"Narcissus" Dress Fabric

The Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna Workshops) opened a textile department around 1910. Printed fabrics became a mainstay of their production. Lightweight silks such as this one were often fashioned into women's tunics or wide sashes. Designers favored the technique of printing, rather than weaving, to produce patterns, as it offered greater flexibility.

Franz von Zülow was known in particular as a graphic artist, but he was versatile and also did wall painting and made ceramics and other types of applied art. He worked closely with the Wiener Werkstätte from about 1910. The association sold his prints, and he also designed for them textiles, wallpaper, fans, and screens. This fabric, dating from the early years of his collaboration with the firm, illustrates a blend of Art Nouveau style and folk art, two particular sources of influence on his work.