NARRATOR:
Oskar Kokoschka painted Frau Reuther around 1921, when he was a teacher at the Dresden academy. She was the mother-in-law of the noted German photographer Hugo Erfurth, who had taken pictures of the young artist the year before. Painted with vigorous brushstrokes, Kokoschka uses color to convey her personality. Notice the unusual use of light blue for her eyes and eyebrows, and even a dab in her hair. Her gaze drifts off into the distance, while the light tones of her face contrast the somber blouse with lush variations of blue, green and purple.
Kokoschka’s portraits sought to expose the sitter’s deepest feelings and sensibilities. Here, turbulent colors and nervous brushstrokes reflect the art of Expressionism, a European movement that stressed the objective depiction of inner experience.
Born and raised in Vienna, he studied painting there, and was soon caught up in the many avant-garde styles of the early 20th century. Wounded in World War I, he worked little for several years. In 1920, he became a professor at the Dresden Academy; and soon after established a reputation as one of the leading expressionist painters. Branded a “degenerate” artist in 1937, he left Germany, eventually settling in Switzerland.
Portrait of Frau Reuther
c. 1921
Oskar Kokoschka (Austrian, 1886-1980)
Not on View
Oskar Kokoschka is often associated with the German Expressionists, yet he adamantly refused to partake in any of the well-known groups that defined the movement. Working outside of such formal organizations as Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter, the Austrian painter nevertheless held similar tenets, producing powerfully expressive pictures with vigorous paint handling that conveys the inner sensibilities of both artist and sitter. This portrait depicts the mother-in-law of a close friend, photographer Hugo Erfurth. With evident blindness in her left eye and a partially hidden right hand, possibly suggesting the claw-like rigidity of arthritis, the elderly woman sits proudly, with the hint of a smile on her face. By employing a palette knife rather than a paintbrush, Kokoschka built up his composition in a thick array of greens, blues, and violets that add physical and psychological depth to this sympathetic portrait.
Details
- Artist Name: Oskar Kokoschka (Austrian, 1886-1980)
- Title: Portrait of Frau Reuther
- Date: c. 1921
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 37-1/2 x 26-1/8 in. (95.3 x 66.4 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1967.4.P
- Copyright: © 2017 Fondation Oskar Kokoschka / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ProLitteris, Zurich Reproduction, including downloading of ARS works is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object Information
Hugo Erfurth (1874-1948), Dresden, who probably commissioned the work, and still had it in 1927.
[Rudolf Probst (still alive in 1952), Dresden, later Mannheim].
Private Collection, Minneapolis, in 1956 (probably David Daniels, see below);
David Daniels, New York (1927-2002), by 1956-still in 1962.
[Jane Wade, Ltd., New York, sold 1967 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
[Rudolf Probst (still alive in 1952), Dresden, later Mannheim].
Private Collection, Minneapolis, in 1956 (probably David Daniels, see below);
David Daniels, New York (1927-2002), by 1956-still in 1962.
[Jane Wade, Ltd., New York, sold 1967 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Oskar Kokoschka
- The Hague, Gemeentemuseum, 1958-07-31 to 1958-10-01
- Wingler, Hans Maria, Oskar Kokoschka: The Work of the Painter,no. 141 p. 309
- Brommer, Gerald F., Discovering Art History, p. 399
- Winkler, Johann and Katharina Erling, Oskar Kokoschka: Die Gemälde,no. 155 p. 93
- Biedermann, Heike, Kokoschka und Dresden, pp. 81-82
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 182
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 402 p. 293
- Wingler, Hans Maria, Oskar Kokoschka: Das Werk des Malers,no. 141 p. 309
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