Otto Schönthal, a leading architect of the Vienna Secessionist period, was one of the star architectural pupils of Otto Wagner’s ‘special class’ at the Akademie in Vienna. Schönthal worked in Wagner’s Atelier from around 1900 and in 1909 set up a group practice with two fellow students from the Wagner ‘special class’, Emil Hoppe and Marcel Kammerer. Their work during this period was daringly modern in the Jungendstil mode but demonstrated respect for historical styles and made a significant contribution to the architecture and design of the Viennese Secessionist period. Their output ranged from large-scale architectural projects and monuments, to private villas and also included graphic and decorative design work. A distinctive aspect of their practice was their development of a highly refined approach to both working design drawings and presentation drawings.

This is an exquisite and quintessentially Secessionist design which may have been an exercise by Schönthal or a proposal for a decorative motif. The drawing is characteristic of the refinement of the Wagner School’s draughtsmanship, the gold ink here applied thickly to give a subtle relief to the spiral forms, as Klimt and others were fond of doing at this time.

purchased from the artist's sale of 'Hoppe, Kammerer, Schönthal studio material' by Heinrich 'Harry' Fischer, late 1950s; by descent to Wolfgang Fischer; purchased from him by Paul Asenbaum and Niall Hobhouse, 2013; their gift to The Courtauld, 2013

Whyte, Iain Boyd, Emil Hoppe, Marcel Kammerer, Otto Schönthal: three architects from the master class of Otto Wagner, Ernst and Sohn, Berlin 1989
no. 104 on p. 224

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right edge, graphite: “O.SCHÖNTHAL.”; lower right corner, graphite, erased: “82”. Verso: lower right corner, graphite: “W93 / 82”. Mount, Recto of back cover: lower right corner, graphite: “W93” and “82”. Folder, Recto of front cover: upper right corner, graphite, circled: “104”. Folder, Recto of flap: lower right edge, graphite: “W93”.

Collector's mark: none.