Dagobert PECHE, 1887-1923
Austria
Prototype for frame, 1922
Made by Max Welz, Vienna, for the Wiener Werkstätte.
Model number WW19
Sculpted linden
47 x 44 cm
Inscription on back: WW19, MODELL
Provenance:
Welz family
Bibliography:
– WWW-Archives, MAK Vienna, design sketch KI 12683-2
-Max Eisler, Dagobert Peche, Vienna and Leipzig 1925, ill. p. 50
-Exhibition catalogue “Die Überwindung der Utilität – Dagobert Peche und die Wiener Werkstätte”, published by Peter Noever, MAK, Vienna 1998, ill. p. 206, cat. no 1
When Peche joined the Wiener Werkstätte in 1915 he brought with him a new artistic impetus that was to influence even the creation of Hoffmann.
Peche, who after his training spent six months in Paris in 1911, found his unbridled inspiration as much in the Louis XV period as in the old masters, the rococo style… or nascent cubism, which he transposed with the talent of a gifted designer working in fashion and decoration.
The creations that resulted from it were surprising and wonderful for their grace and poetry… even if some came close to kitsch.
With its sculpted surround of overlapping leaves, this extremely refined frame – the model for a limited series mirror enhanced by gold leaf – is a fine example of his art.