These candlesticks and this cabinet—made only a few years apart—represent Joseph Maria Olbrich’s approach to abstraction in interior design. In the candlesticks, the designer distilled a blossoming flower into the thin lines of uncoiling stamens to rethink the representation of nature. For the cabinet, the flat planes and distinct edges reflect Olbrich’s deepening commitment to geometric designs over time. Olbrich was a founding member of the Vienna Succession (1897–1914) and the Darmstadt Artist Colony (founded 1899), revolutionary groups of designers, sculptors, and painters defining early 20th-century European art. Olbrich’s artistry was admired by his colleague Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), who decorated his studio with furniture designed by Olbrich.