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ONLINECOLLECTION

Toilette Cabinet from the Bedroom of the Daughter of the Textile Industrialist Max Biach, 1902

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Pinewood, varnished white, blue and black, white metal, nickel-plated, glass, mirror glass, marble
178.3×97.2×62.5 cm

Artists

  • Josef Hoffmann

    (Pirnitz 1870–1956 Vienna)

Currently on display at OG3
This toilette cabinet was designed by the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) in 1902 for the bedroom of then 17-year-old daughter of the textile industrialist Max Biach (1870–1912), Katharina. Hoffmann, a co-founder of the Vienna Secession, created a Gesamtkunstwerk, or universal work of art, with this ensemble shortly before the foundation of the Wiener Werkstätte. It included the furniture, the lamps, the wall decorations and the textiles for this wealthy family’s residence. This toilette cabinet appears modern in terms of its functional setup, as it comprises a mirror and cabinets for storing toiletries both above and under the marble sink with warm and cold water taps. The item of furniture is made from wood varnished white, blue and black. Its geometrical design vocabulary corresponds to the early Viennese interpretation of Jugendstil. The bedroom’s decoration further included a mirror cabinet, two wardrobes, an armoire, a bed with a nightstand and a desk and chair.

A closer look

The artwork explained by
art expert Alexandra Matzner

Object data

Artist/author
  • Design: Josef Hoffmann
Title
Toilette Cabinet from the Bedroom of the Daughter of the Textile Industrialist Max Biach
Date
1902
Art movement
Art Nouveau
Category
Furniture
Material​/technique
Pinewood, varnished white, blue and black, white metal, nickel-plated, glass, mirror glass, marble
Dimensions
178.3×97.2×62.5 cm
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 6339 06
Inventory access
Accession 2018 2019
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).
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Familie Biach, Wien (1902 bis um 1975);
Wiener Antiquitätenhandel (o.D.);
Herbert Asenbaum, Wien (um 1983-2000);
Neue Galerie, New York (2000-2019); (1)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (2019)

  1. Archiv des Leopold Museums, E-Mail Galerie Yves Macaux, Brüssel an Mag. Hans-Peter Wipplinger (LMPS) vom 20.12.2018

For provenance related information, please contact us.