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
[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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