ENTRY 23.
How Josef Hoffman and the Wiener Werkstatte, a group of artists and craftsmen working together to create a total work of art, or a "Gesamtkunstwerk" shaped our Trento collection.
Josef Hoffmann was an Austrian architect and designer who played a key role in shaping modern design as one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession.
In 1903, along with Koloman Moser and banker Fritz Wärndorfer, Hoffmann launched the Wiener Werkstatte, a group of artists and craftsmen working together to create all the elements of a complete work of art, or "Gesamtkunstwerk" including architecture, furniture, lamps, glass, metal work textiles and dishes.
Many of the works were hand-made by the artisans of the group and some by industrial manufacturers.
JOSEF
HOFFMANN
Born: December 15, 1870 Austria
Died: May 7, 1956 (age 85 years), New York, NY
Periods: Vienna Secession, Wiener Werkstätte,
Art Nouveau, Art Deco
Influenced by: Art Nouveau, Modernism
The Trento Chandelier
by Orphan Work
Hoffmann designed a wide variety of objects for the Wiener Werkstätte.
The "Siebenkugelstuhl" (Seven Balls Chair) created around 1907, is a symbolic piece of the movement, noted for its practicality and elegance.
The chair features seven wooden balls at its joints and is made of stained beechwood.
The idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk or a “total work of art”was where architecture, furniture, lighting, and decoration all worked together. His most famous project, the Stoclet Palace (1911) in Brussels, embodied this idea.
Made in collaboration with Gustav Klimt, it is the most famous work of Hoffmann, the Vienna Secession, and of the Wiener Werkstätte. It is a visible turning point from historical styles to modern architecture.
Hoffmann’s work helped bridge Art Nouveau and modernism, influencing later movements like the Bauhaus. His focus on craftsmanship and simplicity shaped 20th-century design.
Today, Josef Hoffmann is remembered as a pioneer who brought art, architecture, and design together.