Josef Dobrowsky

(1889-1964)

Austria – Art of the Interwar Period – Expressionism – Josef Dobrowsky

Vita:

1906 Josef Dobrowsky began his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. After successfully completing his studies, he became a member of the Vienna Secession and began his promising career as a freelance artist. Numerous study trips to Germany, Italy and France shaped his style. He showed particular interest in French painting. Under the influence of Cezanne, he found his own style. Josef Dobrowsky was accepted into the circle of the Prague Secession in the 1930s and had the chance to take part twice in the Venice Biennale. His works are attracting more and more attention and thus he can look forward to numerous awards, including the Austrian State Prize. From 1946 to 1963 he worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and enjoyed a very good reputation. Alongside Herbert Boeckl, he was one of the most influential professors of the visual arts of the inter-war period and post-war modernism.

Work:

The artist, Josef Dobrowsky, is regarded as one of the most important Austrian artists of the interwar period. His works range from landscapes and portraits to watercolors. Dobrowsky’s masterful genius can be seen as a guide to the development of modern painting in Austria and has met with increased interest in recent years. His early work is characterized by the warm, dark, earthy colors of his pictures, which enabled him to lend a melancholy mood to his work of landscapes with the use of color and light contrasts. Dobrowsky’s later style becomes more expressive due to the use of lighter and bright colors. This time was formative for his portraits and still lifes.