September, 19 2 2 
37 
A recent exhibition in 
New York reveals to us the 
old spirit of Viennese art in 
its purest forms and richest 
trappings. In these rooms, 
shown in our illustrations, 
the decorations and furni¬ 
ture are all designed and 
executed by Joseph Urban, 
that Viennese genius who 
has done so much for stage 
decoration in this country 
with his scientific knowl¬ 
edge of color and his fear¬ 
lessness in creating new 
forms of decoration. In 
these schemes we see Ur¬ 
ban’s great cleverness in the 
use of simple materials for 
ornate effects, the original 
forms of his furniture and 
cabinets and the interesting 
manner in which he has in¬ 
corporated all paintings into 
his scheme of wall decora¬ 
tion. 
There is no trace here of 
that tortured spirit of a 
dozen years ago. It is sin¬ 
cerely and earnestly the 
presentation of the New Art 
as one skilled believer in it 
can set it forth. 
Pechi’s wall papers and 
silks are used to decorate the 
wall—those curious, shaded 
stripes of gray, or yellow, 
red and black, often with 
superimposed designs of 
white lace or colored flow¬ 
ers. Black woodwork pre¬ 
dominates, with a fine finish 
of silver beading in one 
room, with white beading on 
black stripes or black on 
white in two other rooms. 
The walls on which the 
modern lace is displayed are 
tightly stretched gray velvet. 
And all the little cabinets 
and alcoves which show por¬ 
celains and silver are lined 
with a cool strong shade of 
green. Floating curtains are 
cool, apple green chiffon 
with an interlining of sky 
blue. If one could write as 
simply, freshly and surely 
as Urban uses color you 
would easily picture these 
rooms, so startling, so fresh, 
their beauty resting so com¬ 
pletely on the new art of 
Vienna as Urban sees it and 
accepts it. 
One of our illustrations 
shows the entrance hall, 
with a famous Klimpt fig¬ 
ure painting in the center 
panel. Either side of a cir¬ 
cular black and white rug 
(Continued, on page 108) 
Definite suggestion of Louis 
Phillipe in these chairs , with 
Art Nouveau mirror, and 
walls covered with tightly 
stretched mauve satin 
A baroque note is given 
this detail of a French bed¬ 
room in the shell pediment 
over the door. Plain silk 
is the wall decoration 
M. Monteux’s salon with 
Art Nouveau side lamps 
of metal and alabaster. 
The mantel also new art, 
and the chairs Louis Phil¬ 
lipe in feeling 
it 
