Chest for Photographs
c. 1902
Designed by Josef Hoffmann Austrian, born Moravia (now Czech Republic) 1870-1956 Made by W. Müller Vienna, active early 20th century
Austria
This chest for photographs was included in the Vienna Seccession’s installation at the 1902 Exhibition of Art and Industry installation in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Düsseldorf, Germany. It embodies Josef Hoffmann’s ideas of furniture design prior to his involvement with the founding of the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903. Conceived as a piece of miniature architecture, the chest combines the sinuous curves of turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau with the sturdiness and simplicity of late 19th-century English Arts and Crafts furniture.
Wood with palisander and maple veneers, nickel silver