Peter Jellitsch’s signature fan captures Vienna’s golden modernist soul

The question was deceptively simple: what colour is Vienna? Austrian artist Peter Jellitsch answered with gold, black and white, translating that chromatic vision into a signature fan now held within Mandarin Oriental, Vienna. Bold brushstrokes sweep across a calm geometric grid, each mark deliberate yet spontaneous, where structure yields to spontaneity and tradition coexists with innovation.

The design speaks to the hotel’s origins, built between 1906 and 1908 during the defining period of Viennese Modernism. Jellitsch’s approach mirrors that era’s own dialogue between order and imagination; the geometric grid beneath those expressive strokes embodies the duality that characterises both the city and the house itself. Past and future inhabit the same surface, heritage informing every gesture of the brush.

More than an emblem, the fan functions as a physical manifesto. Its construction demanded precision, each element shaped by artistry and executed with meticulous craft. The combination of materials and the interplay of light across its surface reveal layers of intention. Gold catches the eye, then yields to the graphic tension between black and white, creating a rhythm that draws the viewer deeper into its composition. In Vienna, where coffee house culture and imperial grandeur have long shaped the national character, this object quietly asserts that beauty emerges from the meeting of opposing forces.

The fan resides within the hotel as a testament to a singular artistic vision realised through collaboration. Jellitsch’s work transforms a functional object into something far more resonant: a visual key to understanding both the city’s character and the establishment’s commitment to marrying heritage with contemporary artistry.

Imagery courtesy of Mandarin Oriental, Vienna (@mo_vienna).