The so-called Sitzmaschine (Sitting Machine) grew out of Josef Hoffmann’s engagement with the British Arts and Crafts movement. An architect by training, Hoffmann was inspired to join forces with Koloman Moser and the industrialist Fritz Waerndorfer, with whom he founded the Wiener Werkstätte in 1903. The Sitzmaschine was first unveiled at the 1908 Wiener Kunstschau hosted by the Klimt Group. With the aim of ‘infusing life with artistic intention’ Hoffmann sought to prove that bringing art to life should not be reserved for the wealthy. Costs were cut by furnishing the house with industrially manufactured bentwood furniture, including Model No. 670. This was a variation on the famous Morris Chair produced by Morris & Co. from 1866. Working with J. & J. Kohn, Hoffmann at last succeeded in creating his own take on this chair type. New techniques which allowed nearly ninety-degree bends gave the architect the means to create the geometrical forms he had been seeking. The balls on that chair have a stabilizing function while also enabling the adjustment of the backrest with the aid of a brass rod.
Hoffmann’s Kleines Landhaus was discussed at length by contemporary commentators, and his bentwood furniture deemed the acme of good taste and elegance. Its ingenious design, its form and functionality, made the Sitzmaschine an icon of early Modernism.
Text: Anne-Katrin Rossberg
