Ditha Moser (née Editha Mautner von Markhof.
Austrian, 1883–1969)

Deck of “Sezessions-Tarock” (Secession Tarot) cards,
Vienna: Albert Berger and Josef Glanz, 1906
From a set of fifty-four cards
Each: lithograph, 4 1/2 x 2” (11.6 x 5.5 cm)
For images of the full set and information on the project, click here

Although overshadowed by their male colleagues, many female artists established successful careers in early twentieth century Vienna. Works by Ditha Moser (Austrian. 1883–1969) such as her 1906 “Sezessions-Tarock” (Secession Tarot) cards (above) and calendar for 1908 (below) count among the notable achievements of the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop).

The Wiener Werkstätte was founded in Vienna in 1903 by Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) and Koloman (Kolo) Moser (1868–1918), both formerly professors at Vienna’s Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts). This experimental cooperative of designers and craftworkers sought to enact a fundamental reform in design in a variety of fields from architecture and interior decoration to textiles and book-binding. Editha (Ditha) Mautner von Markhof studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule from 1902 to 1905, where she met Moser and married him in 1905.

Ditha Moser produced few works beyond those shown here. For an important overview of women’s contributions to the Wiener Werkstätte, see the exhibition catalogue Anne-Katrin Rossberg and Elisabeth Schmuttermeier, Die Frauen Der Wiener Werkstätte (Women Artists of the Wiener Werkstätte) (Vienna and Basel: Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst and Birkhäuser, 2020) and its online component.

Cover and spreads from Kalender (Calendar) 1908
Vienna: A. Berger, 1907
Lithograph, 6 1/8 x 5 5/8” (15.5 x 14.2 cm)

January 23, 2024