Günther Baszel

Günther Baszel von Szászkabánya (born May 8, 1902 in Kaschau , Hungary, today Slovakia, † February 5, 1973 in Vienna ) was an Austrian painter , sculptor , medalist and craftsman .

Life

Sgraffito on the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Redeemer in Vienna

Günther Baszel was born in Košice into a German-Hungarian family. His grandfather Aurel Emil Bászel was a classical philologist and university professor. His father Aurel Baszel (1870–1956) was an officer and general of the Imperial and Royal Army during World War I and was raised to hereditary nobility shortly before the end of the war, which is why Günther was briefly Günther von Baszel. Günther Baszel came to Vienna at the age of nine and from 1913 to 1921 attended the Elisabeth Gymnasium, now Rainer Gymnasium, in the 5th district of Vienna. From 1921 to 1925 he studied art history and German at the University of Vienna . From 1922 to 1930 he also studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Karl Sterrer .

In 1925 Günther Baszel became an artistic assistant at the Austrian Institute for Image Statistics . He designed several exhibitions in Vienna, 1935 the hygiene exhibition , 1927 Vienna and the Viennese and 1928 wife and child . In 1937 Günther Baszel took part in the World Exhibition in Paris and was honored there.

In 1942 he became a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus . After the Second World War he was head of the Institute for Image Statistics from 1945 to 1946. In 1946 he designed the anti-fascist exhibition in Vienna. Since 1948 he worked as a freelance artist and taught at the Academy of Applied Arts Vienna , where he became associate professor in 1965 and full professor in 1970 and retired in 1972. In 1956 he was responsible for the urban development exhibition.

His grave is in the Matzleinsdorfer Evangelical Cemetery (Group 2, No. 107)

Awards

• 1937 Grand Prix: gold medal and silver medal at the Paris World Exhibition
• 1953 Honorary Prize of the City of Vienna
• 1961 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st class
• 1968 Stephanus Medal of the Archdiocese of Vienna
• 1972 Golden Laurel and honorary membership of the Vienna Künstlerhaus

Works

Silver coin Austria 50 Schilling 1970 for the 100th birthday of Federal President Karl Renner

Günther Baszel was artistically active in Vienna in a variety of ways. He represented a very moderate modernism. His works can be found in the Austrian Gallery Belvedere , the Albertina , the Vienna Museum and the Lower Austrian State Museum in St. Pölten .

• Mosaics and sgraffiti on residential buildings in Vienna (e.g. Alszeile / Vollbadgasse; Wielandplatz etc.)
• Relief by Robert Reininger (University of Vienna)
• Glass window in the prayer room of Regional Court II
• War memorial stone in the Lutheran town church
• Stained glass window in the Christ Church at the Matzleinsdorf Evangelical Cemetery , Vienna-Favoriten, 1968–71
• Stained glass window of the Evangelical Parish Church in Gloggnitz (1968)

Publications

• with cathedral vicar Rudolf Bachleitner (ed.): The St. Stephen's Cathedral . History. Monuments. Reconstruction. Catalog of the exhibition in the Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna) , Vienna 1948.
• The Viennese: 1750-1910 from the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna. 1910-today from the Künstlerhaus. Exhibition October 1949 - January 1950, With the text by Ann Tizia Leitich : The Viennese woman and her world. , Wiener Künstlerhaus, Vienna 1949.
• Anton Faistauer . Memorial exhibition. Catalog of the exhibition in the Wiener Künstlerhaus, Vienna 1953.
• Spring exhibition 1954 with young guests and collections from Albert Janesch , Karl Maria May , Alfons Riedel , Robert Streit , Anton Velim , Hans Wulz . Catalog, Wiener Künstlerhaus, Vienna 1954.
• Exhibition Das Wiener Bühnenbild. Wiener Festwochen 1954, Wiener Künstlerhaus, Vienna 1954.
• Spring exhibition 1955 in the Künstlerhaus. With special exhibition The Development of the European Coin and Medal. Wiener Künstlerhaus, Vienna 1954.

literature

• Felix Czeike (Ed.): Baszel Günther v. Szászkabánya. In:  Historisches Lexikon Wien . Volume 1, Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-218-00543-4 , pp. 269-270 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Günther Baszel  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Günther Baszel in the catalog of the German National Library