Olbrich, Josef Maria

ARCHITECT (AUSTRIA)
BORN 22 Dec 1867, Troppau, Moravia - DIED 8 Aug 1908, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen
GRAVE LOCATION Darmstadt, Hessen: Alter Friedhof, Ramstädter Strasse (IV-C-011)

Joseph Maria Olbrich was the son of a gingerbread baker. He studied in Vienna at the Staatsgewerbeschule and at the Academy of Fine Arts. In Vienna he designed villas as well as buildings for companies and he also designed interiors in Jugendstil. In 1897 he was one of the founding members of the Sezession in Vienna. He designed the exhibition building at the Karlsplatz.

In 1899 he was called to Darmstadt by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig to become one of the founding members of the artists' colony Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt. He was responsible for the overall planning as well as for the design of several buildings that weere consturcted between 1905 and 1908.

He worked in other countries in Europe and also in the USA and also took assignments from the Grand Duke himself. In Düsseldorf he designed the Tietz department store. He died in Düsseldorf in 1908.

Related persons
• was pupil of Hasenauer, Carl, Freiherr von
• knew Hoffmann, Josef
• knew Moser, Kolo
• was pupil of Wagner, Otto

Images

The grave of Josef Maria Olbrich at the Alter Friedhof, Darmstadt.
Picture by Androom (29 Apr 2013)

 

Sources
• Aubert, Joachim, Handbuch der Grabstätten berühmten Deutscher, Österreicher und Schweizer, Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 1973
Baedeker's Rhine, Baedeker, Stuttgart, 1985
• Becker, Edwin & Sabine Grabner (eds.), Wenen 1900, Portret en interieur, Van Goghmuseum, Amsterdam, 1997
Joseph Maria Olbrich: Darmstadt


Oldach, Julius

Published: 04 May 2019
Last update: 23 Jul 2022