DOI issue:
Nr. 187 (October 1908)
DOI article:Deubner, L.: Decorative art at the Munich exhibition
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20965#0069
Decorative Art at the Munich Exhibition
is felt in his dining-room ; but here again many
good qualities are disclosed in the details, and
the arrangement of the windows, which in the
upper part have twice the breadth of the lower
part, in order that more light may be admitted
from above and wall-space economised below, is,
at any rate, an interesting experiment. A simple
smoking-room or study carried out in elm, with
which Robert Engels, the painter, approaches the
problem of interior equipment, also belongs to
the series of rooms fitted up by the Deutsche
Werkstätten.
A very successful example of interior arrange-
ment is the dining-room designed by Wilhelm
von Debschitz, the leader of the “ Ateliers und
Werkstätten für angewandte und freie Kunst ; ” but
it is to be greatly regretted that no better place
could be found for it than the one it occupies.
There is not sufficient room for the furniture, which
is admirably designed, at once practical and yet
temptingly comfortable. Hans Schmithals’ lady’s
boudoir has good qualities ; but the room which
Hermann Lochners has intended for a gentleman’s
study or office is scarcely true to its purpose ; there
are too many disturbing elements for a room which
is meant for serious work ; nor, on the other hand,
is there in it quite that concession to comfort
which is essential for a room devoted to social
intercourse.
Two artists who go their own way and have
nothing to do with any groups are Peter Birkenholz
and Paul L. Troost, and the four interiors ex-
hibited by them are all the more interesting because
they proclaim a complete departure from the
purely objective, matter-of-fact style so much in
vogue hitherto. Birkenholz never has, indeed,
been really a modern, and a certain archaic
character has rarely been absent from his designs,
whereas Troost has all along been one of the most
strenuous exponents of the straight line and the
“ square box ” style, without at the same time
renouncing luxury and comfort. All the more
surprising, therefore, is the impression produced
by his lady’s boudoir, in which every trace of
angularity has disappeared and given place to
gracefully rounded surfaces and lines, accompanied
by bright and cheerful colour schemes and a pro-
fusion of carving on cabinets, tables and mirror
frames. The aesthetic values of the old French
style of furniture are here revived.
living and reception room designed by architect carl rehm and executed by the vereinigte
WERKSTÄTTEN FÜR KUNST IM HANDWERK A.G.
47
is felt in his dining-room ; but here again many
good qualities are disclosed in the details, and
the arrangement of the windows, which in the
upper part have twice the breadth of the lower
part, in order that more light may be admitted
from above and wall-space economised below, is,
at any rate, an interesting experiment. A simple
smoking-room or study carried out in elm, with
which Robert Engels, the painter, approaches the
problem of interior equipment, also belongs to
the series of rooms fitted up by the Deutsche
Werkstätten.
A very successful example of interior arrange-
ment is the dining-room designed by Wilhelm
von Debschitz, the leader of the “ Ateliers und
Werkstätten für angewandte und freie Kunst ; ” but
it is to be greatly regretted that no better place
could be found for it than the one it occupies.
There is not sufficient room for the furniture, which
is admirably designed, at once practical and yet
temptingly comfortable. Hans Schmithals’ lady’s
boudoir has good qualities ; but the room which
Hermann Lochners has intended for a gentleman’s
study or office is scarcely true to its purpose ; there
are too many disturbing elements for a room which
is meant for serious work ; nor, on the other hand,
is there in it quite that concession to comfort
which is essential for a room devoted to social
intercourse.
Two artists who go their own way and have
nothing to do with any groups are Peter Birkenholz
and Paul L. Troost, and the four interiors ex-
hibited by them are all the more interesting because
they proclaim a complete departure from the
purely objective, matter-of-fact style so much in
vogue hitherto. Birkenholz never has, indeed,
been really a modern, and a certain archaic
character has rarely been absent from his designs,
whereas Troost has all along been one of the most
strenuous exponents of the straight line and the
“ square box ” style, without at the same time
renouncing luxury and comfort. All the more
surprising, therefore, is the impression produced
by his lady’s boudoir, in which every trace of
angularity has disappeared and given place to
gracefully rounded surfaces and lines, accompanied
by bright and cheerful colour schemes and a pro-
fusion of carving on cabinets, tables and mirror
frames. The aesthetic values of the old French
style of furniture are here revived.
living and reception room designed by architect carl rehm and executed by the vereinigte
WERKSTÄTTEN FÜR KUNST IM HANDWERK A.G.
47