Augustin Tschinkel

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Augustin Tschinkel (born August 3, 1905 in Prague ; died May 1, 1983 in Cologne ) was a Czech artist of the figurative-constructivist art movement.

Live and act

Tschinkel studied from 1921 to 1924 at the School of Applied Arts in Prague. 1924–1939 he made illustrations for magazines and books, free graphics and painting in the spirit of the Cologne progressives. In 1928 Tschinkel came to Cologne to support Ladislav Sutnar , who was responsible for the Czech pavilion as part of the Pressa exhibition. He contributed statistical tables for the Czechoslovak pavilion.

While Tschinkel was in Cologne, he had the opportunity to meet Franz Seiwert , whom he knew as the author of the left-wing art and politics magazine " Die Aktion ". He joined the " Kölner Progressiven ", a group founded by Seiwert and Heinrich Hoerle . Tschinkel adopted their method of black-and-white pictures, which were easy to reproduce, and also the type of posters for the working class, although it was those which could be difficult to attach. They called it "social graphics", Tschinkel being the only Czech representative of this direction.

In 1929 Tschinkel followed Gerd Arntz, a member of the Cologne Progressives, to Vienna to work for the Austrian Museum of Society and Economy , like Peter Alma (1886–1969) . Here he adopted the Viennese method, which combined visual education, as taught by Otto Neurath , with the ideas of the figurative constructivists.

As a result of the defeat of the “Schutzbund” in the February fights in 1934 , the Society and Economic Museum was dissolved at the beginning of Austrofascism and then continued as the “ Austrian Institute for Image Statistics ”. Tschinkel returned to Czechoslovakia and was employed from 1931 to 1941 as a graphic consultant for the state school book publisher in Prague. 1936–1941 he worked as a drawing teacher at the State Graphic School in Prague. Here he used the Viennese method to produce educational and statistical material.

After the Second World War, Tschinkel worked as a commercial artist in Leipzig from 1946 to 1947. From 1947 to 1956 he worked in West Berlin, in 1950 in Bielefeld for the “State Planning” hall of “Constructa” Hanover. From 1956 to 1964 he worked at the "Geo-Grafik" institute in Salzburg and from 1964 to 1970 he was a draftsman at the Anatomical Institute of the University of Cologne. He also got back in touch with Sutnar.

In the post-war period Tschinkel also created conventional oil paintings and prints. In the 1950s he wrote with Raoul Hausmann . He is the author of numerous works on art.

“Das schwimmende Clavier”, which Tschinkel published in 1962, contains, as stated in the subtitle, “photo reports from great-grandfather's youth, making you laugh and cry”. Tschinkel took care of the selection from photo reports in the Viennese magazine “ Dasinteresting Blatt ” from the 1880s and 90s and wrote the foreword.

Exhibitions

  • Represented at the exhibition “Political Constructivists. The Progressives 1919–1933 ”, Berlin 1975.
  • Solo exhibition “Augustin Tschinkel. Grafiek, Illustraties, Typografie “, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague 1976.

Publications (selection)

  • Tschinkel, Augustin: V Praze: Grafická škola , 1940.
  • Tschinkel, Augustin: The floating piano. Photo reports from great-grandfather's youth, make you laugh and cry. editio totius mundi, Vienna, 1962.
  • Tschinkel, Augustin: Active graphics 1927–1937. 9 signed linocuts. With an introduction by Hans Schmitt-Rost. Edition Werner Kunze, Berlin, 1972.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c curriculum vitae in the Historical Archive, Cologne
  2. ↑ a b Gallery Hasenclever Brief curriculum vitae .
  3. ^ Correspondence with Raoul Hausmann .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tschinkel, Augustin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech painter and printmaker
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH May 1, 1983
Place of death Cologne