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ONLINECOLLECTION

Lounger, Model No. 670, called “Seating Machine”, c. 1905

Leopold Museum,
Vienna
Bent beechwood, mahogany stained, plywood seat, back and side parts with armrests, metal bar and screws
107.5×67×87 cm

Artists

  • Josef Hoffmann

    (Pirnitz 1870–1956 Vienna)

  • Jacob & Josef Kohn
Currently on display at OG4
For the Purkersdorf Sanatorium, Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) designed an adjustable armchair that was later series-produced by the company of Jacob & Josef Kohn. As early as 1901, in his programmatic text Einfache Möbel (Simple furniture), Josef Hoffmann concisely summarized his notion of material honesty and functionality: “I believe that, above all, purpose and material should be taken into account. A good sense of proportion and an inborn sense of tact in choosing materials will establish value in and of themselves.” The sophisticated functional construction of a piece of furniture is particularly well discernible in this Sitting Machine, as this armchair was also called. It has an adjustable back, an extensible board as a footrest, and a newspaper shelf below the seat. For the first time, construction was made a design principle.

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Object data

Artist/author
  • Josef Hoffmann
  • Execution: Jacob & Josef Kohn
Title
Lounger, Model No. 670, called “Seating Machine”
Date
c. 1905
Category
Furniture
Material​/technique
Bent beechwood, mahogany stained, plywood seat, back and side parts with armrests, metal bar and screws
Dimensions
107.5×67×87 cm
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 6078
Inventory access
Accession 2017
Selection of Reference works
  • 20 Jahre Leopold Museum 2001-2021, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2021.
  • Wien 1900. Aufbruch in die Moderne, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Wien 2019 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, ab 15.03.2019).
  • Wien 1900. Sammlung Leopold, hrsg. von Diethard Leopold/Peter Weinhäupl, Wien u.a. 2009.
Keywords

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i

Privatsammlung Leopold, Wien; (1)
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (2017);

  1. Archiv des Leopold Museums, Kaufvertrag und Rechnung Nr. 1/2017 vom 03.07.2017

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