Josef Hoffmann was an Austrian architect and designer, born in Moravia in 1870 and died in Vienna in 1956, who became one of the most influential figures in early modern European design. He was a founding member of the Vienna Secession in 1897 and, with Koloman Moser and the patron Fritz Waerndorfer, co-founded the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903.
Hoffmann's work moved away from the flowing curves of Art Nouveau towards a disciplined geometry of squares, grids and clean lines, a taste that earned him the nickname Quadratl-Hoffmann. He designed buildings, interiors, furniture, silver, metalwork, glass, lighting and textiles. His major buildings include the Purkersdorf Sanatorium near Vienna and the Palais Stoclet in Brussels. Furniture to his designs was produced by Viennese bentwood firms such as J. and J. Kohn and Thonet, and pierced sheet-metal baskets, vases and planters were made in the Wiener Werkstätte workshops. Collectors look for Wiener Werkstätte marks, monograms and documented provenance, as his designs have been widely reissued and copied. Original pieces from the first decade of the twentieth century command strong prices, while licensed later production offers an accessible way to bring his crisp Viennese style into a modern interior.
