CHRISTIANSEN, Hans

The picture shows a sketch for the “Jugend” Magazine, published in Munich.

This ornament represents an Art Nouveau Lady.

A characteristic feature of Hans Christiansen’s work was the “Christiansen rose”, as it became enduringly known in the sphere of Jugendstil. The rose motif can be found in every area of Christiansen’s art, which - instantly recognizable in its style and outstanding in its quality - made him a brilliant decorative artist to some, and to others, a shallow panderer to public taste.

This plate is decorated with the “Christiansen rose”, a motif named after the artist.

The picture shows a piece of a set of three, displayed in the Museum of the Artists’ Colony at Darmstadt. The decoration is the so-called Christiansen rose, a motif named after the artist.

The set was produced by Lorenz Hutschenreuther.

The screen was made by Georg Hulbe, Hamburg.

Christiansen produced this lithographic print for L’Estampe moderne, vol. 1897, Paris, F. Champenois.

The furniture was made by Firma Ludwig Alter, Darmstadt.

The window was executed in collaboration with the art glazier Karl Engelbrecht (1858-1902), Hamburg.

The picture shows a vase displayed in the Museum of the Artists’ Colony at Darmstadt.

In 1899 the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse established one of the leading centres of Jugendstil architectural, design, and decorative arts practice in Darmstadt. The Artists’ Colony brought together leading artists and craftsmen as a means of improving German public taste and endowing the contemporary applied and decorative arts with a sense of German identity. One of the main thrusts of the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony initiative was to move away from a dependency on foreign influences and reinvigorate quality standards in German design and decorative arts.

The creative personalities initially involved in the Artists’ Colony at Darmstadt were the fine artist and designer Hans Christiansen - invited by the Grand Duke to found the Colony - interior designer Patriz Huber, and weaver and embroiderer Paul B�rck. Soon they were joined by the Austrian Joseph Maria Olbrich and German Peter Behrens. An important part of the project was the building of several public buildings and artists’ houses, many of them designed by Olbrich.

The designers sought support from the Grand Duke for an exhibition in Darmstadt in 1901. Organized by Olbrich and displayed in several temporary exhibition buildings and the artists’ houses, the exhibition made a financial loss and drew some negative criticism, not least because the Colony was the subject of royal patronage. The exhibits were seen as exemplars of the ‘total work of art’ - coordinated architecture, interiors, furnishings, and applied arts.

At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle the Darmstadt Room, designed by Olbrich, won a Gold Medal. The Artists’ Colony exhibited at the Turin Exposizione Internazionale d’Arte Decorativa Moderna of 1902, and the St Louis Exhibition of 1904. A ceramics factory was established in 1906, followed by a glass factory in 1908. However, the First World War brought the Darmstadt venture to an end.