 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
 |
 |
Biography of Oskar KokoschkaName: Oskar KokoschkaBirth Date: March 1, 1886 Death Date: February 22, 1980 Place of Birth: Pöchlarn, Austria Nationality: Austrian Gender: Male Occupations: painter 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; …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…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 Woman's Hope and Job. See also Edith Hoffmann, Oskar Kokoschka(1947). |