164 CultureShock! Austria
Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980)
Kokoschka’s talent was obvious to his teachers from the
beginning. As a student, his work was so admired that he
ran some of the preparatory classes in his school. His artistic
life thereafter was cause for much verbal abuse by his critics,
although his work was much appreciated by artists such as
Loos, who became one of his dearest friends and supporters.
Kokoschka’s paintings today rank among the masterpieces
of early Expressionist painting. He pushed for a constant
search for inner meaning and, like Freud, for the important
role which nightmare, dream and fantasy played in one’s life.
He was always probing the inner essence of the personalities
he drew.Man of Many Talents
Apart from painting, Kokoschka was a talented writer. He wrote a
children’s poetic fairytale, Die Träumenden Knaben (The Dreaming
Boys), illustrating it with beautiful colour lithographs. He was
also deeply interested in every aspect of book production and
lectured on the subject. His literary achievements included
Sphinx und Stromann and Mörder Hoffnung, two dramas in the
Expressionist style.Contemporary ArtS
Josef Hoffman (1870–1956)
Hoffman was a gifted architect and designer who believed
in the simplification of forms. He is known throughout
Vienna for designing both the interior and exterior of
numerous buildings. Along with Moser, he headed the Wiener
Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop).Koloman Moser (1868–1918)
Moser was the most universal artist of his time. He worked
with all kinds of materials in many different mediums:
painting, graphics, commercial and industrial design, glass
painting, furniture and state and costume design. Moser is
responsible for the transition in Jugendstil art from the use
of flowers to geometric forms as decorative elements.