Between 1896 and 1903, the 'School for Artistic Hand-Weaving' at Skaerbaek/Scherrebek (Denmark) p... more Between 1896 and 1903, the 'School for Artistic Hand-Weaving' at Skaerbaek/Scherrebek (Denmark) produced a series of Jugendstil tapestries that played a key role in late nineteenth-century German design reform and International Art Nouveau circles. At the time, the weaving school and its attached workshop were upheld as models of progressive weaving practices that consciously revived traditional techniques and folk motifs to create a distinctly modern design language. And yet, Skaerbaek has since been virtually forgotten by design historians. This essay aims to redress this omission by consciously focusing on the creative, ideological and practical decisions involved in the production and reception of Skaerbaek's tapestries. Shifting the focus away from celebrated Jugendstil designers and back onto shop floors and journal pages unveils fascinating insights into contemporary debates around issues of national identity, class and gender politics, and international reform initiatives.
In 1904, the Austrian sculptor Richard Luksch (1872–1936) produced two over-life-size ceramic f... more In 1904, the Austrian sculptor Richard Luksch (1872–1936) produced two over-life-size ceramic figures of the female body for Josef Hoffmann’s famous Kurhaus at the Purkersdorf Sanatorium located on the outskirts of Vienna. Despite Luksch’s affiliation with one of central Europe’s most progressive buildings of the time and his early involvement with the Viennese Workshops, these ceramics have been virtually written out of the history of Viennese modernism. This essay strives to reinsert Luksch’s figures into this history by offering a new interpretation that contextualizes them as powerful articulations of a new type of femininity anchored in contemporary discourses on nerves and gender, namely, that of the femme fragile.
Between 1896 and 1903, the 'School for Artistic Hand-Weaving' at Skaerbaek/Scherrebek (Denmark) p... more Between 1896 and 1903, the 'School for Artistic Hand-Weaving' at Skaerbaek/Scherrebek (Denmark) produced a series of Jugendstil tapestries that played a key role in late nineteenth-century German design reform and International Art Nouveau circles. At the time, the weaving school and its attached workshop were upheld as models of progressive weaving practices that consciously revived traditional techniques and folk motifs to create a distinctly modern design language. And yet, Skaerbaek has since been virtually forgotten by design historians. This essay aims to redress this omission by consciously focusing on the creative, ideological and practical decisions involved in the production and reception of Skaerbaek's tapestries. Shifting the focus away from celebrated Jugendstil designers and back onto shop floors and journal pages unveils fascinating insights into contemporary debates around issues of national identity, class and gender politics, and international reform initiatives.
In 1904, the Austrian sculptor Richard Luksch (1872–1936) produced two over-life-size ceramic f... more In 1904, the Austrian sculptor Richard Luksch (1872–1936) produced two over-life-size ceramic figures of the female body for Josef Hoffmann’s famous Kurhaus at the Purkersdorf Sanatorium located on the outskirts of Vienna. Despite Luksch’s affiliation with one of central Europe’s most progressive buildings of the time and his early involvement with the Viennese Workshops, these ceramics have been virtually written out of the history of Viennese modernism. This essay strives to reinsert Luksch’s figures into this history by offering a new interpretation that contextualizes them as powerful articulations of a new type of femininity anchored in contemporary discourses on nerves and gender, namely, that of the femme fragile.
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