Koloman Moser (; 30 March 1868 – 18 October 1918) was an Austrian artist who exerted considerable influence on twentieth-century graphic art. He was one of the foremost artists of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

movement and a co-founder of

Wiener Werkstätte The Wiener Werkstätte (engl.: ''Vienna Workshop''), established in 1903 by the graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, the architect Josef Hoffmann and the patron Fritz Waerndorfer, was a productive association in Vienna, Austria that b ...

. Moser designed a wide array of art works, including books and graphic works from

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

s to magazine vignettes; fashion; stained glass windows, porcelains and ceramics, blown glass, tableware, silver, jewelry, and furniture.

Biography

Moser was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1868 to parents Josef and Thresia Moser (née Hirsch); he was the oldest of three siblings. studied at the Wiener Akademie and the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

, where he also taught from 1899. Moser's designs in architecture, furniture, jewellery, graphics, and tapestries helped characterise the work of this era. He drew upon the clean lines and repetitive motifs of classical Greek and Roman art and architecture in reaction to the Baroque decadence of his turn-of-the-century Viennese surroundings. In 1901/1902, he published a portfolio titled ''

Die Quelle Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

''("The Source") of elegant graphic designs for such things as tapestries, fabrics, and wallpaper. In 1903, Moser and his colleague

Josef Hoffmann Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870 – 7 May 1956) was an Austrian- Moravian architect and designer. He was among the founders of Vienna Secession and co-establisher of the Wiener Werkstätte. His most famous architectural work is the Stoclet Pa ...

founded

, whose studios and artisans produced a number of aesthetically and functionally designed household goods, including glassware, flatware, silverware, rugs and textiles. In 1904, he created the

Apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

and glass windows for the

Kirche am Steinhof Kirche am Steinhof, also called the Church of St. Leopold, is the Roman Catholic oratory of the Otto-Wagner-Spital in the area of Steinhof in Vienna, Austria. The building, designed by Otto Wagner, is considered one of the most important Art No ...

in Vienna, and designed the decoration of the Medallion House of the

Linke Wienzeile Buildings The Linke Wienzeile Buildings are two apartment buildings in Vienna constructed by Otto Wagner in 1898-99 in the Vienna Secession style. They are both lavishly decorated with colorful tiles, sculpture and wrought iron. One house, at 40 Linke Wie ...

for architect Otto Wagner. In 1905, together with the

Klimt Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's pri ...

group, he separated from the

. The same year, he married Editha (Ditha) Mautner von Markhof, an artist in her own right as well as the daughter to one of Austria's great industry fortunes. Due to internal conflicts and as his plans for reorganising the Werkstätte (to cope with financial problems) weren't realised, Moser withdrew from the Wiener Werkstätte in 1907. Moser became ill with throat cancer in 1916. Correspondence with

Alfred Roller Alfred Roller (2 October 1864 – 21 June 1935) was an Austrian painter, graphic designer, and set designer. His wife was Mileva Roller and they were members of the Viennese Secession movement. Life and work Roller was born in Brünn (Br ...

detailed Moser's despair over who would succeed to his position at the

University of Applied Arts Vienna The University of Applied Arts Vienna (german: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, or informally just ''Die Angewandte'') is an arts university and institution of higher education in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It has had university sta ...

. Moser died on 18 October 1918; he was buried three days later in the Hietzing Cemetery.

Legacy

Moser was one of the designers for Austria's leading art journal '' Ver Sacrum''. This art journal paid great attention to design and was designed mainly by Moser, Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann. One of Moser's most prominent designs used in a building (The Steinhof Church) was selected as a main motif of one of the most famous euro collectors coins: the Austrian 100 euro Steinhof Church commemorative coin, minted on 9 November 2005. On the reverse of the coin, the Koloman Moser stained glass window over the main entrance can be seen. In the centre of the window is God the Father seated on a throne. The window is flanked with a pair of bronze angels in

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

style, originally designed by

Othmar Schimkowitz Othmar Schimkowitz (2 October 1864 in Tárts, Komárom County – 24 April 1947 in Graz) was a Hungarian-born architectural sculptor who worked on the greatest landmarks of the Vienna Secession. Life Schimkowitz studied at the Academy of Fin ...

. On 3 May 2010

Swann Galleries Swann Galleries is a New York City auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house. The company has separat ...

auctioned the third volume in Moser's three-volume series "Die Quelle," containing 30 sumptuous decorations for flat surfaces, such as tapestries, wallpaper and fabrics, in the original portfolio. Each plate was double-sided, with a colour design on one side and a black-and-white design on the other. It sold for an auction record price of $12,600. To commemorate the centennial of his death, the Museum of Applied Arts Vienna (MAK) honored Moser with one of the most comprehensive solo shows to date (19 December 2018-22 April 2019).

Gallery

Bookcase_-_LACMA_M.2003.29.jpg, Bookcase Koloman_Moser_-_Inlaid_Armoire_from_the_Eisler-Terramare_Apartment_Bedroom_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, Inlaid Armorie Armchair,_Der_reiche_Fischzug_(The_Rich_Catch_of_Fish)_LACMA_M.2000.180.39_(2_of_2).jpg, Armchair Kolo_Moser_-_Möbel-Entwurf3_-_1903.jpeg, 1903 Koloman Moser 007.jpg, Poster for 'Frommes Kalender', 1899, color lithograph Koloman Moser 005.jpg, ''Venus in the Grotto'', ca. 1914 Kolo Moser - Abimelech - 1899.jpeg, Artwork 'Ambilech' for Joh. Backhausen & Söhne, 1899 Kolo_Moser_-_Garten_mit_Springbrunnen_-_1911.jpeg, 1911 Kolo_Moser_-_Blühender_Kastanienbaum_-_ca1912.jpeg, 1912 Kolo_Moser_-_Bühnenbildentwurf_für_„Das_Phantom“1.jpeg, Set design for "Das Phantom" Kolo Moser - Franz Joseph1 - 1908.jpeg, Emperor Franz Joseph on stamp by Kolo Moser 1908 Kolo Moser - 50 Kronen-Banknote - 1911.jpeg, Austrian-Hungarian 50 Crown Banknote by Kolo Moser 1911

Notes

Bibliography

* Stefan Üner: Koloman Moser. The Photographic Eye, in: ''PhotoResearcher'', No 31, Vienna 2019, p. 134–147. *Stefan Üner: Die Kunst der Präsentation. Koloman Moser als Ausstellungsdesigner, in: ''Parnass'', 4/2018, p. 22–24. *Stefan Üner: ''The Art Of Presentation. Koloman Moser As Exhibition Designer'', Dissertation. University of Applied Arts Vienna, Vienna 2016 * * * * * * *Thun-Hohenstein, Christoph; Witt-Dörring, Christian; Schmuttermeier, Elisabeth eds. (2019) ''Koloman Moser. Universalkünstler zwischen Gustav Klimt und Josef Hoffmann/Universal Artist between Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffmann'', exhibition catalogue for the MAK/Austrian Museum of Applied Art, Birkhäuser, Basel. . *Witt-Dörring, Christian, ed. (2013) ''Koloman Moser. Designing Modern Vienna 1897/1907'', exhibition catalogue for the Neue Galerie New York, Prestel Verlag, New York. .

External links

Koloman Moser Online Catalogue RaisonnéKoloman Moser as a painter – Speech by Stefan ÜnerWiener Werkstätte (de/en)Koloman Moser at WOKA (de/en)

Koloman Moser at Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), Vienna (de/en)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moser, Koloman 1868 births 1918 deaths Artists from Vienna Austrian stamp designers Austrian designers Austrian illustrators Deaths from cancer in Austria Deaths from prostate cancer Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Members of the Vienna Secession Art Nouveau designers Art Nouveau illustrators Wiener Werkstätte