Ernst Fuchs

(* 1930)

Austria – Contemporary Art – Realism, Expressionism – Ernst Fuchs

Vita:

Ernst Fuchs, who was not allowed to attend grammar school due to racist hostility, received private tuition from a young age. He showed particular interest in sculpture and painting. At the age of 15 he began studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. His teachers included Robin Christian Andersen and Albert Paris Gütersloh, they recognized his talent very quickly and encouraged him. Soon afterwards he founded the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism together with his fellow students Wolfgang Hutter, Arik Brauer, Rudolf Hausner and Anton Lehmden. At the age of 20 he moved his main residence to Paris. During this time he made numerous study trips to America, Italy and England. He was also happy about his first exhibitions where he could present his works of art. In 1962 he returned to his hometown Vienna as an internationally known and recognized artist, where he acquired the Villa Wagner in Hütteldorf and made it his domicile. In 1988 his villa was converted into the „Ernst Fuchs Private Museum“. However, the artist still cultivated international artist friendships with Salvadore Dali, Arno Breker Leonor Fini and many other artists. In 1975 Salvadore Dali described a special friendship between the artists with the following words: “We are the golden triangle of art: Breker-Dali Fuchs. You can turn us around as you want, we are always on top ”. Ernst Fuchs received many awards for his work, including the City of Vienna Prize for Fine Arts, the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art and the Golden Decoration of Honor for Services to the State of Vienna.

Work:

Ernst Fuchs‘ early work was mainly characterized by religious and mythological symbolism. During his stay in Paris, among other things, iconographic works were created. His impressive paintings and graphics convinced through perfectionism down to the smallest detail. At the age of around 40 he broadened his artist horizon by not “only” painting more pictures, but also designed sets and costumes for opera and ballet. Among other things, he furnished the operas “Magic Flute”, “Parsival” and the ballet “Josephslegende” by Richar Strauss. In the 90s he increasingly devoted himself to the artistic design of buildings. Its fantastic architecture was particularly noticeable with its strong colors and lavish ornamentation. His late work, in other words his modern art, shows many religious, mystical and astrological motifs to this day. Johann Muschik, on the occasion of the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1969, described his work as follows: “Not only the influence of Gothic, Renaissance painting, Art Nouveau and Expressionism can be seen in his art. Ensor, Blake and Moreau have captivated him, also Babylonian, Assyrian and old Mexican forms. With Fuchs, a phenomenal empathy goes hand in hand with a grab, an impetus, which makes that strange world one of the artist’s own again. This cold fire that burns in the leaves, this consistency in asserting one’s own ideas, this transformation of old myths into something very personal, that is Fuchs. A certain brutality on the one hand, mystical notions of a special closeness on the other, and finally the strange eroticism that the artist cultivates belong to him. „