Steindl, Josef

Steindl, architect and professor at the Royal Technical School for Woodworking in Wal. Mesertitsch, was a noted designer of modern, functional furniture in the 20th century. He designed primarily bentwood and metal tubular furniture. He was, however, also a master of historical furniture styles as seen in his work of the 1880s and 1890s and in the ornamentation for his bentwood pieces.

Biographical / Historical Note

Josef Steindl, architect and professor at the Royal Technical School for Woodworking in Wal. Mesertitsch, was a noted designer of modern, functional furniture in the 20th century. His designs were intended for manufacture by the leading furniture factories in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, the Thonet Bentwood Furniture factory and Jacob and Josef Kohn factory. The two firms merged in Vienna, 1914 (Kohn's archives were destroyed in the late 1930s).

Steindl designed primarily for the bentwood, metal and tubular steel furniture industry in Moravia between 1880 and 1930. However, he was also a master of historical furniture styles as is shown in his work of the 1880s and 1890s. Steindl's command of historical ornament and construction can be seen in his interior designs for cafés, restaurants and various room ensembles. It is also apparent in his ornamental designs for bentwood furniture.