Armchair
ca. 1898-1899 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The design for this chair was drawn by Joseph Maria Olbrich in about 1898 or 1899. It was intended for the music room of Dr Friedrich Victor Spitzer's town house in Vienna. Spitzer was a wealthy patron of the arts.
The shape of the chair appears to have been very popular at the time as at least two similar versions are known, one by Adolf Loos and another designed by Josef Niedermoser, whose firm made this chair.
This particular chair was made for the actor Maria Wölzl's apartment in Vienna, very shortly after the design was first produced for Dr. Spitzer.
The shape of the chair appears to have been very popular at the time as at least two similar versions are known, one by Adolf Loos and another designed by Josef Niedermoser, whose firm made this chair.
This particular chair was made for the actor Maria Wölzl's apartment in Vienna, very shortly after the design was first produced for Dr. Spitzer.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Maple, stained, with upholstery, and brass feet |
| Brief description | Maple armchair with original upholstery in lilac, designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich, Vienna, made ca.1898-1899 by Josef Niedermoser. |
| Physical description | Dark varnished maple armchair, with brass feet,with original upholstery in lilac. Lower back stretcher is missing. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This pattern of chair was designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich in about 1898 or 1899 for the music room in the town house of Dr Friedrich Victor Spitzer, a wealthy patron of the arts. This particular chair, however, was made for the actor Maria Wölzl's Vienna apartment in about 1898 to 1899. |
| Historical context | In about 1899 or 1900 Adolf Loos used a chair of very similar design in the Turnowsky apartment. The manufacturer, Josef Niedermoser, showed another variation at the Paris 1900 Exhibition. The dominant feature in the Spitzer music room was a piano, which bears a strong resemblance to a bed designed by Olbrich for the industrialist Max Friedmann in 1898. A number of similar chairs are included in photographs in the Niedermoser Archive of the Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna. |
| Production | Attribution note: Possibly mass produced: see condition report |
| Summary | The design for this chair was drawn by Joseph Maria Olbrich in about 1898 or 1899. It was intended for the music room of Dr Friedrich Victor Spitzer's town house in Vienna. Spitzer was a wealthy patron of the arts. The shape of the chair appears to have been very popular at the time as at least two similar versions are known, one by Adolf Loos and another designed by Josef Niedermoser, whose firm made this chair. This particular chair was made for the actor Maria Wölzl's apartment in Vienna, very shortly after the design was first produced for Dr. Spitzer. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.15-1982 |
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| Record created | June 7, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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