Model met geborduurde omslagdoek van de Wiener Werkstätte 1920 - 1930

Editor: So, we're looking at a photograph from the Rijksmuseum's collection: "Model met geborduurde omslagdoek van de Wiener Werkstätte," or "Model with Embroidered Shawl by the Wiener Werkstätte," made sometime between 1920 and 1930 by an anonymous artist. I find the photo to be quite striking due to its contrast, but the shawl truly draws my eye. How do you interpret this photograph? Curator: This image provides a glimpse into the social and artistic landscape of Vienna during the interwar period. The Wiener Werkstätte, or Vienna Workshop, was incredibly influential in shaping modernist aesthetics through applied arts, like this embroidered shawl. What is especially important here is that they blurred the lines between ‘high’ art and craft. Editor: Blurred lines? Curator: Absolutely. Historically, institutions, academies, and even the market, privileged painting and sculpture. Yet groups like the Wiener Werkstätte challenged this hierarchy by creating functional objects with artistic value, influencing fashion and design while providing new opportunities for artisans. They made art accessible in everyday life, which could be interpreted as a quiet rebellion against the established artistic order. Editor: That's interesting, seeing a "quiet rebellion" in something as seemingly simple as a shawl! So this photograph captures a moment in that cultural shift? Curator: Precisely. The model and the photograph itself act as a medium, promoting this new form of artistic expression to a wider audience. Think about the circulation of such images in magazines, catalogues and public displays - disseminating progressive taste. In fact, can you envision the potential power held by such an ordinary photograph? Editor: Definitely! It shifts my view on everyday images and what they carry within themselves in a certain time frame. Thank you.