Franz Elsner (painter)

Franz Elsner (born July 31, 1898 in Vienna ; † July 19, 1978 there ) was an Austrian painter .

Life

Franz Elsner, born on July 31, 1898 in Vienna , began his artistic training with an apprenticeship as a lithographer (1912–1916). After the First World War he made the acquaintance of the painter Robin Christian Andersen , who was already famous at the time, in the course of a painting course for soldiers . In 1919 Elsner successfully passed the entrance examination to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna , but nevertheless chose Andersen's private painting school. In 1921 Elsner became a member of the “Sonderbund” artists' association and met many well-known Austrian painters of his time, such as Anton Faistauer , Anton Kolig and Franz Wiegele. In the same year Elsner's first exhibition took place as part of the art show in the Vienna Künstlerhaus . In 1923, Franz Elsner was Anton Faistauer's assistant in designing the parish church of Morzg near Salzburg . In 1926 he assisted Robin Christian Andersen in the production of painted tapestries for the Salzburg Festival Hall . On June 18, 1925, Elsner married the painter Lily Kollberg, whom he had met while training at Andersen. Son Michael was born in 1931. Franz Elsner also became a member of the Vienna Secession in 1931 . In 1934 he successfully participated in the Venice Biennale . One of his paintings, the landscape painting "Dürnstein", was bought by the Italian state. From 1938 to 1945 Franz Elsner was banned from working under the National Socialist regime. He was accused of living in a so-called "mixed marriage" because his wife Lily Elsner (née Kollberg) was of Jewish origin. In 1940 he was drafted into the military, but two years later he was dismissed for "political unreliability". After the Second World War , Franz Elsner took on a master class for painting at the Vienna Academy in 1946 , and in 1951 he was appointed adjunct professor. Well-known students are Diana Chesham, Peter Dotrel and Viktor Lederer . In 1959 Elsner became a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus . Shortly before his 80th birthday, Franz Elsner died on July 19, 1978 in Vienna .

plant

Sgraffito supply of the city (1953), Hohlweggasse 6, Vienna

Wall mosaic fish, buoy, birds (1955), Otto Gratzl-Hof, Vienna

Franz Elsner's early work at the beginning of the 1920s is characterized by the examination of the work of his teacher Robin Christian Andersen . But also the famous Anton Faistauer , close friend and brother-in-law of Andersen, inspired the young Elsner. The collaboration on Anton Faistauer's ceiling paintings in the parish church of Morzg (1923) and on Robin Christian Andersen's tapestries painted for the Salzburg Festival Theater (1926) gave Elsner the opportunity to deal intensively with the painting style of the two renowned artists. In the early works - mostly still lifes, landscapes and portraits - there are graphic-fragmentary contour lines, a dynamic application of paint and an increased light dramaturgy. The three genres of still life , landscape and portrait should determine Elsner's entire artistic work. Animal painting was added in the 1950s . Elsner's still lifes are characterized by a lively brushstroke, graphic contour lines, a simplification of the objects depicted, strong shadows and atmospheric backgrounds. The preoccupation with the art of Paul Cézanne , who influenced many Austrian painters of the time, is clearly palpable. The same applies to portrait painting. Here the drama of light and dark is increased again. In his landscape pictures , which mostly show Austrian or southern views, Elsner tries for a fleeting moment to capture a certain lighting mood. Even after the Second World War , Elsner remained true to his preferred picture genres and painting style, which gave his work a strong homogeneity and high recognition value.

Awards

• 1929 Honorary Prize of the Julius Reich Artist Foundation, awarded by the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
• 1931 Prize of the Eckart Association
• 1931, 1933, 1935 and 1936 Austrian State Prize
• 1937 Honorary Prize of the Julius Reich Artist Foundation, awarded by the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
• 1959 Bronze artist nobility, Künstlerhaus Vienna
• 1968 Golden Laurel of the Künstlerhaus Vienna and its honorary membership
• 1973 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st class

literature

• Chambas-Wolf, Veronika / Sporschill, Anna Maria: Franz Elsner. 1898–1978 , Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-85493-158-4 .
• Heinrich Fuchs: The Austrian painters born in 1881–1900. Volume 1, Vienna 1976.
• Robert Teichl: Austrians of the present. Lexicon of creative contemporaries , Vienna 1951.
• Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of the visual artists of the 20th century. Volume 2, Munich, 1999, ISBN 3-363-00730-2 .

Web links

Commons : Franz Elsner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files