National Railway Station Restaurant, Vienna X, Josef Pohl (Restaurant Staatsbahnhof, Wien X, Josef Pohl) 1911

Curator: At first glance, I’d say: a grand, quiet space. All those precisely arranged tables…a little too formal, perhaps, to be truly inviting. Editor: That’s right. What you're looking at is Gustav Kalhammer’s 1911 drawing, "National Railway Station Restaurant, Vienna X, Josef Pohl". It is a detailed ink and paper work in the Art Nouveau style currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: "Railway Station Restaurant"... well, that explains the controlled order, doesn't it? There’s this distinct feeling of waiting... as if for something – or someone – to arrive. Like a stage set, ready for the drama to begin. I mean it has a unique calmness which you do not expect at railway restaurants, those can be extremely busy spaces, if I can judge by our present days at least. Editor: You're sensing the tensions of public and private life, typical of that time. The railway station became a very important site, mediating the experience of modernity and societal transition through travel. Vienna, specifically, was a hotbed of social changes right then. Restaurants played a central public role too. Curator: Definitely public—look at the almost severe geometry in contrast with these splashes of vibrant color and almost whimsical detailing of the furniture. But still there is something that draws me to these large decorative wreaths placed alongside pillars. The lighting fixture is huge, taking away potential negative empty space above the tables. Editor: These kinds of urban scenes were intentionally composed with a clear understanding of political visibility. Kalhammer understood how an apparently harmless restaurant view could function as an image of cultural ideals: it is there, if you know to look at the small signs. Curator: The kind of public intimacy these spaces fostered allowed ideas of national identity to subtly evolve. These places reflected changing norms. Even the very careful organization of tables becomes an emblem of the emerging social order. Editor: And of an era, certainly. Every single time somebody will look at this picture they will experience this space like a small visual history lesson. Thank you.