Vienna: Franciscan Church (Wien: Die Franziskanerkirche)

About this artwork

This color lithograph represents Postcard No. 138 from the Wiener Werkstätte, the influential Austrian arts and crafts collective that revolutionized Viennese Modernist design in the early 20th century. Urban Janke (1887-1914), an Austrian artist from Blottendorf, created this charming view of Vienna's Franciscan Church as part of a systematic documentation of the city's architectural landmarks in 1908. The Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop), founded in 1903, sought to reunify the applied and f...

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of early 20th-century Vienna *Vienna: Franciscan Church (ien: Die Franziskerkirche)*, a charming color lithograph by Urban Janke (1887–1914), produced in 1908 as Postcard No. 138 by the Wiener Werkstätte. This print (5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in.) captures the Gothic splendor of Vienna's Franciscan Church, one of the city's cherished architectural landmarks, at a time when the Austrian capital buzzed with modernist fervor. Janke, an artist from Blottendorf, contributed to the Wiener Werkstätte's ambitious project to document Vienna's imperial heritage through a series of postcards featuring churches like St. Michael's and the Minorite Church, plus vistas from Belvedere Palace and Schönbrunn. Founded in 1903, the Werkstätte bridged fine and applied arts, crafting everything from furniture to textiles in a sleek, geometric style that democratized design. Here, lithography's bold colors and simplified forms bring high art to everyday mail, embodying their mission to infuse modernism into daily life. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this piece highlights how the Werkstätte elevated postcards into cultural artifacts, preserving Vienna's ecclesiastical treasures amid revolutionary change. A delightful snapshot of Secessionist innovation!

About the Artist

Urban Janke|Wiener Werkstätte (Austrian| ) · 1887 | –1914 |

Austrian, Blottendorf/Vienna, 1887–1914|