admiration of his Viennese colleague. Hoffmann had voted for the union of Austria with Germany and, as noted in Tim Bonyhady's "''Good Living Street. The fortunes of my Viennese family''" (2011), the architect was admired by the Nazis who appointed him a Special Commissioner for Viennese Arts and Crafts and commissioned him to remodel the former German embassy building into the "Haus der Wehrmacht" for army officers. Following its use by the British Government from 1945 to 1955 it was demolished. Hoffmann died in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, aged 85.


Critical reception and posthumous reputation

His international exhibition work helped to make his name widely known, and many distinguished contributors to the
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...
on his 60th birthday acclaimed him as a master. Honours bestowed on him included the cross of a commander of the
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
and the Honorary Fellowship of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...
. The critic Henry-Russell Hitchcock in 1929 wrote, "In Germany as well as in Austria, Hoffmann's manner has profoundly influenced the New Tradition". Only three years later, however, when he published The International Style together with
Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...
, Hitchcock no longer mentioned Hoffmann's name. Siegfried Giedion in his influential
Space, Time and Architecture ''Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition'' is a book by Sigfried Giedion first published (by Harvard University Press) in 1941. It is a pioneering and influential standard history giving in integrated synthesis the background ...
did not do justice to Hoffmann's oeuvre because it would not fit easily into his polemically simplified version of architectural history. Despite honours and praise on the occasions of Hoffmann's 80th and 85th birthdays, he was virtually forgotten by the time of his death. Although his true stature and contribution were acknowledged by such masters as
Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...
,
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
, Gio Ponti and
Carlo Scarpa Carlo Scarpa (2 June 1906 – 28 November 1978) was an Italian architect, influenced by the materials, landscape and the history of Venetian culture, and by Japan. Scarpa translated his interests in history, regionalism, invention, and the tec ...
, the younger generation of architects and historians ignored him. The process of rediscovery and reappraisal began in 1956 with a small book by Giulia Veronesi, and gained momentum during the 1970s with a number of exhibitions and smaller publications. In the 1980s several monographs were published and major exhibitions held. Imitations of his style also began to appear, and replicas of his furniture, fabrics, and of some objects he had designed became commercial successes, while original pieces and drawings from his hand fetched record prices in the auction-rooms.


Legacy in America

Josef Hoffmann's son,
Wolfgang Hoffmann Wolfgang Hoffmann (1900–1969) was an Austrian-American architect and designer active in the American modernism movement between 1926 and 1942. His reputation was overshadowed by that of his father, the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann, and ...
, together with his father's former student Pola Weinbach Hoffmann (later Pola Stout), emigrated to New York in 1925 and made significant contributions to American modernism.


Awards and honors

* 1950: Grand Austrian State Prize for Architecture * 1951: Honorary Doctorate of the Vienna University of Technology * Honorary Doctor of the Dresden University of Technology


Selected architecture works

* 1900–1911 Designer for Hohe Warte Artists' Colony * 1900–1901 Double House for Koloman Moser and Carl Moll * 1904
Sanatorium Purkersdorf The Sanatorium Purkersdorf was built as a sanatorium in Purkersdorf, Wien-Umgebung, Lower Austria. It was built in 1904-05 by the architect Josef Hoffmann for the industrialist Victor Zuckerkandl and is an example of the style of the Viennese Se ...
* 1905–1906 House for the writer Richard Beer-Hofmann in Vienna * 1905–1911
Stoclet Palace The Stoclet Palace (french: Palais Stoclet, nl, Stocletpaleis) is a mansion in Brussels, Belgium. It was designed by the Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann for the Belgian financier Adolphe Stoclet. Built between 1905 and 1911 in the Vienna ...
in Brussels, Belgium * 1907 Interior decoration of Kabarett Fledermaus in Vienna * 1909–1911 Ast Residence in Vienna * 1913–1915 Skywa-Primavesi Residence in Vienna * 1913–1914 Country house for Otto Primavesi
www.primavesi.eu
in Kouty nad Desnou (Winkelsdorf), Moravia (destroyed by fire in 1922) * 1919–1924 House for Sigmund Berl in Bruntal, Moravia * 1920–1921 Villa for Fritz Grohmann in Vrbno pod Pradedem, Moravia * 1923–1925 Urban Klosehof Housing Complex * 1924–1925 Villa Knips in Vienna, made for Sonja Knips * 1930–1932 Four row houses for the Viennese Werkbund's settlement * 1934: Design of the Viktorin-Werke branch at Burgring 3, Vienna with Oswald Haerdtl * 1934 Austrian pavilion at the Venice Biennale


Selected furniture works

* 1904 Purkersdorf Armchair * 1905 Sitzmaschine Armchair * 1905 Kunstschau Armchair * 1905–1910 Stoclet Palace Armchair * 1907 Fledermaus Chair * 1907 Seating set "Buenos Aires" (produced by J&J Kohn as 675C/F/S) * 1908 Siebenkugelstuhl Chair * 1908 Armloffel Chair * 1910 Kubus Armchair * 1910 Club Armchair * 1911 Haus Koller Chair


Gallery


1899 to 1910

Anlage_Landhaus_Bergerhöhe,_Hohenberg_03.jpg, Bergerhöhe 1 (1899) Personalwohnhaus_und_Kanzleigebäude_129862_in_A-3183_Hohenberg.jpg, Untere Hauptstraße 4–6 (1900) Steinfeldgasse4.jpg, Villa Spitzer (1903) Haus_Moser-Moll,_Josef_Hoffmann.jpg, House Moser-Moll (1903) St_Aegyd_evangelische_Pfarrkirche-2.jpg, Protestant church (1903) Poldihaus_Kladno.jpg, Union hotel (1903) Purkersdorf_Sanatorium_Ostseite.jpg,
Sanatorium Purkersdorf The Sanatorium Purkersdorf was built as a sanatorium in Purkersdorf, Wien-Umgebung, Lower Austria. It was built in 1904-05 by the architect Josef Hoffmann for the industrialist Victor Zuckerkandl and is an example of the style of the Viennese Se ...
(1905) Moderne_Villen_in_Meisteraquarellen_Serie_II_Tafel_039_Wien-Währing_Villa_Hasenauerstraße_59.JPG, House for Beer-Hofmann (1906) File:Wollergasse10.jpg, House Moll II (1906) Cabaret_Fledermaus_Vorraum_um_1907.jpg, Cabaret "Fledermaus" (1907) Seilerstätte_24.jpg, Seilerstätte 24 (1908) Emil_Zuckerkandl_grave,_2016.jpg, Tomb for Emil Zuckerkandl (1908)


1910 to 1954

Steinfeldgasse2.jpg, Steinfeldgasse 2 (1911) Palais_Stoclet,_vue_ensemble.JPG, Stoclet Palace (1911) Grinzinger_Friedhof_-_Gustav_Mahler.jpg, Tomb for
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
(1911) Grabmal_Paul_Wittgenstein_und_Helene_Hochstetter,_Friedhof_Grinzing.jpg, Tomb for Paul Wittgenstein (1912) Oberwaltersdorf_Kollerhaus.jpg, Pfarrgasse 15 (1913) Haus_Botstiber-Hertzka,_Josef_Hoffmann.jpg, Kaasgrabengasse 30-32 (1914) Haus_Drucker-Wellesz,_Josef_Hoffmann.jpg, Kaasgrabengasse 36–38 (1914) Suttingergasse_12-14_(Döbling)_III.jpg, Suttingergasse 12–14 (1914) Suttingergasse_16-18_(Döbling)_I.jpg, Suttingergasse 16–18 (1914) Villa_Skywa-Primavesi_3.jpg, Villa Primavesi (1915) Vila_čp._298_(Vrbno_pod_Pradědem)_2.JPG, Tschechien (1921) Haus_Knips_I.jpg, House for Sonja Knips (1924) Klosehof_Fruchtträgerinnen_Ansicht_2.jpg, Klose-Hof (1925) Haus-Stromstraße_36-38-01.jpg, Winarsky-Hof (1925) Otto_Wagner_Denkmal_2.jpg, Monument for Otto Wagner (1930) Laxenburger_Straße_24.JPG, Laxenburger Straße 94 (1932) Josef_Hoffmann,_1931-1932,_A1130_Wien,_Veitingergasse_83-85,_Werkbundsiedlung.jpg, Veitingergasse 79–85 (1932) Biennale_Venedig,_Austria_Pavillon,_Josef_Hoffmann_1.jpg, Austrian Pavilion at
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
(1934) Christoph_Reisser_Soehne_8_stitched.jpg, Arbeitergasse 1-7 / Spengergasse (1939) Blechturmgasse_23-27-2.jpg, Blechturmgasse 23–27 (1950) Wohnhausanlage_Silbergasse_4_(Döbling)_06.jpg, Silbergasse 2–4 (1952) Wohnhausanlage_Heiligenstädter_Straße_129_Straßenfront_II.jpg, Heiligenstädter Straße 129 (1954)


References


Bibliography

* Stefan Üner: Josef Hoffmann, in: ''Parnass'', vol. 1, Vienna 2022, p. 166–167 * * * * * *Huey, Michael, ed. (2003) ''Viennese Silver. Modern Design 1780–1918'', exhibition catalogue for the Neue Galerie New York, Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern. . *Witt-Dörring, Christian, ed. (2006) ''Josef Hoffmann Interiors 1902–1913'', exhibition catalogue for the Neue Galerie New York, Prestel Verlag, New York. .


External links

* * * Papers of Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession No. 850997. Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and other papers of the Austrian designer and architect, Josef Hoffmann, document his involvement in the arts and crafts movement and his writings in art education. The bulk of the papers date to the 1920s and 1930s.
Lamps and furnitures designed by Josef Hoffmann for the Wiener Werkstaette



A 40 min Video by WOKA, Wolfgang Karolinsky, Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstaette from 1991
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Josef 1870 births 1956 deaths People from Brtnice People from the Margraviate of Moravia Moravian-German people Austrian people of Moravian-German descent Modernist architects from Austria Austrian architects Austrian designers Art Deco architects Vienna Secession architects Wiener Werkstätte Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery