Art Nouveau presents itself with good reason as breaking with the styles of the past, and promoting a "modern" environment based on a revival of forms and decorations. From the point of view of work produced, on the other hand, and this in spite of its social aspirations, it belongs to the tradition of the often-expensive technical experiments that brought fame to the luxury goods industries in France throughout the 19th century and until the early 20th century.

The objects as well as the preparatory drawings presented in this exhibition are evidence of the sophistication that French manufactories and creative artists brought to the art of living.

The latest research carried out by the Mathildenhöhe Institute-Darmstadt is the result of a comprehensive retrospective on the work of Joseph Maria Olbrich to be inaugurated in Darmstadt at the beginning of February 2010. The exhibition, entitled Joseph Maria Olbrich 1867-1908, Architect and Creator of Early Modernity, is being curated by Dr. Regina Stephan, professor of the history of architecture at the Mainz University of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with Vienna's Leopold Museum.

Experts on Olbrich's work consider him to be the great moderniser of the world and lifestyles, but his premature death and the destruction of many of his works during the Second World War meant that his output has perhaps not had the same international impact as other artists of his age, such as Henry van de Velde, Josef Hoffmann or Peter Behrens. This is why the instigators of the exhibition and catalogue aim to provide the general public with information about the relevance of the artistic legacy that Joseph Maria Olbrich left around 1900 in Darmstadt and other cities like Vienna or in the Rhineland.

This major retrospective has been made possible thanks to the latest research that has been carried out on this great architect and designer based on the interest created during the international conferences organised by Mathildenhöhe-Darmstadt on the occasion of the centenary of J. M. Olbrich's death (see coupDefouet nº 11). The exhibition includes reconstructions of Olbrich's projects through the use of original sketches, models, historical photographs and many objects from such diverse fields as graphic design, furniture, crafts and textile art.

The show can be visited from 7 February until 24 May 2010 at the Mathildenhöhe Institute-Darmstadt, with family days between 20 and 25 April, including a special games route for children on the 25^th.