Josef Hoffmann

1870 (Pirnitz, Austro-Hungary, now Brtnice, Czech Republic) – 1956 (Vienna)

Hoffmann was a major figure in modernist design; his work at its best showed a clarity of form and purpose, informed by high craft ideals, and helped pave the way for the industrial aesthetic of the 20th C. Loos was a schoolmate, then fellow architectural student. Wagner was an influential teacher; Olbrich was met working in Wagner’s office, and these three, together with Klimt and Moser, founded the Vienna Secession. Hoffmann and his close colleague Moser then left to found the Wiener Werkstätte. The young Le Corbusier met him while visiting Vienna, while Mackintosh and Ashbee were met on a visit to Britain, .

Josef Hoffmann knew…