Bernadette Reinhold: Oskar Kokoschka. Bad Boy of Viennese Modernism

Bernadette Reinhold
Director, Oskar Kokoschka Centre, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Bath Royal Literature and Scientific Institute
A New Worldview: Vienna’s Contribution to European Culture 1890-1930
Symposium, March 19th-21st 2021

Alongside Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) belongs to the prominent trias of Viennese Modern Art. His debut at the Kunstschau in Vienna, an exhibition celebrating the the emperor’s diamond jubilee in 1908, became a major scandal.

The same is true for the premiere of his Murder, Hope of Women, one of the first expressionistic plays in literary history, in the following year. As „Oberwildling“ he received mostly scathing criticism, but gave him access to the avant-garde circles around Karl Kraus, Arnold Schönberg, and especially Adolf Loos. The latter became his mentor, and sent him to Switzerland, Berlin and Munich. Promoted by curators, art historians and dealers, O.K.’s international career as a radical young talent began. Nevertheless, he continuously felt himself to be the victim of conservative Viennese art critics throughout his entire life. He was convinced that his damnation as a „degenerated artist“ by the Nazi cultural policy, that already started in the 1920ies was rooted in his early, long lasting damnation.

More information
 
 
Logo:
                                          A New Worldview: Vienna’s Contribution to European Culture 1890-1930 Symposium, March 19th-21st 2021
A New Worldview: Vienna’s Contribution to European Culture 1890-1930 Symposium, March 19th-21st 2021
Gastvortrag

Downloads