legacy

The Wiener Werkstätte filed for bankruptcy in 1932, due in large part to the Great Depression caused by the stock market crash of 1929. The designs produced during its lifetime were impactful enough in the world of art for echoes to still exist in the modern era. In the 2007 Scholastic edition of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, a frame that borders the map of Narnia at the beginning of the book resembles Bertolf Löffler’s design for the Wiener Keramik Logo (1910). The thick, black border is broken by a multitude of angled lines in a way that seems nonsensical and may serve no true meaning. However, when compared, one can see the similarities shared between the two. It is clear to see the lines imitate each other and where the influence is nearuncanny, even with the difference in the shape housing the changing diagonal, horizontal, and vertical strokes.

Additionally, in 2018, the fashion brand Zara revived an old print from the Wiener Werkstätte. One of the men’s button-ups sold used the same patterns from L.H. Jungnickel’s Urwald (1910 – 11), which depicts a tropical jungle. While it is uncertain whether the colors remained unchanged between iterations, it is clear to see that the patterns are identical. There has also been an attempt to bring back the Wiener Werkstätte itself, as opposed to just its designs. The Neue Wiener Werkstätte, also based in Vienna, Austria, seeks to revive the movement in a more direct manner and modernize the style for the 21st century. The online store has a wide array of products that primarily cover the furniture side of the Workshops. Even with only a small catalog to browse through, it is evident to see how the ideas of the Wiener Werkstätte have been translated, especially in their interior designs. Thus, it is clear that the Vienna Workshops are still alive and well today and continue to inspire.