MAK Museum of Applied Arts

The MAK was founded in 1863 on the model of the South Kensington Museum in London, to raise the standard of Austrian manufacture by putting good design in front of makers, and it was the first such museum on the continent. Heinrich von Ferstel built it on the Ring in 1871. Its holdings cover glass, ceramics, metal, textiles, furniture and Asian art, and its particular strength is the Wiener Werkstätte archive - the complete records, designs and sample books of the workshop founded by Hoffmann and Moser in 1903, some twenty thousand drawings, which no other institution has. Thonet bentwood, Loos furniture and a Klimt cartoon for the Stoclet frieze are here. From 1986 the permanent galleries were staged by contemporary artists, one to a room, which is still the presentation.

History

Emperor Franz Joseph founded the museum on 7 March 1863 as the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, modelled on the South Kensington Museum in London, with the art historian Rudolf von Eitelberger as its first director, to serve artists, industry and the public and to train designers and craftspeople. It opened provisionally on 12 May 1864 in rooms of the Ballhaus beside the Hofburg, adapted by Heinrich von Ferstel, and has stood on its present site since 1871; the School of Arts and Crafts, founded in 1867, moved into an extension next door at Stubenring 3 in 1877 (Wikipedia, Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna).

The main sights

• The Wiener Werkstätte archive - the complete workshop records and designs.
• Artist-staged permanent rooms - each gallery installed by a contemporary artist.
• Thonet and Loos furniture - the bentwood and modernist holdings.
• Klimt's Stoclet cartoons - the full-size designs for the Brussels frieze.

When to go

All year; free entry on Tuesday evenings in most seasons. Half a day.

Practical notes

The artist-staged rooms subordinate the objects to the installation, which some visitors find frustrating. Parts are closed for rehangs. Study collections need appointments.

Nearby

The Postal Savings Bank is across the Ring; the Stadtpark is south.

Key facts