Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) was an artist of his time, but he also stood out among his peers - not just because of his towering
physical height but for his artistic range: he wrote plays and stories as well as essays on art and politics. Using both brush and pen to
work against the tide, he played a major role in shaping European art in the twentieth century. A rebel of the art world, he was used
to controversy, and Ru diger Goerner's accomplished biography weaves the dark, unsettling aspects of Kokoschka's life among
his more celebrated achievements: from the eerie doll he had made in the image of a former lover to the unconventional art
school he founded in the aftermath of war. Taking us from his birthplace of Poechlarn across Europe and to the United Kingdom,
where he became a naturalised British citizen in 1947, this first English-language biography does more than show Kokoschka
as a maverick artist; it is the definitive interpretation of an extraordinary life.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
[A] rich literary study of a major cultural figure.
Art History
Rudiger Goerner is a thorough expert in all things Kokoschka, and his work is entertaining as it is knowledgeable.
New Art Examiner
This is a revelatory new biography of Oskar Kokoschka. Rudiger Goerner tells the story of the life and loves of this unique Central European painter and man of letters as he interacted with writers, musicians and artists in is milieu as well as many important political leaders. Arguably full of inner contradictions, Kokoschka remains a hugely significant figure whose relevance is undiminished indeed for these times.
Norman Rosenthal
An unconventional but long-awaited approach to Kokoschka's rich oeuvre. Rudiger Goerner sets Kokoschka's singular character against a social, literary and political background in a century of European turmoil, shedding light on how contemporaries such as Thomas Mann and Karl Kraus viewed his work. This new biography is a holistic reflection on Kokoschka as a person, with his paintings and writings, his enemies and lovers, his agonies and hopes.
Catherine Hug, curator of Kunsthaus Zurich
Ru diger Goerner does not separate the artist from his life. Kokoschka was driven, always trying to cross boundaries, be they moral, political or social. The veracity of his art was the result of these frictions never being hidden. Goerner works along the same principles, creating a convincing book and presenting the entire Kokoschka, perhaps for the first time, and leaves the reader with an unforgettable impression.
Johann Konrad Eberlein, former director of the Institute of Art History at University of Graz
Goerner unearths a plentitude of unexpected and enlightening discoveries about Kokoschka's life
Timothy Benson, curator of Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 196 mm
Breite: 128 mm
Dicke: 37 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-914979-14-9 (9781914979149)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Rudiger Goerner was Professor of German with Comparative Literature at Queen Mary, University of London. The Founding Director of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations, his books include biographies of Rainer Maria Rilke, Georg Trakl and Stefan Zweig. He has been the recipient the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
