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ONLINECOLLECTION

Large Closest from Klimt’s Studio, 1903

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Solid and veneered oak, stained black, pores rubbed white, tombac, glass
219×341×70 cm

Artists

  • Josef Hoffmann

    (Pirnitz 1870–1956 Vienna)

  • Wiener Werkstätte
Currently on display at OG4
Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) had moved into his studio in Vienna’s 8th district together with his brother Ernst Klimt (1864–1892) and also stayed there after the latter’s early death. In 1911, Klimt had to clear out of the studio as the building was demolished, relocating to what would be his last place of work in Feldmühlgasse in the Hietzing district. Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) planned for an interior-design totality for the premises of his close friend and ally. As Klimt resisted any massive intervention in his accustomed workplace environment, implementation remained limited to just a few pieces of furniture: a worktable plus armchair, a case for painting utensils, two armchairs with very high backs, a small table, a lighting element as well as this three-part wall closet. Dark color, clear internal structuring through borders, a balanced alternation of protruding and receding elements, and an unadorned style are the characteristics of this closet in which the artist kept parts of his art and curiosity collections.

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Object data

Artist/author
  • Josef Hoffmann
  • Execution: Wiener Werkstätte
Title
Large Closest from Klimt’s Studio
Date
1903
Art movement
Wiener Werkstätte, Art Nouveau
Category
Furniture
Material​/technique
Solid and veneered oak, stained black, pores rubbed white, tombac, glass
Dimensions
219×341×70 cm
Signature
Rose mark, private possession
Credit line of the permanent loan
Ernst Ploil, Vienna
Selection of Reference works
  • Wien 1900. Aufbruch in die Moderne, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2019 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, ab 15.03.2019).
  • Gustav Klimt. Jahrhundertkünstler, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger/Sandra Tretter, Wien 2018 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 22.06.2018–04.11.2018).
  • Klimt persönlich. Bilder - Briefe - Einblicke, hrsg. von Tobias G. Natter/Franz Smola, Wien 2012 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 24.02.2012–27.08.2012).
  • Eduard F. Sekler: Josef Hoffmann. Das architektonische Werk: Monographie und Werkverzeichnis, Salzburg/Wien 1982.
Catalogue raisonne
  • Sekler 1986: 96
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

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