Oskar Kokoschka

Oskar Kokoschka (March 1, 1886 - February 22, 1980) was an Austrian-born painter and poet, best known for his expressionist portraits and landscapes.

His early years

Oskar Kokoschka was born on March 1, 1886 into a humble family dedicated to the art of goldsmithing, who lived in the small Austrian town of Pöchlarn, located on the banks of the river Danube. As a consequence of the industrialization process to which a large part of Central Europe was being subjected at that time, those close to him suffered a series of serious economic problems that led him to try to find ways of renewing and vindicating artisan manufacturing.

At the age of nineteen, he entered the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, where he would carry out his academic preparation between 1905 and 1908. During the following four years he worked together with the architect and industrial designer Josef Hoffmann, who had created a series of workshops characterized by developing their activity in a cooperative way. From the year 1908, the influence exerted on him by figures such as Gustav Mahler, Gustav Klimt and Sigmund Freud will become increasingly evident.

Start of his career

In 1908 he published his first book of poems, which had been illustrated by Kokoschka himself: The Dreaming Boys. In this first work it was still possible to notice a linear, flat and decorative grammar typical of the Viennese modern movement. In the same year he made a series of posters and postcards for the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops), which will be exhibited at the Viennese Kunstschau, along with a sculpture and the book Die Träumenden Knaben . However, his works will be very poorly received by the public and critics, feeling these sectors offended by the very strong expressiveness of his creations. The same reaction will be given when the Austrian artist premieres his play Mörder, die Hoffnung der Frauen (The murderer, the hope of women), which would be the pioneering creation of the scenic expressionism.

In 1909 he met the architect Adolf Loos, who offered him protection in exchange for his art, that is, a patronage relationship was established. After working on different projects that were entrusted to him by his protector (including his first portrait), Adolf Loos put Oskar in contact with Herwarth Walden, who was the founder of the expressionist magazine Der Sturm. Subsequently, Kokoschka will also link up with Karl Graus and Käthe Richter's circle.

Transfer to Berlin

1963

Frustrated by the bad reviews received during his stay in Vienna, the Austrian artist decided to move to the German capital in 1910, with the help of Herwarth Walden. In his new city, he devoted himself mainly to portraying the characters who were linked to the German and Austrian intelligentsia of the time until the outbreak of the First World War.

Romance with Alma Mahler

Between 1912 and 1915, he had a sentimental relationship with Alma Mahler, widow of the great composer Gustav Mahler, which ended up breaking up after Alma's escape, fearing the outcome of a romance that sometimes bordered on madness. Once the relationship had broken up, Oskar Kokoschka decided to create a painting that would show the strength of love and its persistence despite multiple adversities: The Bride of the Wind.[1] Likewise, he commissioned the manufacture of a doll identical to Mahler.

Death

1963

The long and eventful life of the great Austrian painter, an exponent of expressionism, ended in his house in Villeneuve, nestled on the shore of Lake Geneva, after failing to overcome a myocardial infarction. His death would occur while he was dictating his memoirs.

Posts

• My Life - Oskar Kokoschka 1974 Thames & Hudson, London ISBN 0 500 01087 0
• Morder, Hoffnung der Frauen (Murderer, the Women's hope) 1909.
• Orpheus and Eurydice Drama, Berlin 1919
• Die traumenden Knaben (The Dreaming Youths) Berlin 1908
• Der Gesesstle Columbus (Columbus Bound)Berlin 1916