A PAIR OF GILT, COLORED GLASS AND ENAMEL MOSAICS, CIRCA 1908

Leopold Forstner, a pupil of Koloman Moder's, was a painter and artisan who, in 1908, founded the Wiener Mosaikwerkstatte which was the first workshop in Vienna to be devoted to the art of mosaic. Forstner was a member of both the Wiener Werkstatte and the Osterreichischer Werkbund and, while talented in many media such as drawing, watercolors and woodcuts, he was a truly gifted mosaicist. He executed a number of Gustav Klimt's designs, most notably the mosaic decoration in the dining room of the Palais Stoclet, Forstner also produced mosaics of his own design such as those in the music room and foyer. His own mosaic designs can also be seen at, among numerous other locations in Vienna, Otto Wagner's Villa Wagner II (1913). Forstner had previously worked with Wagner at his church of St. Leopold am Steinhof, Vienna (1907), executing the altar designs of Remigius Geyling.