Eduard Klischnigg

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Eduard Klischnigg (born October 12, 1813 in London , † March 17, 1877 in Vienna ) was one of the most famous artists of the 19th century.

Life

Klischnigg was a born Englishman, first served as a sailor and as such acquired his astonishing agility. Later he found an engagement in the menagerie van Aken . In 1835 Klischnigg came to Vienna, barely knowing a single German word, and introduced himself to Director Carl , who was then head of the Theater an der Wien , with the request that he “appear as a monkey”. Carl, who was otherwise not exactly picky about the means of attracting the audience, is said to have rejected this offer first with the words "We have enough monkeys in Vienna". Then, it is said, Klischnigg, instead of contradicting the director, lifted one foot and sadly scratched his ear. Carl was so impressed by this action that he allowed the rubber man , as he was later called, to put further samples of his monkey imitation on stage. At that specific hour Klischnigg appeared in the theater and began by jumping out of the backdrop through a window onto the table where the director was seated and curling up like a ball. Then he climbed up a backdrop, fell down and played the dying monkey so true to life that Carl immediately agreed to sign a contract.

Nestroy was commissioned to write a suitable piece for the newly engaged member, while Klischnigg had made various guest appearances in Germany in the meantime. When he returned, was " The Monkey and the groom " ready and experienced a hundred performances. Klischnigg rose to be the darling of the Viennese public, he was invited to all the salons and at court and everyone was delighted with his cute jumps. After the attraction of the first farce had been exhausted, Dolt wrote a second under the title “Monkey and Frog”, which fell in contrast to Nestroy's play because the audience had meanwhile seen enough of the monkey arts.

Klischnigg had made a very significant fortune during his engagement and married Fräulein Peschl, who was engaged with her sister in the choir of the Theater an der Wien. He made many touring tours on which the business flourished. He returned to Vienna repeatedly and repeatedly made good business in the Carltheater and the Theater in der Josefstadt . In the 1850s he embarked on daring speculations, he lost all of his fortune and, as an old man, was again forced to earn bread through his art. He still had some attraction, but for a long time the business was no longer - the public had been spoiled and the simple imitation of the monkey was no longer enough for him. Klischnigg died at the age of 65.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Klischnigg, Eduard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English-Austrian artist
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 1877
Place of death Vienna