Oskar Kokoschka
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Oskar Kokoschka
(born March 1, 1886, Pchlarn, Austriadied Feb. 22, 1980, Villeneuve, Switz.) Austrian painter and writer. He studied and taught at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts but was dissatisfied because the school omitted study of the human figure, his primary artistic interest. His early paintings were rendered in delicate, agitated lines and relatively naturalistic colours. After 1912 he became a leading exponent of Expressionism; his portraits came to be painted with increasingly broader strokes of more varied colour and heavier outlines. While recovering from a wound received in World War I, he wrote, produced, and staged three plays; his Orpheus and Eurydice (1918) became an opera by Ernst Krenek (1926). The landscapes he produced during 10 years of teaching and travel mark the second peak of his career. Shortly before World War II he fled to London, where his paintings became increasingly political and antifascist. He continued his political art after moving to Switzerland in 1953.
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Oskar Kokoschka
(b P?chlarn, Lower Austria, 1 March 1886; d Montreux, 22 Feb 1980). Austrian painter, printmaker and writer. He revolutionized the art of the turn of the century, adopting a radical approach to art, which was for him essential to the human condition and politically engaged. Kokoschka promoted a new visual effect in painting, related to making visible the immaterial forces active behind the external appearance of things, in which the object was a living, moving substance that revealed its inner essence to the eye. This applied to the portraits as well as to the townscapes. The art-historical basis for his work lies in the painting tradition of Austrian late Baroque and especially in the colourfully expressive visions of Franz Anton Maulbertsch. As was true of many artists of his generation, Kokoschka's creative urge was also expressed in literature and showed a clear inclination towards music and theatre.
See the Abbreviations for further details.
Gale Encyclopedia of Biography:
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Oskar Kokoschka
Renowned for his "psychoanalytical" portraits and landscapes, Austrian painter, graphic artist, and author Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) was a leading exponent of Expressionism and a key figure in the art of Central Europe.
Oskar Kokoschka was born on March 1, 1886, in Pöchlarn, Austria. At the age of 18, he won a scholarship to the Arts and Crafts School in Vienna, where he studied from 1905 to 1909. As early as 1907 he produced his first portraits, which have expressive power, and he began his career landscapes, still lifes, and compositions of a symbolical or religious character. His first book, The Dreaming Boys (1908), a poem he wrote, illustrated, printed, and bound himself, shows the influence of William Morris. Kokoschka also wrote his first plays at this time.
In 1910, sponsored by his friend and prominent architect, Adolf Loos, Kokoschka made his first journey abroad, painting landscapes and portraits in Switzerland (for example, the portrait of Auguste Forel; the landscape Dent du Midi). He also went to Berlin, where he supplied a regular feature, the "portrait of the week," for the periodical Der Sturm. By World War I he was famous in Austria and Germany. Seriously wounded at the Russian front in 1916, Kokoschka was invalided to Dresden. In 1919 he became professor at the Academy of Arts there, where he remained until 1924.
Kokoschka then began a series of journeys that lasted until 1931. He painted the people, landscapes, and great cities of practically every country in Europe and North Africa. In the magnificent landscape series, he used impressionist techniques interpreted in a highly personal, dramatic manner.
Kokoschka lived in Vienna from 1931 to 1934, when he moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). He painted this city more than any other, with London taking second place. In 1937 his works in German public collections were removed by the Nazis as "degenerate."
In 1938 Kokoschka and his wife, Olda, emigrated to London, where they spent World War II. The artist became a British citizen in 1947. After the war he made several journeys, all as important for his later work as were his travels in the 1920s. There were several trips to Italy (exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 1948), the United States (lectures in Boston in 1949 and in Minneapolis in 1952), and Germany.
In 1953 Kokoschka moved from London to Villeneuve on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. That year, deciding to counteract the spread of abstract art, he founded the School of Seeing in Salzburg. He said: "With astonishment we must view the fact that artists feel themselves obliged to break a lance for modern science. The theory of so-called nonobjective art postulates a theoretical system, analogous to the scientific hypothesis, which is detached from the world of visual perception."
Kokoschka worked in all media, producing watercolors, book illustrations, monumental compositions (The Prometheus Saga, 1950; Thermopylae, 1954; Amor and Psyche), and stage designs (Mozart's The Magic Flute, 1955; The Fettered Phantasy by Raimund, 1962; Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, 1963). In 1962 he had a retrospective exhibition of paintings, drawings, lithographs, stage designs, and books at the Tate Gallery in London.
Kokoschka was the grand old man of figurative painting in the 20th century. His portraits were among the most remarkable of the century. His paintings of cities evoke the special spirit of each. He was also a teacher of the young in defending the tenets of European humanism. To celebrate his eightieth birthday in 1966, large retrospective exhibitions were organized in many countries.
Further Reading
Introduction to Kokoschka (trans. 1958), Wingler's Oskar Kokoschka: The Work of the Painter (trans. 1958) contains a works list and life data. Kokoschka (1963), with color plates, is introduced by a colloquy between the artist and Ludwig Goldscheider. Fritz Schmalenbach, Oskar Kokoschka (trans. 1967), is an analytical study of his early style as a painter. Walter H. Sokel, ed., The Anthology of German Expressionist Drama: A Prelude to the Absurd (1963), contains two plays by Kokoschka, Murderer, the Womańs Hope and Job. See also Edith Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka (1947).
Oxford Companion to German Literature:
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Oskar Kokoschka
Kokoschka, Oskar (Pöchlarn/Danube, Austria, 1886-1980, Villeneuve), one of the greatest painters of the first half of the 20th c., is best known for his dynamic Expressionist pictures of figures and cities. Late in life he turned to mythological themes. From 1920 to 1928 he held a professorship in the Dresden Academy, but thereafter devoted himself to painting and travel, which were intimately linked. He emigrated from Prague to England in 1938, moving to Villeneuve, Switzerland, in 1954. For many years he held a summer school in Salzburg.
In 1907 Kokoschka wrote the playlet Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (furnished with illustrations). Its treatment of sex was radically novel, textually and in its stage artistry. Published in 1910 in the first number of Der Sturm, it came to be regarded as the first Expressionist play (see Expressionismus). It was set to music by Hindemith (1919, premiered 1921, Stuttgart). The short play Sphinx und Strohmann (written 1907, published 1913) was turned into three acts, re-titled Hiob, and, in 1917, produced by Kokoschka himself. Another play on sex, written in 1911, was published in 1913 as Der brennende Dornbusch. War experience led to the conception of his only full-length play, Orpheus und Eurydike (1919). Die träumenden Knaben (1907) and Der gefesselte Kolumbus (1920) are notable cycles of drawings that are accompanied by a verse text. In 1956 appeared Spur im Treibsand, a volume of stories, in 1971 his autobiography,
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Oskar Kokoschka
Kokoschka, Oskar (ôs'kär kōkôsh'kä), 1886-1980, Austrian expressionist painter and writer. After teaching at the art academy in Dresden (1920-24), Kokoschka traveled extensively in Europe and N Africa. In 1937 his works were removed from German galleries by the Nazis, who considered his work degenerate. He moved to London in 1938 and after World War II lived in Switzerland and established an international summer school in Salzburg.
Kokoschka was influenced by the elegant work of Klimt, but soon developed his own distinctive expressionist style (see expressionism). His early portraits (c.1909-14) emphasize psychological insight and tension (e.g., the portrait of Hans Tietze and his wife, 1909; Mus. of Modern Art, New York City). The same restless, energetic draftsmanship is characteristic of his expressionist landscapes and his striking posters and lithographs. His landscapes include Jerusalem (Detroit Inst. of Arts) and View of Prague (Phillips Memorial Gall., Washington, D.C.).
Bibliography
See his volume of watercolors, drawings, and writings (1962); reproductions of his work, comp. by B. Bultmann (1961), L. Goldscheider (1963), E. G. Rathenau (1970), and J. Tomeš (1972); biography by E. Hoffmann (1947).
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Oskar Kokoschka
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia. (July 2010) Don't speak German? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the German article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating.
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| Oskar Kokoschka | |
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,_1913.jpg) The Bride of the Wind or The Tempest, oil on canvas, a self-portrait expressing his unrequited love for Alma Mahler, widow of composer Gustav Mahler, 1914 |
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| Birth name | Oskar Kokoschka |
| Born | 1 March 1886 Pöchlarn, Austria |
| Died | 22 February 1980 (aged 93) Montreux, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Austrian British |
| Field | Painting, poet, playwright |
| Movement | Expressionism |
Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes.
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Biography
Kokoschka was born in Pöchlarn, second child to the Kokoschkas. His older brother died in infancy in 1887, he had a sister, Berta, who was born in 1889, and a brother, Bohuslav, who was born in 1892. Oskar had a strong belief in Omens, spurred from a story of a fire breaking out in Pöchlarn shortly after his mother gave birth to him. Kokoschka's life was not easy mainly due to a lack of financial help from his father, Gustav. They constantly moved into smaller flats, farther and farther from the thriving center of the town. Oskar concluded that his father was inadequate and drew closer to his mother, Romana. Oskar always felt that he was the head of the houshold and continued to support his family when he gained wealth. Kokoschka entered secondary school at Realschule. The school focuses mainly the study of modern subjects such as science and language. However, he was not interested in his subjects, as he found he only excelled in art, and spent most of his time reading classic literature during his lessons. This education of classic literature is said to have influenced his artwork. One of Kokoschka's professors suggested he pursue a career in fine art. Against his father's will, Kokoschka applied to Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts) in Vienna. Oskar was one of three accepted out of 153 applicants. Kunstgewerbeschule was an extremely progressive school that focused mainly on crafts and modern design. One of the other schools in Vienna, the Academy of Fine Art, was more prestigious and more respected in the art community at the time. However, Kokoschka felt that the traditional style of teaching hindered any sort of creativity and progression. Kunstgewerbeschule was dominated by instructors of the Secession. They focused on architecture, furniture, craft, geometric design, and harsh contrasting color and form. Kokoschka, at first, desired to pursue a career as an art instructor. Teachers at the school said that Kokoschka was swayed easily by those around him. Because of his lack of knowledge of modern art, he leaned on the styles of his peers to mold his own artwork. Eventually his professor Carl Otto Czeschka led him to the original style that Oskar used throughout the rest of his life. Kokoschka started out with short gesture drawing of children. These portraits were not erotic or provocative, but rather portrayed the children as very awkward and corpse-like. Oskar had no formal training in painting which allowed him to paint freely and without any sort of programmed training leaning towards the "traditional" or "correct" way to paint. The teachers at Kunstgewerbeschule helped Kokoschka gain opportunities through the Wiener Werkstätte or Viennese Workshops. Kokoschka's first commissions were postcards and drawings for children. Kokoschka said that it gave him, "the basis of [his] artistic training.[1]" His early career was marked by portraits of Viennese celebrities, painted in a nervously animated style. He served in the Austrian army in World War I and was wounded. At the hospital, the doctors decided that he was mentally unstable. Nevertheless, he continued to develop his career as an artist, traveling across Europe and painting the landscape.
Kokoschka had a passionate, often stormy affair with Alma Mahler, shortly after the death of her four-year-old daughter Maria Mahler and her affair with Walter Gropius. After several years together, Alma rejected him, explaining that she was afraid of being too overcome with passion. He continued to love her his entire life, and one of his greatest works The Bride of the Wind (The Tempest), is a tribute to her. His poem Allos Markar[2] was inspired by this relationship. The poet Georg Trakl visited the studio while Kokoschka was painting this masterpiece. Kokoschka also commissioned a life-sized female doll in 1918.[3] Although intended to simulate Alma and receive his affection, the gynoid-Alma did not satisfy Kokoschka and he destroyed it during a party.[3]
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg)
Deemed a degenerate by the Nazis, Kokoschka fled Austria in 1934 for Prague. In Prague his name was adopted by a group of other expatriate artists, the Oskar-Kokoschka-Bund (OKB), though he declined to otherwise participate.[4] In 1938, when the Czechs began to mobilize for the expected invasion of the Wehrmacht, he fled to the United Kingdom and remained there during the war. With the help of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (later the Czech Refugee Trust Fund), all members of the OKB were able to escape through Poland and Sweden.
During World War II, Oskar Kokoschka and his wife lived in Ullapool, a village along the Wester Ross of Scotland for several summer months. There he drew with colored pencil (a technique he developed in Scotland), and painted many local landscape views in watercolour.[5]
Kokoschka became a British citizen in 1946 and only in 1978 would regain Austrian citizenship. He traveled briefly to the United States in 1947 before settling in Switzerland, where he lived the rest of his life. He died in Montreux.
Kokoschka had much in common with his contemporary Max Beckmann. Both maintained their independence from German Expressionism, yet they are now regarded as its supreme masters, who delved deeply into the art of past masters to develop unique individual styles. Their individualism left them both orphaned from the main movements of Twentieth Century modernism. Both wrote eloquently of the need to develop the art of "seeing" (Kokoschka emphasized depth perception while Beckmann was concerned with mystical insight into the invisible realm), and both were masters of innovative oil painting techniques anchored in earlier traditions.
Kokoschka's last years were somewhat embittered, as he found himself marginalized as a curious footnote to art history. A noteworthy student of Kokoschka's "School of Seeing" was Konrad Juestel (1924–2001).
Artworks
- 1909: Lotte Franzos
- 1909: Martha Hirsch I
- 1909: Hans and Erika Tietze
- 1909: St. Veronica with the Sudarium
- 1909: Les Dents du Midi
- 1909: Children Playing
- 1910: Still Life with Lamb and Hyacinth
- 1910: Rudolf Blümner
- 1911: Hermann Schwarzwald I
- 1911: Egon Wellesz
- 1911: Crucifixion
- 1912: Two Nudes
- 1913: Landscape in the Dolomites (with Cima Tre Croci)
- 1913: The Tempest
- 1913: Carl Moll
- 1913: Still Life with Putto and Rabbit
- 1915: Knight Errant
- 1917: Portrait of the Artist's Mother
- 1917: Lovers with Cat
- 1917: Stockholm Harbour
- 1920: The Power of Music
- 1919: Dresden, Neustadt I
- 1921: Dresden, Neustadt II
- 1921: Two Girls
- 1922: Self-Portrait at the Easel
- 1923: Self-Portrait with Crossed Arms
- 1925: Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal I
- 1924: Venice, Boats on the Dogana
- 1925: Toledo
- 1926: Mandrill
- 1926: Deer
- 1929: Arab Women and Child
- 1932: Girl with Flowers
- 1934: Prague, View from the Villa Kramář
- 1937: Olda Palkovská
- 1938: Prague - Nostalgia
- 1940: The Crab
- 1941: Anschluss - Alice in Wonderland
- 1941: The Red Egg
- 1948: Self-Portrait (Fiesole)
- 1962: Storm Tide in Hamburg
- 1966: The Rejected Lover
- 1971: Time, Gentlemen, Please
Writings
Kokoschka's literary works are as peculiar and interesting as his art. His memoir, A Sea Ringed with Visions, is as wildly psychedelic as anything written by others under the influence of actual hallucinogens.[citation needed] His short play "Murderer, the Hope of Women" (1909, set ten years later by Paul Hindemith as Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen) is often called the first Expressionist drama. His Orpheus und Eurydike (1918) became an opera by Ernst Krenek, who was first approached for incidental music.
Bibliography
- 1908: Die traumenden Knaben (The Dreaming Youths) Vienna: Wiener Werkstätte (Originally published in an edition of 500 by the Wiener Werkstätte. Unsold copies numbered 1-275, were reissued in 1917 by Kurt Wolff Verlag.)
- 1909: Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (Murderer, the Hope of Women) (Play)
- 1913: Der Gefesslte Columbus(Columbus Bound). [Berlin]: Fritz Gurlitt, [1913] (known as Der Weisse Tiertoter (The White Animal Slayer).
- 1919: Orpheus and Eurydike, in: Vier Dramen: Orpheus und Eurydike; Der brennende Dornbusch; Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen; [and] Hiob. Berlin
- 1962: A Sea Ringed with Visions. London: Thames & Hudson ISBN 978-0-500-01014-3 (Autobiography)
- 1974: My Life; translated (from "Mein Leben") by David Britt. London: Thames & Hudson ISBN 0-500-01087-0
First productions of plays
- 1907: Sphinx und Strohmann. Komödie für Automaten. 29 March 1909 at Cabaret Fledermaus, Vienna
- 1909: Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen
- 1911: Der brennende Dornbusch
- 1913: Sphinx und Strohmann, Ein Curiosum. 14 April 1917 in the Dada-Galerie, Zürich
- 1917: Hiob (an enlarged version of Sphinx und Strohmann, 1907)
- 1919: Orpheus und Eurydike
- 1923: new version as opera libretto; music by Ernst Krenek. 27 November 1926 at the Staatstheater, Kassel
- 1936–38/1972: Comenius
Tributes
- The Children's television show Hey Arnold! features a character named Oskar Kokoschka. He is portrayed as a deadbeat in Arnold's families boarding house.
- A UK Midlands based 1980's pop group called themselves 'Oskar Kokoschka'. In 1986 they released a 12 inch EP featuring the songs 'Waiting til it all Blows Over' and 'Letting the water out'.[6]
References
- ^ Whitford, Frank (1986). Oskar Kokoschka: A Life. Library of Congress Cataloging. ISBN 0-689-11794-9.
- ^ Poem 1913 Translation.Happiness is otherwise an anagram of Alma & Oskar),
- ^ a b "ALMA:History". http://www.alma-mahler.com/engl/almas_life/puppet.html#.
- ^ K. Holz, Modern German Art for Thirties Paris, Prague, and London: Resistance and Acquiescence in a Democratic Public Sphere
- ^ One of these is in the Art Gallery in Aberdeen
- ^ "Pictures by Covin80s". http://s1122.photobucket.com/albums/l536/Covin80s/#.
- Further sources
- Adamson, Donald "Oskar Kokoschka at Polperro", in: The Cornish Banner, November 2009, pp. 19–33
- Adamson, Donald "Researching Kokoschka", in: The Cornish Banner, November 2010, pp. 22–24
- K. Holz, Modern German Art for Thirties Paris, Prague, and London: Resistance and Acquiescence in a Democratic Public Sphere
- Extensive article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Holz, K. (2004) Modern German Art for Thirties Paris, Prague, and London: resistance and qcquiescence in a democratic public sphere. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press
- Kokoschka, Oskar (1962) A Sea Ringed with Visions. London: Thames & Hudson ISBN 978-0-500-01014-3 (Autobiography)
- Weidinger, Alfred (1996) Kokoschka and Alma Mahler. Munich: Prestel-Verlag ISBN 3-7913-1722-9
Literature
- Alfred Weidinger: Oskar Kokoschka. Dreaming Boy and Enfant Terrible. Early Graphic Works, 1902-1909. Ed. Albertina, Vienna 1996.
- Alfred Weidinger: Kokoschka and Alma Mahler: Testimony to a Passionate Relationship. Prestel, New York 1996, ISBN 3-7913-1722-9
Further reading
- Oskar Kokoschka - La mia vita, Carmine Benincasa – Ed. Marsilio, Venezia 1981
- Alfred Weidinger, Alice Strobl: Oskar Kokoschka. Die Zeichnungen und Aquarelle 1897-1916. Werkkatalog, 1. Band. Hg. Albertina. Verlag Galerie Welz, Salzburg 2008 ISBN 978-3-85349-290-1
- Hilde Berger: Ob es Hass ist solche Liebe? Oskar Kokoschka und Alma Mahler, Böhlau Verlag, Wien 1999 ISBN 3-205-99103-6
- 2. Auflage 2008 ISBN 978-3-205-78078-6
- Oliver Hilmes: Witwe im Wahn – Das Leben der Alma Mahler-Werfel, Siedler Vlg., München 2004 ISBN 978-3-88680-797-0.
- Wolfgang Maier-Preusker: Buch- und Mappenwerke mit Grafik des Deutschen Expressionismus, Ausst.Kat. für Hansestadt Wismar, Wien 2006 ISBN 3-900208-37-9
- Tilo Richter (ed.): Horst Tappe: KOKOSCHKA, m. Fotografien v. Horst Tappe, Zitaten (d/e/f) u. Grafiken v. Oskar Kokoschka, Vorwort v. Christoph Vitali, Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2005 ISBN 3-85616-235-6
- Heinz Spielmann: Oskar Kokoschka – Leben und Werk, Dumont Vlg. Köln 2003 ISBN 978-3-8321-7320-3.
- Alfred Weidinger: Kokoschkas King Lear. Albertina, Wien 1995 ISBN 3-900656-29-0
- Alfred Weidinger: Kokoschka und Alma Mahler – Dokumente einer leidenschaftlichen Begegnung, Reihe 'Pegasus Bibliothek', Prestel Vlg., München/New York 1996 ISBN 3-7913-1711-3. * Widerstand statt Anpassung: Deutsche Kunst im Widerstand gegen den Faschismus 1933–1945, Elefanten Press Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1980
- Norbert Werner (Hg.): Kokoschka – Leben und Werk in Daten und Bildern, Insel Vlg., Frankfurt/M. 1991 ISBN 3-458-32609-X
- Hans M. Wingler, Friedrich Welz: Oskar Kokoschka - Das druckgraphische Werk , Verlag Galerie Welz, Salzburg 1975 ISBN 3-85349-037-9
- Johann Winkler, Katharina Erling: Oskar Kokoschka – Die Gemälde 1906-1929, Verlag Galerie Welz, Salzburg 1995
- Alfred Weidinger: Oskar Kokoschka. Träumender Knabe - Enfant terrible, 1906-1922. Hg. Agnes Husslein-Arco, Alfred Weidinger. Belvedere, Wien 2008 ISBN 978-3-901508-37-0
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Oskar Kokoschka |
- Oskar Kokoschka at Find a Grave
- Fondation Oskar Kokoschka at the Musée Jenisch in Vevey, with illustrations of Kokoschka works, text in French
- Kokoschka: Knight Errant of 20th Century Painting, a memorial lecture by Carol Hoorn Fraser
- Gallery of Kokoschka's early works
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