19th Anniversary

19th Anniversary 158 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com — Austria & Germany — Karl Rothmüller (German, 1860–1930), Mermaid on Coral Brooch, ca. 1900. Gilded silver, coral, pearl. Collection of Richard H. Driehaus. Photograph by John A. Faier, 2014, © The Richard H. Driehaus Museum. Art jewelry produced in Germany and Austria at the dawn of the twentieth century came under the moniker Jugendstil (Youth Style). Influenced by their counterparts in Britain, France, and elsewhere, Jugendstil designers drew inspiration from nature, sometimes portrayed realistically, as in English Arts and Crafts jewelry, and sometimes borrowing from the curvilinear lines and female forms of Art Nouveau jewelers. This mermaid brooch by German goldsmith Karl Rothmüller takes its inspiration from the work of the French Art Nouveau. Josef Hoffmann (Austrian, 1870–1956) and Berthold Löffler (Austrian, 1874–1960), the Wiener Werkstätte (1903–1932), Hostess Pin, ca. 1907. Enameled nickel silver. Collection of Richard H. Driehaus. Photograph by John A. Faier, 2014, © The Richard H. Driehaus Museum. The Secessionist style was a far more geometric form of Jugendstil. It was developed by artists who were often trained architects or painters, some of whom left established art groups to create alternative collectives. One of the most important evolutions of the Vienna Secession was the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop), a cooperative of architects, artists, and designers, founded in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. The Werkstätte’s artisans sought to collaboratively design complete environments for its artistically-minded clients, including architecture, interior wall coverings, furniture, and even the inhabitants’ clothing. This pin was designed for the hostesses at the avant-garde Cabaret Fledermaus (The Bat), which opened in Vienna in October 1907. The club’s interior décor, contents, and costumes were all designed by the Wiener Werkstätte. Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), a founding member of the Vienna Secession, was one of the artists involved in the design of the Cabaret, which closed in 1913.