Container, with Floral Pattern
1851 to 1875
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite and black ink on blue-lined paper
Dimensions
overall: 29.6 x 21 cm (11 5/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1971.41.8
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate "Container, with Floral Pattern," a preparatory drawing by the renowned Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (18701956). Created between 1851 and 1875, this graphite and black ink sketch on blue-lined paper measures 29.6 x 21 cm and captures Hoffmann's early exploration of functional objects adorned with organic motifs. Housed in the National Gallery of Art CG-W Department, it was acquired through the Ailsa Mellon Bruce, highlighting its value as a window into design history. Hoffmann, a pivotal figure in the Vienna Secession and co-founder of the Wiener Werkstät...
About the Artist
Josef Hoffmann
Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) was an Austrian architect and designer who stands as one of the pivotal figures of the Vienna Secession and the broader European Arts and Crafts movement. Born in Pirnitz (now Brtnice, in the Czech Republic), Hoffmann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Otto Wagner, the theorist of modern architecture whose commitment to functional rationalism and honest ...