Cupboard, c. 1905

Both with his architectural vocabulary and his furniture design, Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) had a formative influence on constructive Viennese Jugendstil. While undulating shapes inspired by Western Art nouveau had still been omnipresent around 1900, a more purist take came to be dominant in both fields between 1903 and 1907. That a quasi-architectural idea of form and appearance should be prevalent particularly in the design of large closets was, in a way, almost self-evident. In designing this mighty piece of furniture, Hoffmann exclusively focused on the frontal aspect. The avant-corps-like central shelves with an arched crown and the wooden doors on either side with their noticeable grain and borders that remind of façade panels of other buildings planned by Hoffmann around 1905 make for an austere and ceremonious effect.

IR, 2021