Armchair, c. 1901

Born in Vienna in 1872, Josef Urban (1872–1933) received a well-founded education under Carl von Hasenauer (1833–1894) at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. An architect and illustrator, he was an early member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus and of the pre-Secessionist artists’ association Siebenerclub. Already in 1890, he and like-minded artists had founded the Hagenbund, which came to the fore on 3rd February 1900 as an independent artists’ association. Until 1908, Josef Urban designed some 30 successful exhibitions for the Hagenbund, making him one of the most prominent exhibition architects in Vienna. This wingback chair, designed around 1901, epitomizes Urban’s more organic approach to Jugendstil, which stood in contrast to the geometricizing designs by Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956). The curved backrest continues as armrests and organically flows into the front legs. The proportions and shape of the seat followed human anatomy, which meant that the item of furniture corresponded to the requirements of the life reform movement.

Text Leopold Museum