Gabriele Fahr-Becker - Wiener Werkstätte - 2008
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Description from the seller
The Vienna Workshop (Wiener Werkstätte, WW) was founded in 1903 on the initiative of the architect Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870, Pirnitz – 7 May 1956, Vienna), the painter and designer Koloman Moser (30 March 1868, Vienna – 18 October 1918, Vienna), and the textile industrialist and patron Fritz Waerndorfer (5 May 1868, Vienna – 9 August 1939, Bryn Mawr).
Its aim, inspired by the English Arts and Crafts movement, was to counter industrial mass production and rigid historicism by creating high-quality, contemporary handcrafted design. After initially establishing their headquarters in a small apartment at Heumühlgasse 6 in Vienna’s 4th district in 1903, they moved later that same year into a three-story commercial building at Neustiftgasse 32–34 in Vienna’s 7th district.
Major commissions soon followed, including the construction and furnishing of the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, where Gustav Klimt and other artists collaborated in the spirit of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). After Moser left in 1907 and Waerndorfer in 1914, the Wiener Werkstätte was reorganized into a company in the same year. The industrialist and patron Otto Primavesi (27 February 1868, Olomouc – 8 February 1926, Vienna) became its managing director. During the 1920s, the workshop underwent further reorganization and restructuring. Despite considerable efforts to adapt to international market conditions and survive the global economic depression, the Wiener Werkstätte was ultimately liquidated on 14 October 1932.
The Wiener Werkstätte represented a revolutionary reinterpretation of applied arts and a decisive break from the industrial imitation of historical styles. With its distinctive contemporary design language—marked by a strong inclination toward decoration and sensuality—the workshop consistently pursued the integration of aesthetics into all areas of life. With designers such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Carl Otto Czeschka, and Dagobert Peche, the Wiener Werkstätte developed into an international brand, with retail outlets in Berlin, Karlsbad, Cologne, Marienbad, New York, Vienna, and Zurich. Its unique “Viennese” style not only contributed to overcoming historicism but also marked the transition from floral Art Nouveau to a more geometric and abstract design approach.
The company’s success was reflected in numerous exhibitions both in Austria and abroad, including major presentations at the Hohenzollern Arts and Crafts House in Berlin (1904), the Vienna Kunstschau (1908), and the German Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne (1914).
Today, the archive of the Wiener Werkstätte is housed at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 2021, the museum dedicated an exhibition to the women of the Wiener Werkstätte.
If you want, I can make it more academic, simpler, or adapt it for a presentation.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
The Vienna Workshop (Wiener Werkstätte, WW) was founded in 1903 on the initiative of the architect Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870, Pirnitz – 7 May 1956, Vienna), the painter and designer Koloman Moser (30 March 1868, Vienna – 18 October 1918, Vienna), and the textile industrialist and patron Fritz Waerndorfer (5 May 1868, Vienna – 9 August 1939, Bryn Mawr).
Its aim, inspired by the English Arts and Crafts movement, was to counter industrial mass production and rigid historicism by creating high-quality, contemporary handcrafted design. After initially establishing their headquarters in a small apartment at Heumühlgasse 6 in Vienna’s 4th district in 1903, they moved later that same year into a three-story commercial building at Neustiftgasse 32–34 in Vienna’s 7th district.
Major commissions soon followed, including the construction and furnishing of the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, where Gustav Klimt and other artists collaborated in the spirit of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). After Moser left in 1907 and Waerndorfer in 1914, the Wiener Werkstätte was reorganized into a company in the same year. The industrialist and patron Otto Primavesi (27 February 1868, Olomouc – 8 February 1926, Vienna) became its managing director. During the 1920s, the workshop underwent further reorganization and restructuring. Despite considerable efforts to adapt to international market conditions and survive the global economic depression, the Wiener Werkstätte was ultimately liquidated on 14 October 1932.
The Wiener Werkstätte represented a revolutionary reinterpretation of applied arts and a decisive break from the industrial imitation of historical styles. With its distinctive contemporary design language—marked by a strong inclination toward decoration and sensuality—the workshop consistently pursued the integration of aesthetics into all areas of life. With designers such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Carl Otto Czeschka, and Dagobert Peche, the Wiener Werkstätte developed into an international brand, with retail outlets in Berlin, Karlsbad, Cologne, Marienbad, New York, Vienna, and Zurich. Its unique “Viennese” style not only contributed to overcoming historicism but also marked the transition from floral Art Nouveau to a more geometric and abstract design approach.
The company’s success was reflected in numerous exhibitions both in Austria and abroad, including major presentations at the Hohenzollern Arts and Crafts House in Berlin (1904), the Vienna Kunstschau (1908), and the German Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne (1914).
Today, the archive of the Wiener Werkstätte is housed at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 2021, the museum dedicated an exhibition to the women of the Wiener Werkstätte.
If you want, I can make it more academic, simpler, or adapt it for a presentation.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Details
Number of books
1
Subject
Interior design, Photography
Book title
Wiener Werkstätte
Author/ Illustrator
Gabriele Fahr-Becker
Condition
Very good
Publication year oldest item
2008
Height
30.5 cm
Edition
Commemorative edition
Width
23 cm
Language
English
Original language
Yes
Publisher
TASCHEN
Binding/ Material
Hardback
Extras
Dust jacket
Number of pages
240
