Table Model “Fledermaus” Josef Hoffmann Thonet ca. 1912
Side table, model “Fledermaus”, design Josef Hoffmann, execution Thonet, ca. 1912
Description
One of the most iconic furniture classics of the turn of the century was designed by Josef Hoffmann and his pupil Gustav Siegel for the furniture manufacturer J.& J. Kohn in 1905: The “728” series as part of the epochal “Fledermaus” furniture range.
They lent this furniture the simple elegance of the time and placed it in sharp contrast to the heavy furniture of the late 19th century. Form follows function: the only decoration is the slender, round legs and the cones between them, which give the table its unmistakable silhouette. The fine polish emphasizes the natural grain of the wood to create an independent ornament.
Individual elements from the series were exhibited the following year at the international art exhibition in Milan
(1906). Although the official model name is not “Fledermaus”, it has become established both in specialist circles and in general usage. It stems from the fact that Josef Hoffmann used these models as part of the furnishings for the legendary “Cabaret Fledermaus” around 1907. The “Fledermaus” ensemble was so popular that architect Otto Schönthal chose it for the stylish furnishings of the exhibition café on the occasion of the famous art show in 1908.
The series was so successful that it remained an integral part of the production program even after the takeover of J. & J. Kohn by Mundus AG. Depending on production capacity, the same model was also produced by the furniture manufacturer Thonet, which later merged with Mundus AG.
ARTIST
Josef Hoffmann (Brtnice 1870 – 1956 Vienna), co-founder of the Viennese Secession and of the Wiener Werkstätte, was an extremely productive and versatile architect and designer. Throughout his career he experimented with various forms, techniques and materials. In his designs, he was striving for a strong reduction of the form to the essential and was a pioneer of geometric Jugendstil. This is how his characteristic geometric style was established. The scope of his designs ranges from buildings and entire interiors, following the concept of the “Gesamtkunstwerk” (total work of art), all the way to small details of everyday life. One of his most significant works is the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, a Gesamtkunstwerk which he executed for a wealthy entrepreneur between 1905 and 1911 in collaboration with, among others, Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser.
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