Peche was born near Salzburg in 1887 and was to make his name as one of the leading lights of the Viennese decorative arts scene. Initially he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical College in Vienna, and transferred in 1908 to the Academy of Fine Arts. There he studied architecture, but a visit to Great Britain in 1910 - during which he met Aubrey Beardsley - inspired him to switch to the decorative arts after qualifying as an architect.
Dagobert Peche, ca. 1920
At Otto Wagner's 90th birthday celebration in 1911, Peche met Josef Hoffmann and began to design textiles freelance for the Wiener Werkstaette in the following year. In 1915 Hoffmann invited him to become a full member. In 1917, after a brief stint in the army, Peche took charge of the Wiener Werkstaette branch in Zurich, returning to Vienna in 1919.
Wiener Werkstaette shop in Zurich, Switzerland
Peche was surely one of the most versatile members of the Wiener Werkstaette. His oeuvre included textiles, wallpaper, furniture, ceramics, jewellery, woodcuts, book bindings, wallpaper and, of course, glass. His rounded, eclectic style contrasted strongly with the starker, straight-line designs of Hoffmann and Moser.
Salon Cabinet, 1913, executed by Jakob Soulek
'Viola' Wallpaper, 1922
Glazed polychrome vase, 1913, executed by Wiener Keramik
Peche died of a malignant tumour in Vienna in 1923. In his eulogy, Josef Hoffmann wrote that "Dagobert Peche was the greatest ornamental genius Austria has produced since the Baroque".