On the occasion of his 150th birthday, the exhibition JOSEF HOFFMANN: Progress Through Beauty comprehensively documents for the first time the entire oeuvre of the architect, designer, teacher, and exhibition organizer Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956), one of the luminaries of Viennese Modernism and the international life reform movement. With his indefatigable design work and teaching, Hoffmann cultivated an exemplary model of modern lifestyles based on a construction and product culture that was both shaped by craft and artistically ambitious. The show presents a cross section of Hoffmann's revolutionary design and his most important buildings, including the Stoclet House in Brussels (1905-1911) and the Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1904-1905).

The exhibition creates an opulent tableau that offers uniquely rich and complex insights into the fascination of Vienna circa 1900 and the atmosphere of this vibrant period. Comprising some 1,300 items displayed across three floors, this semi-permanent installation presents the splendour and wealth of the artistic and intellectual achievements of this era through masterpieces from the Leopold Museum and notable permanent loan works from Austrian and international collections.