Koloman Moser

Koloman Moser
Photograph of Koloman Moser (1905)
Born	30 March 1868 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	18 October 1918(1918-10-18) (aged 50) Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Nationality	Austria-Hungarian
Education	1885-1892 Academy of Fine Arts Vienna 1893 - 1895 Vienna School of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule)
Known for	Painting, Drawing, Postage Stamp, Printmaking, Ceramics, Stained glass
Notable work	founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, Stained glass of Kirche am Steinhof
Movement	Vienna Secession, Jugendstil

Koloman Moser (German: [ˈkoːloman ˈmoːzɐ]; 30 March 1868 – 18 October 1918) was an Austrian artist who exerted considerable influence on twentieth-century graphic art and one of the foremost artists of the Vienna Secession movement and a co-founder of Wiener Werkstätte.

During his life, Moser designed a wide array of art works - books and graphic works from postage stamps to magazine vignettes; fashion; stained glass windows, porcelains and ceramics, blown glass, tableware, silver, jewelry, and furniture - to name a few of his interests.

Born in Vienna, he studied at the Wiener Akademie and the Kunstgewerbeschule, where he also taught from 1899.

His designs in architecture, furniture, jewellery, graphics, and tapestries helped characterise the work of this era. Moser drew upon the clean lines and repetitive motifs of classical Greek and Roman art and architecture in reaction to the Baroque decadence of his turn-of-the-century Viennese surroundings.

In 1901/1902, he published a portfolio titled Die Quelle ("The Source") of elegant graphic designs for such things as tapestries, fabrics, and wallpaper.

In 1903, Moser and his colleague Josef Hoffmann founded Wiener Werkstätte, whose studios and artisans produced a number of aesthetically and functionally designed household goods, including glassware, flatware, silverware, rugs and textiles. In 1904, he created the Apse mosaic and glass windows for the Kirche am Steinhof in Vienna.

In 1905, together with the Klimt group, he separated from the Vienna Secession. The same year, he married Editha (Ditha) Mautner von Markhof, the daughter to one of Austria's great industry fortunes.