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Kokoschka, Oskar (1886-1966)
Copyright: IMAGNO/ÖNB/Harry Weber
Oskar Kokoschka was born to a Prague goldsmith family on 1 March 1886 in Pöchlarn (Lower Austria). He studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts from 1905 to 1909 and soon developed an intense interest for expressionist art. In 1907 he joined the Wiener Werkstätte and published his first expressive poets and dramas. In 1910 he befriended artists from the "Neue Secession" in Berlin. The first issue of the movement’s periodical “Der Sturm”, which was devoted to the newest trends in art, contained drawings by Oskar Kokoschka.
“Der Sturm” also featured Kokoschka’s play “Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen” (Murderer, Hope of Women), which was later set to music by Paul Hindemith. Today it is considered to mark the beginnings of Expressionist theater in German speaking countries. Works like the portrait of Adolf Loos (1909) and "Die Windsbraut" (Winds’ Bride; 1914) attracted public attention. In Berlin Kokoschka has a successful exhibition together with Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. In 1911 he returned to Vienna and was appointed assistant teacher at the Arts and Crafts School, the same school which had rejected him. In 1911 he also started his short but intense love affair with Alma Mahler.
At the outbreak of WW I, Kokoschka joined the cavalry. In 1916 he was seriously wounded and discharged. After a stint as professor at the Dresden Academy (1919-23) Kokoschka traveled through Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. In 1931 he returned to Vienna; due to right-wing pressures he emigrated to Prague where he met his later wife. In 1938 he left Central Europe for London to become an English citizen.
Kokoschka lived at Villeneuve on Lake Geneva from 1954 until his death in 1980. In 1954 he founded the “School of Seing”, an international summer academy. The same year he is awarded the Austrian State Prize. Kokoschka died on 22 February 1980 in Villeneuve. Among his most famous paintings are his Self Portrait (1918), "Die Macht der Musik" (The Power of Music; 1918), "Pan, Trudl mit Ziege" (Pan, Trudl with Goat; 1931), "Prague: Karlsbrücke" (1934), the stage setting and costumes for "The Magic Flute” performed at the Salzburg Festival Weeks in 1955, and the portrait of Konrad Adenauer (1966).
“Der Sturm” also featured Kokoschka’s play “Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen” (Murderer, Hope of Women), which was later set to music by Paul Hindemith. Today it is considered to mark the beginnings of Expressionist theater in German speaking countries. Works like the portrait of Adolf Loos (1909) and "Die Windsbraut" (Winds’ Bride; 1914) attracted public attention. In Berlin Kokoschka has a successful exhibition together with Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. In 1911 he returned to Vienna and was appointed assistant teacher at the Arts and Crafts School, the same school which had rejected him. In 1911 he also started his short but intense love affair with Alma Mahler.
At the outbreak of WW I, Kokoschka joined the cavalry. In 1916 he was seriously wounded and discharged. After a stint as professor at the Dresden Academy (1919-23) Kokoschka traveled through Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. In 1931 he returned to Vienna; due to right-wing pressures he emigrated to Prague where he met his later wife. In 1938 he left Central Europe for London to become an English citizen.
Kokoschka lived at Villeneuve on Lake Geneva from 1954 until his death in 1980. In 1954 he founded the “School of Seing”, an international summer academy. The same year he is awarded the Austrian State Prize. Kokoschka died on 22 February 1980 in Villeneuve. Among his most famous paintings are his Self Portrait (1918), "Die Macht der Musik" (The Power of Music; 1918), "Pan, Trudl mit Ziege" (Pan, Trudl with Goat; 1931), "Prague: Karlsbrücke" (1934), the stage setting and costumes for "The Magic Flute” performed at the Salzburg Festival Weeks in 1955, and the portrait of Konrad Adenauer (1966).
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