Her given name was Melanie Leopoldina Koehler (1885-1960). Born in Vienna, Koehler studied art with Betrhold Loffler and also Koloman Moser, one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstatte. She became a member of the group around 1909. Her specialty was fashion illustration, possibly because she had an affinity for the reform dress movement and women's emancipation. I was intrigued to read that Koehler worked for a Viennese Journal in 1915 named Die Blau Laterne (The Blue Lantern). Yes!
In 1931, as the political situation in Austria continued to deteriorate, Koehler emigrated to Stockholm. There she designed theatrical costumes for, among others, the Swedish Royal Academy. She married in 1932 and continued to work as Mela Koehler-Broman. The backgrounds in her fashion illustrations were full of colorful abstractions, in contrast to works by, say, Maria Likarz. I think Koehler was tweaking the nose of Gustav Klimt, a man who acted as though reform dress for women had been his idea. Whatever Klimt's feelings for the designer Emile Floge may have been, he was egotistical enough to horn in on her artistic territory.
Images:Mela Koehler - for the Wiener Werkstatte - postcards # 606, 523, 518, 522, and 520 - c.1910-1914, Museum of Applied Culture, Vienna.
2 comments:
I think these are the nicest fashion illustrations I've ever seen (and the dog lover in me enjoys the addition of the dogs).
Melinda, the woman with the little dog was a frequent device in pictures at the turn of the century. Considering the predatory behavior of many men, women needed those dogs for protection!
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