HIGHLIGHTS. Emilie Flöge and Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry
(Glanzstücke. Emilie Flöge und der Schmuck der Wiener Werkstätte)

13 Nov 2008 - 22 Feb 2009

Wien Museum Karlsplatz
wienmuseum.at


Fashion designer Emilie Flöge, protagonist of the Wiener Werkstätte and long-term partner of Gustav Klimt

The exhibition „Highlights. Emilie Flöge and Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry“ is about the fashion salon of Emilie Flöge and her sister Helene - known as the "Flöge Sisters". Emilie is one of the most important persons in the Viennese fashion history. In the salon of the Flöge Sisters the jewelry of the Wiener Werkstätte was sold from the beginning of the 20th century. The Wien Museum Karlsplatz in cooperation with the Neue Galerie New York presents rare jewelry from private American and Austrian collections until Feb 2009.

Jewelry was the crowning achievement of the Wiener Werkstätte. You will find in this exhibition jewelry like brooches and necklaces designed by Josef Hoffmann, Kolo Moser, Dagobert Peche ... The jewelry of the Wiener Werkstätte did not sparkle with diamonds but shone with ornamentally set coloured semi-precious stones.

fig. left: Sitzgruppe im Empfangsraum des Modesalons Flöge. Entwurf Koloman Moser, 1904. Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst / Gegenwartskunst Copyright: MAK

Emilie Flöge (1874 - 1952) was an important protagonist of jewelry by the Wiener Werkstätte. Together with her sister she had a legendary fashion salon in the Viennese Mariahilfer Strasse from 1904 until 1938. The salon was a focal point of the Modernists and a meeting place for the ones with avantgarde taste.

fig. right: Emilie Flöge und Gustav Klimt im Ruderboot, 1909. Fotopostkarte Wien Museum. Copyright: Wien Museum

On many photos Emilie Flöge wears as a protagonist of the Wiener Werkstätte the artful jewelry. Emilie, the fashion-conscious businesswoman, was the long-term partner of Gustav Klimt. Some say that the woman on Klimt's famous painting "The Kiss" is her in portrait with the artist himself.


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In the movie "Klimt" (2006) Veronica Ferres plays Emilie Flöge on the side of John Malkovich (Klimt).

Video: The Making of ... Klimt (2006)

Director: Raoul Ruiz

Starring: John Malkovich (Klimt), Veronica Ferres (Emilie Flöge)

Costume designer: Birgit Hutter