Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration #20

More sculptual work by Franz Metzner for a building whose interiors are in that ponderous Teutonic style which resembles designs for a fantasy film.

Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. Volume 20 covers the period from April 1907 to September 1907, and this is where this fascinating publication starts to run out of steam. A few more editions are worth looking at but after volume 25 the content collapses into the same welter of excessively dull genre painting and academic work that was plaguing Jugend magazine at this time. More about that later.

As usual, anyone wishing to see these samples in greater detail is advised to download the entire number at the Internet Archive. There’ll be more DK&D next week.

Gustav Klimt’s work makes another appearance at a Wiener Werkstätte exhibition. It’s a strange thing today seeing Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (above and below) placed in a corner like any other painting, flanked by a pair of unassuming sculptures by Belgian Symbolist George Minne. The Klimt made headlines in 2006 by selling for $135 million which would no doubt astonish everyone connected with the exhibition. Beyond this it’s a surprise seeing Klimt and Minne (whose work features in a later edition) being shown together.