ROBERT ÖRLEY (Vienna 24.8.1876 – 15.11.1945 Vienna)

Two mosaic bowls, each with four turtles, in front of the Vienna Secession.

Address: Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna

When Robert Örley joined the Austrian Secession Association of Fine Artists in 1907, after having been a member of the Hagenbund since 1902, he was commissioned to carry out the first renovation of the Art Nouveau building erected by Joseph Maria Olbrich in 1898. Originally influenced by the Otto Wagner School, the architect, admired by Adolf Loos, was, along with Joseph August Lux, a supporter of the reform movement. Örley defended Loos's buildings, the Café Museum and his house for Goldman & Salatsch on Michaelerplatz, and was considered a core avant-garde artist without being an avant-gardist. As a protagonist of Viennese Modernism, he pursued a holistic spatial art in the spirit of the Gesamtkunstwerk, in which he gave renewed importance to the wall as a surface. He was a painter, graphic artist, and also a talented designer who, as early as 1900, had created Art Nouveau fabric designs, including those for the Vienna State Opera. in collaboration with Hagenbund member Heinrich Lefler for the firm Joh. Backhausen and Sons. During the renovation, Örley had the facade and the Secession building cleaned of Secessionist decorations and lettering, including the removal of the Secession motto formulated by Ludwig Hevesi. He commented on the change in his review of the 30th exhibition designed by Örley in 1908. After almost a year of inactivity, the "Association of Fine Artists of Austria," as it now predominantly calls itself, has opened its 30th exhibition. The building has been renewed inside and out, and all sorts of symbols and admonitions expressing the term Secession have disappeared. Various wall decorations originating from secessionist Secessionists have also been replaced by a more general white.
The two mosaic bowls were mentioned in the catalog as "Two vases in reinforced concrete with glass mosaic, executed by E. Gärtner, construction company, and Ignatz Dürr, glazier, Vienna VI." With them, Örley placed a distinct colorful accent on the two largely empty, white wall surfaces of the façade. With the motif of the turtle as world-bearer, originally from India, he reflected the character of the building as "a piece of the Orient in Vienna" emphasized by Hevesi in 1898 with the theme of the dome's laurel tree in the semicircular tree bowls, each with four metal-cast turtles, in the entrance area. Noteworthy in this context is Örley's typical execution in the then extremely modern material as "reinforced concrete bowls," whereby he transferred the archaic content into a contemporary formal language. His sense of modern design is evident in the mosaic's simple geometric spiral form, which, as an ornamental band, suggests a rotating movement opposite to that of the turtles. The design of the bowls is conceived holistically in the planting of topiary box trees. The immovable mosaic bowls are perceived as a permanent fixture in the entrance area, with their reduced color scheme of blue, gold, and white reinforcing the sacred, temple-like atmosphere of the building.

ÖRLEY ROBERT
Vienna 24.8.1876 – 15.11.1945 Vienna
Architect, artisan, painter, and graphic artist – As an architect, he primarily built residential buildings and factories, designed household goods, wallpaper, and fabric samples. As a painter, he created watercolor views and a series of lithographs of Vienna. He initially learned the carpentry trade and studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts under K. Hrachowina and K. Minnigerode from 1891 to 1894. He spent 1896/1897 studying in Italy, and also traveled through France, England, Germany, and the Netherlands. Selected buildings: 1904/1905 family residence, Vienna 19, Weimarerstrasse 98; 1907 Paulick Residence, Vienna 18, Türkenschanzstrasse 23; 1907/1908 Luithlen Sanatorium, Vienna 8, Auerspergstrasse 9; 1917 Zeiss Optical Works, Vienna 16, Abbegasse 1; 1923/1925 Hanuschhof, Vienna 3, Lechnerstrasse/Dietrichgasse and Ludwig Kössler-Platz; 1927/1939 George Washington-Hof, Vienna 12, Untere Meidlinger-Strasse 1-12 (with K. Krist). From 1928 to 1932, he worked in Turkey and completed numerous projects for the Turkish government. 1902 member of the Hagenbund, 1907 to 1939 member of the Vienna Secession (President 1912/1913), further memberships in the Austrian and German Werkbund, as well as the Central Association of Architects of Austria. He was also President of the Austrian Werkbund. Works include the Albertina, Vienna Museum. Örley died in 1945 from the injuries sustained in a car accident in front of the Secession building.

Cornelia Cabuk

GEORG EHRLICH (Vienna 22. 2. 1897 – 1. 7. 1966 Ascona)

Kneeling Mother with Child, 1932, signed and dated: G. EHRLICH 1932 I/V (carved), bronze, 83 x 107 x 58.5 cm

Address: Karlsplatz, Resselpark, 1010 Vienna

Originally intended for a fountain, the sculpture consists of two figures on a pedestal: the kneeling mother with her upper body bent forward and the infant, who, in a squatting position, is facing her. This grouping creates the closed effect of the ensemble surrounding a hollow space. However, documentary photographs from the creation phase show that Ehrlich originally designed the composition differently. The mother leans protectively over the child, who moves away from her in a tentative forward movement. During these first attempts at walking, the child's upper body assumes a position aligned with that of the mother. The expression in the extremely sensitive depiction of both bodies was enhanced by the parallelism of the movement. The spiritual internalization that was characteristic of Ehrlich's early drawings and prints was also formally transferred into the medium of sculpture in the fine drawing of the two heads, their subtly described facial expressions, and the differentiated hairstyles. The contrast is particularly striking in the mother's wavy strands, tied in a knot at the nape of her neck, and the child's delicately curled head of hair. The photograph by Trude Fleischmann in the Wien Museum, which shows him at work, was inscribed on the back by his widow, the painter Betina Ehrlich-Bauer, an extraordinary member of the Hagenbund until 1938: "To Hofrat / Dr. Robert Weissenberger, most cordially and gratefully / dedicated by Bettina 1985 / Georg Ehrlich c. 1933 / in the "Ditteshof" Vienna / working on the group that / has stood in bronze at the / Karlsplatz (garden) since 1977 / the child was then turned over / Photo Trude Fleischmann."1 Ehrlich exhibited the plaster model in its current form in 1936 at the Neue Galerie in Vienna.2 Max Roden reviewed it: "The three are followed by the group "Mother and Child," intended for a fountain, distinctive in its posture, but also very careful to strictly adhere to compositional principles. Despite the heaviness inherent in the mother's body due to its position, lightness and grace can be found in the structure, and despite the separation of the figures, although they are related to a common basis, their connection is casually emphasized..“
It was only in the second half of the 1920s that Ehrlich turned to sculpture, creating, among other things, portrait busts of his friends and patrons Erica Tietze-Conrat (1927) and Hans Tietze (1931), in which, as the art historian Else Hofmann noted, he also created "austere grandeur" with "fine-nerved delicacy."4 In the bronze of an "Italian Boy" (1932), he achieved an exemplary combination of "soulfulness" and "classical form." For this, he received a gold medal in Paris in 1937. The pronounced spirituality of his early Bible cycle (1920), influenced by the experiences of the First World War, and the sensitivity of his fine-lined drawings, such as those of the actress Elisabeth Bergner and the expressionist dancer Niddy Impekoven, also characterize his sculptural work, in which he shaped a "new classicism" in line with the development of contemporary art in Europe.

GEORG EHRLICH
Vienna 22. 2. 1897 – 1. 7. 1966 Ascona
Sculptor, graphic artist, and painter – Until around 1926, he processed his war experiences through expressive drawings, lithographs (including the 1921 Bible cycle), and etchings. From 1926 onward, he turned to sculpture, producing predominantly portraits, figures, and, especially in his English exile, animal depictions, all mostly in classically harmonious lines. The artist painted only a few oil paintings (figure paintings, landscapes) (around 1927–1933), but always produced drawings and sketches for sculptural works, as well as landscape watercolors from the late 1920s onward. From 1912 to 1915, he studied at the Vienna School of Applied Arts under O. Strnad and F. Cizek. From 1916 to 1918, he served on the Russian and Italian fronts. He exhibited his works for the first time in 1919 at the "Neue Bewegung" art association in Vienna. From 1920 to 1924, he lived in Munich and Berlin, exhibited with artists such as E. Barlach, M. Beckmann, P. Klee, O. Kokoschka, W. Lehmbruck, and M. Liebermann (he received a contract with P. Cassirer), and became a lifelong friend of E. Bergner. In 1924, he returned to Vienna. In 1921, he was a guest of the Hagenbund for the first time. From 1925 to 1938, he was a member of the Hagenbund. In 1930, he met the painter and graphic artist Bettina Bauer and married her the same year. Except for the period of World War II, the couple spent most summers in Grado, where the Bauer family owned a house. Before 1938, they also spent some time at Lake Wolfgang (Zinkenbacher Painters' Colony). In 1937, he emigrated to England, followed by his wife in 1938. In 1944, he was commissioned to create the PAX Peace Memorial to commemorate the victims of Coventry. In 1947, he became a British citizen. From 1947 to 1949, he lived in the USA, briefly teaching in Columbus, Ohio. From the early 1950s, he became friends with Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, and created portrait sculptures. In 1965, he suffered a serious heart condition, and spent time in Italy and Ascona, where he died in a clinic. Ehrlich's works were exhibited in numerous countries around the world, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the USA. He participated in the Venice Biennales in 1932, 1934, 1936, and 1958, and in the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937. Selection of portrait heads: E. Tietze-Conrat, H. Tietze, O. Laske, G. Wiesenthal, E. Bergner, G. Merkel, P. Pears, B. Britten, B. Bauer-Ehrlich. Works include the Belvedere, Albertina, Vienna Museum, British Museum London, Tate Gallery London, Metropolitan Museum New York, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Cornelia Cabuk

FRANZ BARWIG d. Ä.(19. 4. 1868 – 15. 5. 1931 Wien)

Putto Riding on a Bear, 1915/16
Signed: F. BARWIG (incised) / WKKW (signet) / WIENER KUNSTKERAMISCHE WERKSTÄTTEN / Imperial and Royal Kammerhefer
Majolica relief in the gable field on the front wall of the Market Office

Address: Corner of Rechte Wienzeile and Kettenbrückengasse, Naschmarkt, 1040 Vienna

The Market Office building was designed in 1915/16 by Friedrich Jäckel, a late historicist architect from the school of Karl König and Karl Mayreder at the Technical University. He was a member of the Vienna City Planning Office and also designed the Jörgerbad swimming pool in Vienna's 17th district, which opened in 1914. For the Market Office, he designed a freestanding pavilion with a distinctive bell-shaped roof. Prior to this, the "New Naschmarkt" was built according to his plans, consisting of 120 brick market stalls arranged in three rows, starting in 1910 after the Vienna River was vaulted. The entire complex was conceived to "structurally capture the Naschmarkt's own atmosphere" and preserve the "charm of Viennese fin-de-siècle."1 For this building, clearly planned in contrast to Otto Wagner's modern Art Nouveau houses in the immediate vicinity, Franz Barwig, professor of sculpture at the Vienna School of Applied Arts since 1910 and a member of the Hagenbund since 1905, created the faience in the form of a tondo with the motif of a putto riding a bear with filled fruit baskets. Barwig is recognized as one of the most important Art Nouveau woodcarvers, who combined a modern, blocky, Secessionist stylization with extremely accurate characterization and observation of animal creatures in his striking animal sculptures. Ludwig Hevesi, who appreciated Barwig's "wooden humor"2, and also Amelia Sarah Levetus in the magazine The Studio, have highlighted his precisely observed animal figures, which he carved directly from wood.3 He found inspiration for his modern formal language in a carving style that Hevesi described as "novel and interesting" in his works for the Hagenbund's 1908 spring exhibition, the Kaiserhuldigung,4 in ancient Egyptian art, among other sources. In a sculpture of a seated bear created in black granite in 1912/13, he achieved the effect of extreme physical tension that captivates the viewer's gaze through the rigid frontality and unity of the form with the suggestive formal substrate of graphic expression.5 Barwig also found inspiration in the formal language of the early Renaissance, as the comparison of the bronze figure of a boy 1908/096 with the figure of David by Donatello (around 1440) or that of Andrea del Verrocchio (1473/75) shows, whereby his reception of the ancient figurative ideal went through the German Art Nouveau artist Ludwig von Hofmann.7 The form of the tondo and the faience technique in the majolica relief also point to the engagement with the Florentine workshops of the Quattrocento, such as those of Luca and Andrea della Robbia. In the folk-style technique of twice-fired, tin-glazed stoneware, special color effects could be achieved through underglaze painting. The texture of the bear's fur appears just as realistic thanks to the drawn hatching as do the lush, polychrome fruits such as ripe apples, grapes, plums, and pears. The depictions of the compact, organic animal body in motion and the gaze of the feeding bear are also extremely convincing, pointing to Barwig's intensive studies at Schönbrunn Zoo, where he was a course instructor for nature studies of large animals in 1911.8 Barwig created the majolica relief in collaboration with the Viennese Kunstkeramischen Werkstätten Busch & Ludescher,9 where the twice-fired, color-painted, and glazed relief sculpture was manufactured and assembled in several parts. With its headquarters at Mollardgasse 39 (Vienna 1060), this company emerged from the A. Förster & Co. manufactory in 1908 and existed until 1930/31. It was deleted from the commercial register in 1940. From 1909 to 1915, they participated in the spring exhibitions of the Austrian Museum, in 1910 in the Brussels World's Fair, and in 1919 in the Austrian Arts and Crafts Exhibition.

FRANZ BARWIG the Elder
Born in Schönau near Neutitschein/Moravia (today: Šenov u Nového Jicina/Czech Republic) 19 April 1868 – 15 May 1931 Vienna
Sculptor of wood, stone, and bronze – initially naturalistic figures from folk life, later animal figures influenced by Art Nouveau, and after the First World War, clearer forms. In addition to portraits, he primarily created animal sculptures. Father of the sculptors Walter Barwig and Franz the Younger. From 1887 to 1893, he studied sculpture at the Vienna School of Applied Arts under H. Klotz. In 1900, he received a travel scholarship to Paris, where he met A. L. Barye. He designed and sometimes produced toy figures. From 1904 to 1906, he taught at the School of Woodworking in Villach (replacing his brother-in-law K. Widter, who had been appointed to the post). From 1906 to 1924, he taught at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, becoming a professor in 1910. Numerous visits to the Schönbrunn Zoo led to virtuoso animal depictions. Between 1915 and 1917 he created figurative works for the sets of operas in the Vienna Court Opera (e.g. for “Violanthe” and “Ariadne auf Naxos”). In 1904 he was represented for the first time in the Hagenbund, 1905–1924 a member of the Hagenbund, also a member of the Kunstschau, the Austrian and German Werkbund, and from 1925 of the Vienna Secession. In 1908 he played a key role in the anniversary procession designed by Joseph Urban to mark the 60th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph. From 1925 to 1927 he spent time in Florida, USA, where he was commissioned by Joseph Urban to create the sculptural decorations for the Hutton family’s Mar-a-Lago country estate (animal sculptures, a fountain, and reliefs – together with his son Walter). After his return he could no longer find his way in the local art scene and suffered from depression. He eventually committed suicide. Exhibitions include: 1907 Venice Biennale, 1925 Vienna Secession, 1931 Vienna Secession Memorial Exhibition (119th exhibition), as well as in numerous cities in Europe and New York. Works have been exhibited at the Belvedere, the Vienna Museum, the Albertina, the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, and Lower Austria, among others. State Museum, Modern Gallery Prague, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna Rome, but also in churches (1916 Christmas crib in the deanery church in Tulln, 1918 Madonna and Child/linden wood in the parish church of St. Othmar in Vienna) and in public (1918 “The Youth” in Vienna’s 13th district, Haydn Park, 1927 bronze figure of a youth, after being installed in the “Reumannhof” and the “Rabenhof” now in the collection of the Vienna Museum, 1928/29 two wooden monkey figures in the monkey house in the Schönbrunn Zoo), furthermore war memorials in the district of Lower Austria.

Cornelia Cabuk

BÉNI FERENCZY (Szentendre/Hungary June 18, 1890 – June 2, 1967 Budapest/Hungary)

Egon Schiele's grave at the Ober Sankt Veit Cemetery, 1928/29

Address: Ober St. Veit Cemetery, Gemeindeberggasse 26, 1130 Vienna

On October 28, 1918, Egon Schiele buried his wife Edith in her father's grave at the Ober-St.-Veiter Cemetery. On his way back from the cemetery, he was struck by the fever of the Spanish flu. Three days later, on October 31, he too died at the age of just 28. His body was interred in the same grave on November 3. The cemetery had been chosen because the unhappy couple had last lived in Hietzing. Only a few years later did the City of Vienna allocate Egon and Edith Schiele an honorary grave in the same cemetery (Group B, Row 10, Numbers 15-16). In May 1928, the Vienna City Welfare Committee decided to take over the maintenance of Schiele's grave.
At the same time, the late painter's friends and admirers began raising money to finance the gravestone. The driving force behind this venture was the Society for the Promotion of Modern Art in Vienna, under its vice president Heinrich Benesch, who had already promoted and supported Schiele during his lifetime. It was also the Society that commissioned the Hungarian sculptor Béni Ferenczy for the limestone tombstone. It is still unclear whether this was a direct commission or a result of winning a competition. In any case, the Society decided in favor of Ferenczy's proposal based on some sketches submitted by him. One of these sketches is now in the "Stiftung Sammlung Kamm" (Kammer Collection Foundation) in Zug, Switzerland, and another is in the Ferenczy Museum in Szentendre, Hungary. In addition, Ferenczy was also commissioned to create an Egon Schiele Medal. Ferenczy received the sandstone block for the tombstone in March 1929 and presumably completed the work by mid-June of that year.
The two relief figures are typical of Ferenczy's nudes from this period. They are always very restrained and remain schematic. The figures indicate the deceased only through their age. Perhaps unconsciously, Ferenczy cited ancient models with his half-relief. In several newspaper reports published on the occasion of the gravestone unveiling, the relief is described: "The memorial stone is made of sandstone and depicts the symbolic figures of Egon Schiele and his wife. Both are walking downhill, the male figure with firm, energetic steps, the female a few steps back in soft devotion.
Another newspaper report states: "The larger-than-life work depicts in relief two figures, a male and a female, walking backward into the depths in pain-filled grief, the man with a firm, purposeful gaze, the woman more softly modeled in devotion."
The description of the gravestone in the "Wiener Zeitung" reads: "The grave monument depicts in relief a naked male figure who, followed by a female figure, appears to be slowly walking downwards. This is intended to commemorate the tragic end of Egon Schiele and his wife Edith." who, three days before her husband – on October 28, 1918 – fell victim to the flu epidemic raging in Vienna at the time."3 On the eve of the day of remembrance for all the dead, on October 31, 1929, Egon Schiele's gravestone was unveiled. Family members, friends of the deceased, and representatives of the Society for the Promotion of Modern Art gathered at the grave for the occasion. Heinrich Benesch, Vice President of the Society for the Promotion of Modern Art, was the first to speak. City Councilor Richter spoke as a representative of the City of Vienna before wreaths were laid on the grave by friends.

BÉNI (BENJAMIN) FERENCZY
Szentendre/Hungary June 18, 1890 – June 2, 1967 Budapest/Hungary
Sculptor, medalist, graphic artist, and illustrator – As a sculptor, he primarily created the human nude, and as a medalist, he created numerous portrait and commemorative medals. Both his father, Karoly, his mother, Olga (Fialka), and his siblings, Noemi and Valer, were visual artists. He received his first artistic instruction in 1907/08 in Nagybánya, Hungary (now Baia Mare, Romania) under Istvan Reti and Bely Ivanyi-Grünwald. He studied in Florence in 1908/09, and in Munich in 1909/10. Between 1911 and 1913, he spent two study visits to Paris (sometimes with his mother and sister), and had contacts with Bourdelle and Archipenko. He returned to Budapest in 1913, where he held his first exhibitions in 1914. In 1921, he moved to Vienna and became his permanent residence until 1932, interrupted only by two trips to Berlin in 1921/22 and 1922/23. From 1932 to 1935, he lived in Moscow, then returned to Vienna and stayed until 1938, then in Budapest.
From 1945 to 1949, he was a professor at the School of Applied Arts in Budapest. In 1928, he created the stone Egon Schiele tombstone at the Ober St. Veit Cemetery in Vienna and, in 1930, the stone relief "Fallhammer" at the former employment office for metalworkers in Embelgasse, Vienna-Margareten. From 1927 to 1938, he was a member of the Hagenbund (Hagenbund), also a member of the Hungarian artists' association KUT. He exhibited in numerous countries, including the 1963 exhibition "Béni Ferenczy in the Circle of His Contemporaries" at the Vienna Künstlerhaus. Works include: Belvedere, Albertina, Hungarian National Gallery Budapest, Ferenczy Museum Szentendre and in public spaces throughout Hungary.

Markus Kristan