I actually enjoyed his single and double portraits very much. It was when he moved onto complex religious scenes and landscapes that the wheels fell off.
April 11, 2016 at 7:56 AM
Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), along with his contemporary Egon Schiele (1890-1918), represents an aspect of the Vienna Secession form of expressionism that I dislike. More about Kokoschka's career is here.
It seems that Kokoschka's art training was unconventional for its time, lacking in instruction regarding oil painting. Which might be a small part of the reason his paintings are such messes.
This post is in my "In the Beginning" or "Artists' early work" series, and shown below are some Kokoschka paintings made before he was 30. By that point they are not very different from paintings he made later in life.
Gallery
[Image]Portrait of Lotte Franzos - 1909
[Image]Martha Hirsch - 1909
[Image]Adolf Loos - 1909
Loos was an early modernist architect who famously criticized ornamentation.
[Image]Crucifixion (Golgotha) - 1912
[Image]Carl Moll - 1913
A founder of the Vienna Secession and step-father of Alma Mahler.
[Image]Alma Mahler and Kokoschka - 1912-13
Information on her and her parade of men can be found here.
[Image]Bride of the Wind / Tempest - 1913-14
Painted after the end of Kokoschka's affair with Alma who was seven years older. The Wikipedia account above states that he never really got over the relationship, though he later married.
posted by Donald Pittenger at 1:00 AM on Apr 11, 2016
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Close this window Jump to comment formI actually enjoyed his single and double portraits very much. It was when he moved onto complex religious scenes and landscapes that the wheels fell off.
April 11, 2016 at 7:56 AM