Many of the products of the Viennese artists exhibit a naive, playful, and charming character that well reflects the atmosphere of the city. Especially typical of this kind of work are the bright glazed, low-fired figurines by Vally Wieselthier, Susi Singer, Herta Bucher, and others. Leather goods and printed textiles have al ways been noteworthy among the products of this city, and they have received delightful expression at the hands of modern artists. One of the exquisite achievements of Viennese art is the engraved glass of J. and L. Lobmeyr. This firm has employed the fore most artists available in Central Europe to design the forms and decoration of their products, and has brought to their execution the highest type of technical skill.
Architects from the first exercised a strong influence upon the modern movement in Vienna. In 1895 Modern Architecture ap peared, written by the architect Otto Wagner, a professor in the Vienna Academy. It was the first appearance of the new doc trines and the younger architects rallied to their support. Among Wagner's students were many notable men. First among these was Josef Olbrich, a man of many talents, who, as noted before, built the artists' colony in Darmstadt and exercised a profound influence on German design in the early years of the present century. An other of Wagner's pupils was Josef Hoffmann, who in 1899 be came professor in the Kunstgewerbe Schule in Vienna. While first of all an architect who has designed many buildings in the suburbs of Vienna and other places in Europe, he is also an artist crafts man with an intimate knowledge of processes and the possibilities of materials. For 25 years he has devoted a large part of his time and energy to applied art, in which field he has been for long the recognized leader of the modern Viennese school. In 1908 Hoff mann built the Stocklet house at Brussels, which remains to-day, in its interior design and furnishings the most important residence the modern style has yet produced. Hoffmann designed the house to express the owner, a wealthy banker possessing an extra ordinary collection of oriental and occidental applied art. He employed vigorous rectangular forms to suggest power, and pre cious and beautiful marbles to give an atmosphere of richness. The walls of the dining-room were decorated by notable mosaics designed by Gustav Klimt.
In this modern development of Viennese applied art a very im portant influence was exerted and is still exerted by the Kunst gewerbe Schule which early attracted to its staff many of the most talented and creative spirits of the time and which has for 3o years placed great emphasis upon original design through actual craft work. As can be seen, the Viennese movement has been led
by a group of highly trained and cultivated persons who have guided its course within sophisticated channels, but running through its manifestations is constantly discernible a warm strain which reflects the manifold racial qualities of the peoples com prising the former Austrian Empire.
Any reference to modern tendencies would be incomplete with out mention of the ceramics of Copenhagen and the organization of industrial art matters in Sweden. The firms of Bing and Gron dahl and the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory have since their inception made most earnest efforts to combine multi production with the highest artistic quality. Great variety of character and technique characterizes the products of these estab lishments, some of which follow the lines of 19th century tradi tions, while others embody the spirit of modernism in a marked degree. The same energetically progressive attitude is found in several smaller establishments in Denmark where the individu ality of the artist plays an even larger part to the advantage of the production.
Sweden has for many years enjoyed the advantage of an as sociation (Svenska Slojdforeningen) which has rendered sub stantial assistance to manufacturers and craftsmen in promoting higher standards of work. The products of Orrefors Bruks well illustrate the situation. Upon request of this establishment the association recommended the employment of two artists, Simon Gate and Edward Hald. Within a few years the genius of these two men has brought the engraved glass of Orrefors to a well deserved world-wide reputation.
The World War brought all European art activities to a stand still. In Central Europe these have only of recent years been slowly resumed. France, the first to recover industrially, ad dressed herself to the effort to gain recognition in the international market as the exponent of the modern movement. Apparently re solved no longer to rest content with individual initiative and enterprise she has endeavoured to organize the activities in this field. For one thing instruction in the modern spirit of design is now offered in all the schools of applied art throughout the republic.