Progress through beauty: Josef Hoffmann's life's work

The special taste of Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) was reflected in his entire product culture. The architect and designer pursued the intention of enriching the lives of his clientele through design with beauty. For him, this meant aesthetic and social progress. The Museum für angewandte Kunst (engl. Museum of Applied Arts) (MAK) in Vienna will illustrate this life's work with a comprehensive retrospective starting December 15, featuring more than 1,000 exhibits in 20 chapters. Under the title Josef Hoffmann. Fortschritt durch Schönheit (Progress through Beauty), Hoffmann's architecture, interior design, fashion and everyday objects will be on display until June 19, 2022.

Born in Brtnice, Czech Republic, Josef Franz Maria Hoffmann, a Viennese by choice, lived through five different political periods from the Habsburg Monarchy to the Second Republic, ultimately becoming one of the most important figures of Viennese Modernism. As a cofounder of the Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs Secession, the Wiener Werkstätte and the Deutscher und Österreichischer Werkbund, he conveyed his very own ideas of aesthetics to several generations at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts and, as a designer, won over a wide variety of customers.