Karl Hoefner

Karl Borromäus Ludwig Hoefner (born November 2, 1886 in Weitra , † August 19, 1954 in Kleineberharts near Waidhofen an der Thaya ) was an Austrian artist and art teacher.

Life

Karl Hoefner was a painter, draftsman, graphic artist and photographer. He came from a middle-class background and was of Jewish origin. Even in middle school, in the Theresianum and in the Elisabethgymnasium in Vienna, people recognized his artistic talent. After graduating from high school, he first studied law and art history in Vienna. His teachers at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Vienna were Hans Dvorak and Julius von Schlosser. But as early as 1906 he studied at the “General School of Painting” in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and worked in a class with Anton Faistauer, Josef Dobrowsky, Franz Wiegele, Anton Kolig and Egon Schiele. In 1909/10 he interrupted his studies for military service and was trained as a lieutenant. During this time he decided not to become a full-time artist, but completed the teaching examination for freehand drawing in 1912. He spent his assistant years in Baden, Stockerau and finally in Waidhofen an der Thaya. From 1914 to 1918 Hoefner took part in the war as a first lieutenant on the eastern and southern fronts. After the collapse of the monarchy, he attended Ferdinand Schmutzer's “Graphic School” at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. By marrying Marianne Müllner from Waidhofen in 1922, he stayed in Waidhofen an der Thaya and became a secondary school teacher. In 1938 he was suspended from duty, but was able to teach as a drawing teacher again in 1945/46. In 1952 he had to retire for health reasons and died in 1954 in the Waldviertel.

Works

In addition to his teaching activities, Karl Hoefner left behind a large work, most of which is privately owned. In addition to painting and drawing, he was also known for his etchings and photographs. At the Academy of Fine Arts, his teachers were initially Christian Griepenkerl, Julius Schmid and Rudolf Bacher. He was a member of the Albrecht Dürer Association and the Association of Austrian Visual Artists and a. in the Künstlerhaus, in the Salon Gustav Pisko and in the Secession. Since the twenties he devoted himself increasingly to etching and since the thirties also to photography. Study visits with Adolf Hölzel in Stuttgart and with Hans von Hayek in Dachau supplemented and expanded his academic training. His contact with Otto Ubbelohde then also made his graphic talent more precise. Karl Hoefner was always open to the various currents and artistic directions in Vienna and Austria. Different influences can therefore be found in his work, with the basic academic training originating from historicism as well as Art Nouveau, Secessionism, Expressionism and finally mood impressionism. He used all of this mostly in parallel and not chronologically, and it was only after the First World War that his own personal sense of style emerged, which was dominated by plein-air painting and mood impressionism. His withdrawn life in Waidhofen an der Thaya prevented him from public recognition and his work ban during the Nazi dictatorship prevented all exhibition participation. In this respect, Karl Hoefner is a typical representative of the social conditions in Austria in the first half of the twentieth century and, thanks to his artistic work, particularly from the twenties and thirties, is of national importance.

literature

• Memorial exhibition Karl Hoefner 1886-1954, Waidhofen an der Thaya 1983 (= Waidhofner Museumschrift 5).
• Mathias F. Müller, Karl Hoefner. The early graphic work, Waidhofen an der Thaya 2001 ( ISBN 3-902162-02-3 ).
• Mathias F. Müller, New material on the graphic and painterly work of Karl Hoefner, in: Our home (journal for regional studies of Lower Austria) 82/2 (2011) pp 112–128 ( ISSN  1017-2696 ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Death register of the registry office Waidhofen an der Thaya No. 144/1954.