Waldfee (Fairy of the Woods) (Dress or Furnishing Fabric)

Rix was a versatile artist-designer who worked in ceramics, glass painting, painted boxes, and enamel. She was also a prolific designer of textiles for the Wiener Werkstätte from 1913, when she was studying at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts), until 1930. She visited Japan several times before settling there in 1935. A number of her later designs for the workshop reflect a degree of Japanese influence, but the much earlier Waldfee, displayed here, is reminiscent of the spiky line drawing of floral motifs favored by Peche, whose influence was already being felt.