Otto Wagner

Happy Birthday Otto Wagner!! Austrian born architect (1841), Wagner was a proponent of Architectural Realism, very interested in urban planning. He was Professor of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. He and Gustav Klimt, among others, founded the Vienna Secession group of artists. Wagner published a textbook: Modern Architecture in 1896, in it stating, “New human tasks and views call for a change or reconstitution of existing forms.” Wagner felt if the architect simply observed the function of the building, the form would follow naturally. His art theory made him an important figure in Viennese modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While in Vienna, we were fortunate to visit his greatest work, the Austrian Postsparkasse, which is still a working bank, to change currency. It was innovative in his day, combining checking and savings businesses in one hall. Note the winged angel figures at the top corners and the aluminum features.



Vienna Secession-Group of artists whose primary goal was to provide exhibition opportunities for young, avant-garde artists.