Max Schmidt (furniture manufacturer)
Max Schmidt (Hungarian Schmidt Miksa ) (born August 1, 1861 in Vienna , according to other sources 1866, † April 1, 1935 in Budapest ) was an Austrian - Hungarian furniture manufacturer and patron .
Max Schmidt was trained as a cabinet maker in Vienna and Paris and soon specialized in furnishing castles, upper middle-class households and shops as part of the company founded by his grandfather Friedrich Schmidt. The successful businessman and art collector was a partner in the family business Friedrich Otto Schmidt, which was founded in 1853 and still exists today, with its headquarters in the Viennese Palais Chotek (Währinger Straße 28). Max and his brothers Otto and Karl Leo were friends with many artists from the turn of the century, including Peter Altenberg and Adolf Loos , with Max and Karl Leo acting as best witnesses when he married Lina Loos . Three of the eight Schmidt brothers are portrayed in a famous painting by Oskar Kokoschka , which was later cut up for unknown reasons. Only the three brothers portrayed, namely Hugo, Karl Leo and Max, were professionally active in the company; around 1900 they were considered to be the leading interior designers in Vienna. The business activities also extended to a considerable extent in Hungary. Among other things, the establishment of the well-known Budapest Café Gerbeaud comes from the Schmidt company.
Max Schmidt primarily invested the wealth he had acquired in the years before the First World War in art and real estate. In 1920 Schmidt acquired the Pötzleinsdorf Palace Park in Vienna and around 1925 had the palace located there equipped with an outside staircase in a neo-baroque style. In 1934 he transferred this property to the City of Vienna, which subsequently (1950) had the building rebuilt by Roland Rainer and stripped of its castle character. In Budapest , Schmidt donated his largest property, today's Kiscelli Muzeum , to the city as well. There is also a collection of the furniture he made at this site.
In 2000, Max-Schmidt-Platz in Vienna- Währing (18th district) was named after him.
literature
- E. Hann - P. Lővei - EB Ottillinger: Schmidt Max (Miksa). In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 10, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-7001-2186-5 , p. 287 f. (Direct links on p. 287 , p. 288 ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Parish St. Josef ob der Laimgrube, Tom's marriage book. 23, fol. 28.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schmidt, Max |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schmidt Miksa (Hungarian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austro-Hungarian furniture manufacturer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 1, 1861 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1, 1935 |
| Place of death | Budapest |