Eight-Flame Pendant Chandelier, c. 1907

Otto Wagner (1841–1918) saw every one of his projects as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or universal work of art, with the aim of uniting all elements of the interior design in felicitous harmony. In keeping with his famous maxim that something impractical cannot be beautiful, he tended to invest the decorative details with the appearance of the constructive elements and vice versa. The hanging device of this chandelier was decorated with blue glass – at the ceiling plate in the shape of rectangular screw caps and on the joined-together downrods to mark the seams. These elements, as well as the sockets and polished frosted glass balls, designed to look like light bulbs, suggest a connection to the light fittings Wagner created in 1907 for his famous hospital church St. Leopold at Steinhof.

IR, 2021