FURNITURE FROM THE JOSEPH DANHAUSER FACTORY IN VIENNA

The Danhauser furniture factory had been founded in 1814 by the sculptor Joseph Ulrich Danhauser (1780-1829), the painter Joseph Danhauser’s father. It was one of Vienna’s very first companies active in the field of interior decoration. 

Having been granted a special manufacturing licence, it was possible for Danhauser to integrate all crafts relating to interior decoration and execute the necessary works under a single roof. These included first and foremost furniture making and upholstery, the production of interior light fittings, metalwork, elaborate draperies for curtains and

Joseph Danhauser

Display cabinet, 1822-25

bedsteads and their mounts, as well as small sculpted accessories.

Danhauser documented his huge product range in a drawn sample catalogue, parts of which have survived and are now preserved in the MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art) Works on Paper Collection in Vienna in the form of some 2,500 drawings. This catalogue included, among other items, 153 models of chairs, 56 daybeds, 179 types of chandeliers, and 124 window draperies. All of these models were numbered consecutively within the respective product groups. The factory’s clientele came from all over the Austrian monarchy and Germany, and the company disposed of sales agencies in Graz and Budapest. Danhauser’s most prestigious and comprehensive commission was the refurbishment of Archduke Charles’s palace (today’s Albertina) around 1822.
 
The Danhauser furniture factory holds a prominent position in the history of Viennese furniture making and interior decoration. Danhauser’s designs allow one to follow the development of the Viennese furniture style, which initially relied on French models, such as those created by Percier and Fontaine, but soon gained autonomy. Danhauser’s exceptional quality and uniqueness as a furniture maker lies in the harmonious combination of concreteness and abstraction - of functionality and emotion. He thus took on the role of a mediator between individuality and anonymity and became one of the most important inspirations for the Modern movement.