Johannes Spalt, Constanze sofa/divan for Wittmann

JOHANNES SPALT (Austria, 1920-2010) for Wittmann.
Sofa / Daybed model Constanze. Designed in the 60s.
With steal frame, cushions original upholstered in cognac leather.
Sofa / Daybed with some marks and patina.
Produced by Wittmann.
Measurements: 70 x 195 x 68 cm, seat height 40 cm, width extended 107 cm.

The Constanze sofa bed is a classic design by Johannes Spalt. It is a piece of furniture with a sober and geometric structure, with an elegant cognac-colored quilted finish. It stands on chromed steel legs of great sophistication.

Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna with Clemens Holzmeister. He worked with Wilhelm Holzbauer, Friedrich Kurrent and, until 1953, with Otto Leitner. From 1969 he ran his own studio in Vienna, in partial cooperation with Friedrich Kurrent. From 1973 to 1990, Spalt was a professor of interior design and industrial design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He created numerous furniture designs, for example for Wittmann Möbelwerkstätten. In a tribute to his death, architectural journalist Jan Tabor called Johannes Spalt a "prototype of the intellectual architect" and described "Spalt's importance for the restoration of culture in Austria after Nazi barbarism" as "great and unique." Throughout his career he has received numerous awards, most notably: 1970 Vienna City Prize for architecture; 1988 Heinrich Tessenow Medal; 1992 Mauriz Balzarek Prize, as Grand Prize for Culture of the State of Upper Austria; 1994 Lower Austria State Prize for Culture for architecture; 2002 Burgenland Architecture Prize for the Wander Bertoni exhibition pavilion in Winden am See and 2007 Gold Medal of Honor of the City of Vienna.