Carpet for the Palais Stoclet, Model “Bellflower”, 1907

This carpet was designed by the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) in 1907 for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. Designed as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or universal work of art, the building is one of the highlights of Viennese Jugendstil. For the design of this carpet, Hoffmann availed himself of an interplay of geometrical forms and floral motifs, such as bellflowers. The machine-knotted carpet was executed by the tradition-steeped company Joh. Backhausen & Söhne which often realized the designs of Viennese Modernist designers and closely collaborated with the Wiener Werkstätte. The rug has a rather cool overall coloring owing to its dominant black and blue hues. The same design was used by Hoffmann for the interior decoration of the Villa Ast and other residences. Famous owners of this carpet model included Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), who used it in his studio on Feldmühlgasse in Vienna’s Hietzing district, and Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) who had one in his Geneva apartment.

MR, 2021