Customer Reviews

Wiener Werkstatte: 1903-1932 (Special Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is as beautifully printed as every Taschen book in my experience. The photography is gorgeous and the book is a good comprehensive pictorial survey of the Wiener Werkstatte. I've deducted a point because the text is badly translated from the German. The grammar is pretty thick, almost unreadable in sections. Too bad, because otherwise it would be a five-star book, especially at Amazon's reasonable price.

The Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna factory) existed from 1903-1932. It was formed by a community of visual artists and its aim was to make design art accessible to everyone. Its motto was "better to work 10 days on one product than to manufacture 10 products in a day". The first years of the 20th century were heady times in Vienna. Think of some of the personalities active there; Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and, lurking ominously in the background, Adolf Hitler.

This very reasonably priced book gives an excellent overview of the many aspects of the Wiener Werkstatte. It covers some of its major architectural achievements,

including the Purkersdorf Sanatorium (Vienna) as well as the wonderous Palais Stocklet in Brussels. The prime mover in these two ventures was the multitalented Josef Hoffmann. He was also involved in design of furniture, glass, woodwork, metalwork, jewelry and silverware. These design areas are given good coverage in the book which also features fine arts and textiles. There are numerous good quality photographs and the text is interesting and quite readable.

There's not too much books about the Wiener Werkstatte and this covers a lot. Taschen knocks it out of the stadium with this book again. If you are into design, this book is a must have.

This is the best reference for the Wiener Werkstatte and Josef Hoffmann. It is a gorgeous book with beautiful photos. Totally enthralling to look at. You just can't stop until there aren't any pages left. I will actually read it soon, but not until I can take my eyes away from the pictures. I kind of don't care what it says, just the photos are well worth the price of this book. My apologies to the author for now.

Another in Taschen's fine line of art books, clear, sharp, color illustrations; an extaordinary value.

More good service from Amazon. Fast delivery, The book in perfect condition, and me, a happy customer.