Essay - Wiener Werkstatte the Gesamtkunstwerk in the Wiener Werkstatte the Idea...

Wiener Werkstatte

The Gesamtkunstwerk in the Wiener Werkstatte

The idea of ***** Gesamtkunstwerk, or "total, integrated w*****k of art," was developed by Richard Wagner to describe what he was trying to do with his opera - that is, blend all ***** t***** arts together into a single, unified whole. Artists belonging to the Wiener Werkstatte, inspired by the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, took t***** concept as their ultimate artistic goal. While in the end, due largely to funding problems, the ***** Werkstatte failed, it nonetheless left an indelible mark on the artistic accomplishments ***** the Weimar era in Central Europe. In what follows, I will discuss the accomplishments as well as the shortcom*****gs of ***** Wiener Werkstatte in an effort to determ*****e to what extent the artists and craftsmen associated w*****h this movement were able to attain the heights ***** ***** *****.

*****. The beginnings of the Wiener Werkstatte

***** teaches us that artists tend to view their work as an ***** part of everyday life. In regard to the Vienna Academy of the early 20th century, however, art merely served as an esoteric entity. Motivated primarily by commercial means, ***** Kunstlerhaus sought to limit the influence of foreign artists, maintaining an exclusi*****ary "country club" attitude *****wards ***** m*****s majority. However, innovative thoughts ***** practices encouraged the spread of art to accommodate the ***** as ***** as the minority. In ***** Vienna of 1900, art sought to unite the outsiders with the insiders, providing access to otherwise impenetrable aristocratic circles. Tension and clashes between tradition ***** innovation resulted in the rise of retaliating movements. In 1897, forty ***** rebels founded the ***** Secession with Gustav Klimt as president. ***** common goal involved establishing an art that does not discriminate, whether for richer or for poorer. Represented ***** artists such as Giovanni Segantini, Ferdinand Khnopff, and Max Klinger, the Vienna Secession later led to ***** establishment ***** the ***** Werkstatte in 1903.

***** by Josef Hoffman, Koloman Moser and Fritz Warndorfer, the concept of the Wiener Werkstatte is said to have originated in coffeehouse *****ions amongst the three protagonists. As early ***** 1899, a groundwork or blueprint had been laid. The foundation of ***** Wiener Werkstatte c*****ed ***** a unity between art and craftsmanship, suggesting a series of workshops in which artists and craftsmen alike can work as well as learn from each other; thus the original idea of the Wiener Werkstatte was artistic as ***** as pedagogical.

***** German writer Julius Meier*****Graefe helped cement the idea in the form of "Wiener Kunst im Hause" (Viennese Domestic Art) in 1900. Supported by the Wiener *****gewerbeverein (Viennese Arts and Crafts Association) ***** well as the Secession, models for the workshop were also provided by *****eign organizations such ***** United Workshops for Art and Crafts (German). The ***** for the workshop ***** provided by Warndorfer, a textile manufacturer and supporter of the *****.

In general, the ***** set out to connect the public, designer, and craftsman together in the production of simple domestic