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Design for the Angel Window in the Otto Wagner Church at Steinhof, 1905

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Gouache, black india ink on paper
436.5×144 cm

Artists

  • Koloman Moser

    (Vienna 1868–1918 Vienna)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
At the behest of Otto Wagner (1841–1918), the architect of the Church at Steinhof, Koloman Moser (1868–1918), was commissioned in 1904 to design the glass windows for this unique Jugendstil church. With strict stylization, the angels’ wings and dresses captivate with their planar decor and the linear ornament of the drawing. By strongly tying the figures back to the plane by means of these design principles, Moser achieved a monumental effect which underscores the importance of the window cycle in the context of the church’s overall architecture. Therefore, Wagner defended Moser’s angel window designs against the pastoral theologian Heinrich Swoboda (1861–1923), a member of the board of advisors on the building committee, who opposed them on account of their progressive style. Unlike with the altarpiece, however, Swoboda was unable to prevent the window’s execution.

Text Leopold Museum

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Object data

Artist/author
  • Koloman Moser
Title
Design for the Angel Window in the Otto Wagner Church at Steinhof
Date
1905
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Gouache, black india ink on paper
Dimensions
436.5×144 cm
Signature
Drafts for the side windows left (=west) (K.M. 1868–1918 Hochschule f. ang. Kunst, Wien, 1979)
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 5270
Inventory access
Accession 1997
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).
  • Koloman Moser- Die Sammlung Leopold, hrsg. von Elisabeth Leopold/Stefan Kutzenberger, Wien 2018 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 18.01.2018-10.06.2018).
  • Wien 1900. Sammlung Leopold, hrsg. von Diethard Leopold/Peter Weinhäupl, Wien u.a. 2009.
  • Koloman Moser 1868-1818, hrsg. von Rudolf Leopold/Gerd Pichler, Wien 2007 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 25.05.2007-10.09.2007).
Keywords
angelswindowplace of worshipornament: geometric motifs

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Privatbesitz (1979); (1)
Galerie Magnet, Völkermarkt (o.D.); (2)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (ab 1997);

  1. Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Katalog zu „Koloman Moser. 1868-1918“, Wien 1979, S. 158, Nr. 162a
  2. Kaufvertrag vom 22.05.1997.

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angelswindowplace of worshipornament: geometric motifs