Olbrich, Josef Maria( 1867 – 1908 )
Sketch, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Hdz 10092 , Ink on paperAs a founding member of the Secession movement in Vienna, Josef Maria Olbrich devoted his life to
the arts, including architecture, interiors, furniture, and functional objects. He epitomized a designer
in constant dialogue with his media, and his distinctive sketching style displayed fluid and confident
visual expression.
Born in Troppau, he arrived in Vienna in 1882 to attend the Staadtsgewerbeschule, studying in the
building department, and obtaining additional education at the Spezialschule für Architektur at the
Akademie der Schönen Künste. Olbrich’s skills were recognized by Otto Wagner during an
Academy exhibition in 1893. He began work with Wagner, accepting the position of chief draughts-
man for the Stadtbahn Project.
Olbrich’s association with the Viennese artists and architects of the Secession proved crucial to
his future. The prominence of his design for the Secession Exhibition Building and the group’s
ensuing exhibitions led to his invitation to Darmstadt’s Mathildenhöheby the Grand Duke, Ernst
Ludwig, in 1899. Olbrich designed most of the structures on the site, being given the freedom to
develop an experimental architectural laboratory. Over the next few years, he designed numerous
houses and small projects in and around Germany, his largest being the Leonhard Tietz Department
Store in Düsseldorf (Latham, 1980 ).
Olbrich’s association with the Secessionist artists and his experience in the synergetic activity in
Darmstadt demonstrated his commitment to the arts. Olbrich’s architecture was based on abstract
geometric forms with sparse appliqué for decoration, unlike the fluid expression of nature, through
the entire building, as used by the Art Nouveau architects. He also felt an affinity for the Arts and
Crafts movement, having contact with architects in Britain (Latham, 1980 ).
This quick but elegant sketch (Figure 5. 1 ) confirms Olbrich’s confident control of pen and ink. The
expression of movement conjures up the dynamic experience of exhibition, creating a restless quality.
The images are executed with near-perfect freehand perspective and the symmetrical façades are
guided by just a few horizontals and verticals, sketched without erasing.
When observing a selection of his sketches, several examples show that he often diagrammed
twenty or more small, obsessively neat elevation illustrations on a page. Other sketches in his reper-
toire are incredibly vigorous, lithe, and expressive. Olbrich was passionate about sketching as his
sketches emit qualities of quickness, being both fast in a matter of time, intelligent, and thoughtful.
Described by the Italo Calvino as a concept which illuminates the meaning of quickness, Festina
Lenteliterally means ‘hurry slowly.’ An apparent contradiction, the chiasmus inherently has the power
to induce a greater understanding. Since Olbrich’s images were sketched quickly, they have more
information and may contain greater insight than images produced more slowly. In fact, they do con-
vey something substantially perceptive by virtue of their speed (Calvino, 1988 ). The exuberance of the
lines revealing an illusion may help to seduce and convince the observer of the sketch’s potential.
Although this sketch leaves many details vague, the whole impression has been communicated.
As a Roman adage, Festina Lentehas had various meanings throughout history, often representing
a need to resolve issues from contradictory positions (Lyons and Nichols, 1982 ). Olbrich may have
been trusting the intuition of his subconscious, allowing the images to flow before his conscious
mind could evaluate them for appropriateness. Quick lines often designate precise meaning, and in
this example Olbrich was demonstrating the quick thinking of his imagination.H5719-Ch05.qxd 7/15/05 3:37 PM Page 117