?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
JOSEF MARIA OLBRICH (1867-1908) KOLNER AUSSTELLUNG. 1907. 41 3/4x26 inches, 106x66 cm. M. Dumont Schauberg, Koln. Condition B+: repaired tears at edges, some affecting text; minor replaced losses at edges; minor creases and restoration in margins and image; horizontal fold; collector's ink stamp and pencil notation in image. Mounted on paper. Olbrich was a multi-talented architect and graphic designer. In 1897, he was a founding member of the Viennese Secession movement, for which he designed the signature exhibition hall and two posters for the group's second and third shows. Mounting on this success, he also designed several posters for the Kunstler Kolonie in Darmstadt, which he founded in 1899 with Peter Behrens. In 1907 he was asked, along with other German artistic luminaries, to help organize the Kolner Ausstellung exhibition held at the Cologne Botanical Gardens. The six-month show of arts and crafts featured the traditional artistic categories of paintings and sculpture in the main building, while rotating exhibitions were held in two separate buildings showcasing tapestries, jewelry, book art, children's toys, ceramics, glass, metal work, posters and more. To advertise the exhibition, Olbrich presents a stylized Athena within a decorative, floral frame. The title of the show is presented in Classical Roman typography, while the remaining text was accomplished in a gentle sans-serif, the result of Olbrich's modest touch of "modernism" to what is a traditional exhibition. Presumably, his use of floral elements was a graphic nod to the venue. The poster was printed in different color variants, including green and purple. This is the red version. DFP-III 2432, Wember 631, Kunst 341 (var).
