While completing studies in architecture at the University of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts (both in Vienna), Joseph Maria Olbrich won distinguished prizes, including the Prixe de Rome, which afforded him opportunities to travel in Italy and North Africa. Soon after his return, he began working for Austrian architect Otto Wagner, who by then was well-advanced in his practice of anti-historicist architecture. In 1897, Olbrich, along with Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann, and Koloman Moser founded the Vienna Secession. Olbrich designed their exhibition building, the famous Secession Hall, which expressed an appreciation of classical symmetry and includes elements such as dentil courses, yet at the same time highlights the radical Jugendstil aesthetic seen thru the eyes of an Orientalist.
In 1899 the Grand Duke of Hesse founded the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony. Olbrich designed many of the colony’s houses (including his own) and several exhibition buildings. Many are pictured in lithographs and posters designed by the artist. He employed vivid colors, unmodulated areas, and stark contrasts to create a sense of depth, modernity, and excitement.
After 1903, Olbrich began designing pottery, furniture, book bindings, and musical instruments. His work influenced many of the artists, architects, and artisans of succeeding decades.