Vase Michael Powolny Loetz Opal mit weissen Streifen decoration ca.
Crystal glass vase, designed by Michael Powolny, manufactured by Johann Loetz Witwe, commissioner J. & L. Lobmeyr, crystal with Opal und weiße Streifen decoration, 1918/19
Description
This elegant object of the Loetz glassworks was produced immediately after the First World War, in the years 1918- 1919. Although stylistic as well as technical recourse to past techniques and shapes is not an isolated case in the production of the Loetz company, the period after the First World War was particularly characterized by it. An excellent example of such a return to (old) Venetian traditions is this glass vase designed by Michael Powolny.
The reason why the traditional Austrian company J. & L. Lobmeyr, the commissioner of this vase, relied primarily on designs by outstanding artistic personalities such as Powolny is obvious. The successful designer and sculptor knew how to interpret the classical Italian glass tradition and transfer it into new times, making fruitful use of the highest level of craftsmanship. The masterfully executed play of the vertically ribbed glass in combination with the horizontally drawn white stripes on the filigree crystal glass is striking.
ARTIST
Michael Powolny (Judenburg 1871 – 1954 Vienna) is one of the most famous ceramic artists of the Viennese Jugendstil. After his apprenticeship as a potter, he studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, where he also taught later on. He soon became a part of the inner circle of the Viennese Secessionists and was involved in the designing of important “Gesamtkunstwerke” (total works of art) in the spirit of the Wiener Werkstätte; for example, the legendary Cabaret Fledermaus in Vienna or the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. In 1905, together with Berthold Löffler, he founded the “Wiener Keramik”, whose products were distributed by the Wiener Werkstätte. In 1912, the “Wiener Keramik” merged into the “Vereinigte Wiener und Gmundner Keramik”, which continued to produce designs by Powolny and Löffler. Many of Powolny’s large-format designs were also produced by the Wienerberger company from around 1914 onwards (sculptures, tiled stoves, architectural elements).
In the decorative arts of Jugendstil, the name Powolny is associated in particular with the Secessionist figurines (Schöne Helene) and the popular seasonal putti. With his childlike, cheerful putti, Powolny had a decisive influence on the aesthetics of decorative sculptures of Viennese Jugendstil. Powolny also designed large figural ceramics, namely for the Stoclet Palace or the Dianabad. As a designer, Powolny also created glass objects, for example for the glassworks Johann Loetz Witwe or the traditional Viennese company J. & L. Lobmeyr.
Today, Powolny’s imaginative and decorative sculptures as well as glass objects can be found in Jugendstil collections of important museums of applied arts, such as the MAK in Vienna.
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