15 Facts About Josef Hoffman

Josef Hoffman was among the founders of Vienna Secession and co-establisher of the Wiener Werkstatte.

Josef Hoffman's father encouraged him to become a lawyer or a civil servant, and sent him to a prestigious upper school, but he was very unhappy there.

Josef Hoffman immediately went to work on the design of the Secession Building, the first gallery of the movement, designing the foyer and the office, and planning the first exhibitions in the building.

Josef Hoffman wrote his first manifesto for the Secession at this time, calling for buildings which were stripped of useless ornament.

Josef Hoffman wrote that the basic elements of the new style were authenticity in the use of materials, unity of decor, and the choice of a style adapted to the site.

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Josef Hoffman designed the Vienna arts exhibition for the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition, which exposed the Secession style to an international audience.

Josef Hoffman favored the use of geometric forms, especially squares, and black and white surfaces, explaining later that "these forms, intelligible to everyone, had never appeared in previous styles".

Josef Hoffman was in charge of designing the frequent exhibits held in the Secession gallerias, including the setting for Gustav Klimt's celebrated frieze devoted to Beethoven.

Josef Hoffman was extremely occupied with Paris Exposition of 1900, and the other exhibitions in Vienna.

Josef Hoffman built several town or country houses for his colleagues and friends, as well as a Lutheran church and a house for the pastor in St Aegyd am Neuwald, in lower Austria.

Josef Hoffman had married the industrialist Anton Knips, who was a major patron of the Werkstatte.

Josef Hoffman organized several exhibitions for the Werkbund, experimenting with modern architecture.

Josef Hoffman was elected President of the Secession from 1948 to 1950.

Josef Hoffman died on May 7,1956, at the age of eighty-five, at his apartment at 33 Salesianergasse in Vienna.

Josef Hoffman tried to bring out the best in each member of his class by means of challenging assignments, which were occasionally work on real commissions.