The Dance

Carl Krenek

1905–10

Wool, cotton, discontinuous supplementary weft-wrapped patterning

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Three women with long flowing hair dance in a line, holding hands, with a border of red roses at the bottom. Their dresses feature bold patterns of dots and stripes. <p> Carl Krenek created several designs for the Wiener Werkstätte in the 1910s, mostly woodblock prints but also some textiles. This tapestry is attributed to Krenek based on its style and the boxed initials “KK” in the lower left corner—his name could also be spelled “Karl.” </p> <p> <br /> The workshop where this tapestry was made, possibly marked by the initials “PSI, ” is unknown. The unusual weaving technique—more typical of carpets than of tapestry—suggests an outsourced production in Ottoman-influenced Eastern Europe, rather than Vienna. Before World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire extended as far as Bosnia and Transylvani