Large Art Nouveau Desk, Vienna, around 1900
The present model of a large desk made in Vienna around 1900 is a very beautiful example of the timeless elegance and modernity of Viennese designs of the period.
The simple, linear corpus is executed in mahogany veneer. The edges of the piece are very slightly rounded, which softens the severity of its otherwise clear lines. This is further relieved by the three large drawers with their slightly rounded edges, fitted with original locks and keys. The side construction of the desk is distinguished by its rectangular opening within the otherwise solid side panels.
This stylistic element further emphasizes the exceptionally modern design of this piece of furniture. Almost spectacular is the design of the base plinths of the two side panels, which are clad in copper sheet. In addition to the harmonious color relationship between the copper and the dark mahogany, this constitutes another visual highlight of the piece.
With the architects and designers of this era, partly united in the Secession or the Wiener Werkstätte — foremost among them Josef Hoffmann, Otto Wagner, Otto Prutscher, as well as Adolf Loos, to name just a few — the Viennese School achieved international renown that has endured to this day. Many designs from this period are now found in the most important museums worldwide.
Furniture such as this was usually produced on commission for an important or wealthy client, or in very small design series. Very likely, this piece was designed by one of the leading designers of the period or someone from their circle.
The attribution of the execution to Friedrich Otto Schmidt is due both to the outstanding quality in which the piece was made and to the fact that leading designers of the Viennese School collaborated with F. O. Schmidt.
Designs from this period may also be attributed to Max Hermann Schmidt, who led the company between 1861 Vienna and 1935 Budapest.
A particularly productive exchange existed with the architect Adolf Loos as well as Josef Hoffmann, who worked closely with Max Hermann Schmidt.
This influence of the most important architects and designers of the period is strongly reflected in the company’s own designs from the Schmidt workshop.
The present desk was for many years part of one of the most important collections of Wiener Werkstätte objects, notably including designs by Otto Prutscher, the Schedlmayer Collection in Vienna…
Friedrich Otto Schmidt:
In 1858, Carl Friedrich Heinrich Schmidt (29 June 1824, Stralsund — 22 October 1894, Seewalchen), who came from a Saxon family of carpenters that had been settled in the Prussian region since the 18th century, decided to move to Vienna. Schmidt, who trained as a merchant in Hamburg and came to Prague in 1850 to work in the wallpaper factory “Robert & Bhd. Sieburger,” whose Budapest branch he managed from 1853 to 1857, saw — as did many artists and craftsmen — in the imperial residence city of Vienna, with its urban expansion and the construction of the Ringstrasse, a profitable opportunity for professional self-realization. After initially founding the wallpaper business “F. Schmidt & Sugg” in 1859 together with Gerhard Joseph Hubert Sugg (b. 27 November 1832, Cologne) at Bischofgasse 637 (today Rotenturmstrasse 11) in Vienna I, Schmidt was able to take over the company completely in 1872 and rename it “Friedrich Otto Schmidt.” The company experienced its commercial rise with the entry of his eldest son Otto Erdmann Schmidt (4 October 1854, Budapest — 16 March 1895, Vienna), and now operated as a “Technical Atelier for Interior Decoration,” offering complete interiors up to and including stucco decorations and fireplaces. The firm not only became one of the most successful interior outfitters in the second half of the 19th century, but also actively participated in Arthur von Scala’s reform movement at the Museum of Art and Industry in Vienna, which aimed — following the English model — to sustainably improve the interaction between art and craftsmanship and to break with the tradition of historicism.
Soon Schmidt abandoned the historicist imitation of earlier forms and concentrated on the exact reproduction of historical models, ranging from individual pieces of furniture to entire interiors. Schmidt’s passion for contemporary movements was also reflected in his private life. In 1874, his Villa Daheim in Seewalchen in Upper Austria, built by the architect Zinner, was completed, where he maintained friendly relations with artists, writers, and musicians such as Hans Makart and Friedrich von Amerling. When Carl Friedrich Heinrich Schmidt died in 1894 and his eldest son Otto in 1895, his other son Max Hermann (11 August 1861, Vienna — 1 April 1935, Budapest) took over the company. He trained in the 1880s with the interior designer Prignot in Paris and with the furnishing firm Pallenberg in Cologne. He joined the family business in 1889 and became sole owner in 1894. Together with his two brothers Carl Leo (20 February 1867, Vienna — 15 May 1942, Vienna) and Hugo Wilhelm (2 February 1856, Budapest — 16 February 1932, Vienna), he restructured and expanded the “Technical Atelier for Interior Furnishings” around the turn of the century. In 1896, a second branch was opened at Waisenhausgasse 7 (today Boltzmanngasse) in Vienna IX, in addition to the shop at Rotenturmstrasse 11 in Vienna I. In 1897, a shop was opened at Lipót körút 32 (today Szent István körút) in Budapest. In 1898, the company moved from Rotenturmstrasse to the Baroque Palais Neupauer-Breuner at Singerstrasse 16 in Vienna I. The premises at Waisenhausgasse 7 housed private living quarters and storage rooms. In 1900 and 1910, further branches were opened at Bachergasse 5 in Vienna V and at Eisengasse 5 (today Wilhelm-Exner-Gasse) in Vienna IX, though these were later closed.
A particularly productive exchange existed with the architect Adolf Loos, who worked closely with Max Hermann Schmidt and, for example, inspired him to create the well-known “Elephant Trunk Table” (1899), which from 1900 onwards was produced in various versions for different interior schemes. In addition to Loos, the company also collaborated with the Vienna Secession. According to designs by Josef Hoffmann, they furnished the vestibule and the secretary’s office in the Secession exhibition building. Since 1907, the Palais Chotek at Währinger Strasse 28 in Vienna IX has served as the company’s headquarters. The historic Renaissance-style building was first rented as an atelier as part of a joint development with the architect Lothar Abel (15 February 1841, Vienna — 24 June 1896, Vienna) and was ultimately purchased in 1904. After the death of Carl Leo in 1942, his son Erich (27 February 1910, Vienna — 14 June 1980, Vienna) and his wife Irene, née Eder (13 July 1910, Vienna — 21 June 2001, Vienna), took over the company. From 1968, their daughter Irene (b. 31 August 1948, Vienna) served as managing director, while her husband Klaus Lorenz (23 May 1943, Scheibbs — 24 December 2016, Vienna) acted as authorized signatory. Today, the company is run by Irene and her two children, Irene (b. 15 February 1967, Vienna) and Claus Lorenz (b. 15 March 1966, Vienna). Claus Lorenz also oversees the Friedrich Otto Schmidt archive.
Literature: “Wagner, Hoffmann, Loos and Furniture Design of Viennese Modernism” (p. 147 ff.), Artists, Patrons, Producers, Vol. 37, edited by Eva B. Ottillinger, Dr. Stefan Üner, MMD
Provenance: The Schedlmayer Collection. A Discovery! (10 September 2021 to 20 February 2022), Leopold Museum, Vienna
The Austrian collector couple Hermi (1941 – 2018) and Fritz Schedlmayer (1939 – 2013) assembled a first-class selection of decorative arts and artworks from the first half of the 20th century in their private Villa Rothberger. This largely unknown collection was presented to the public for the first time in autumn 2021.
In 1989, after several years abroad for professional reasons, Hermi and Fritz Schedlmayer returned to Austria. They acquired Villa Rothberger in Baden near Vienna, a villa that had been extensively remodeled in the early 1910s by Otto Prutscher. In this private residence, the distinguished collection of decorative arts, paintings, and prints — assembled by Hermi (1941 – 2018) and Fritz Schedlmayer (1939 – 2013) over the last two decades of their lives — recreated life in Vienna around 1900.
Further videos of the exhibition of the Schedlmayer Collection at the Leopold Museum:
Video I, click HERE; Video II click HERE.
