Prometheus (Kokoschka)
| Prometheus |
|---|
| Oskar Kokoschka , 1950 |
| Tempera on canvas |
| 239 × 813 cm |
| Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Link to the picture |
The Prometheus ceiling painting is a triptych by Oskar Kokoschka . The picture, painted in tempera on canvas in 1950, measures a total of 239 × 813 cm. Kokoschka received the order from Count Antoine Seilern for his private house. It is now located in the Courtauld Institute of Art in London .
Content and motif
In terms of structure and form, Kokoschka leaned heavily on baroque ceiling paintings . The basis for the painting is the Prometheus legend. For Kokoschka this is an example of human tragedy: Man repeatedly destroys himself through overestimation.
Kokoschka also used the painting to defend representational painting. So he said about the picture: This painting should have representational content and space, as it corresponds to the European, who is connected with history . In this context, he also advocated a communicable artificial language.
The central panel, entitled Apocalypse , shows the Golden Age or Paradise . The formal reference to the Baroque is particularly evident here. The panel on the left shows Hades , a self-portrait by Kokoschka, and Persephone , who is temporarily freed by Demeter . On the right you can see Prometheus bound and the eagle Aithon eating his liver.
literature
- Kokoschka: Life and work in data and images, with texts by Oskar Kokoschka, Ed. Norbert Werner, ISBN 978-3458326090 .
- Oskar Kokoschka. Life and Work, Heinz Spielmann, Dumont, 2005, ISBN 978-3832173203 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kokoschka: Life and Work in Data and Pictures p. 88