over photographs such asFace Farces,a series that
he continues today.
During the seventies, Rainer increasingly explored
aspects of facial expression and body language. In
theFace FarcesandBody Posesseries, Rainer posed
for himself, grimacing, kneeling, lying and seated,
nude and clothed. ‘‘Pilot,’’ 1972 and ‘‘Black Bride’’
(Face Coloration), 1969/1970 are two works of these
series, respectively. Rainer’s fierce technique of over-
painting reflects his anger with the silence of the
image described by Rudi Fuchs in the 1986Ar-
nulf Rainer: Self-Portraitsexhibition catalogue as
‘‘Thephotographishitandlashedortorturedto
give away its secret, an expression not yet known as
part of the culture.’’ The American art critic Donald
Kuspit, in an article titled ‘‘Arnulf Rainer: Self-Ex-
posures,’’ has said, ‘‘Rainer wantsboththe manifest
content communicable by the matter-of-fact photo-
graph, and the latent content communicable by the
libidinous painterly process. And he wants them si-
multaneously—all at once.’’ In works such as ‘‘Angst
(Portrait of the Artist),’’ 1971 and ‘‘The Birth of an
Artist,’’ 1972, Rainer remains himself and does not
try to assume a false identity in contras to photo-
graphers of the 1990s such as Yasumasa Morimura,
Cindy Sherman, or turn-of-the-nineteenth century
artist F. Holland Day.
In 1973, he began a series of paintings, gestural
Handmalerei(Hand Paintings) andFingermalerei
(Finger Paintings), again painted over a black-
and-white photographic background, but done di-
rectly with his hands, fingers, and feet, thereby
linking his work to Body Art. Arnulf continued
his experiments on the body in the cycleFrauenpo-
sen (Women Poses), an example of which isDie
Rothaarige Reiterin, 1977. In the mid-seventies,
Rainer produced over-paintings of photographs
of works by a wide variety of artists including nine-
teenth-century illustrator Gustave Dore ́, old mas-
ters Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, and
Francisco de Goya, and post-impressionist Vincent
van Gogh, known asKunst auf Kunst (Art on Art);
seeVincent van Gogh als Blu ̈mler, 1979. Since 1977,
he has had a preoccupation with themes of death
leading to several series of drawings on photo-
graphs:Totenmasken (Death Masks), Leichenge-
sichter(Corpse Faces), andMumien(Mummies).
After discovering the eighteenth-century Austrian
sculptor Xavier Messerschmidt, Rainer began
using many different techniques to alter images of
the sculptor’s work. An example from theMes-
serschmidtseries is ‘‘Der von Fliegen Gequaelte
(Messerschmidt-Ueberzeichnung),’’ 1975/1976. In
the eighties, Rainer’s interest in spirituality re-
awakened as he returned to a series from the late
sixtiesDie Kreuzen, a number of which included
drawings on photographs of crucifixions. In 1982,
he produced theHiroshimaseries, drawings on 72
photographs of the destroyed city.
Rainer’s work is characterized by a constant
search for new art forms and means of expression,
as he questions the well known and established.
Rainer paints and draws feverishly on his pho-
tographs so that sometimes the originals become
nearly undetectable. In 1994, over two dozen of
Rainer’s paintings were destroyed when someone
broke into his studio in Vienna. This persuaded
him to resign his teaching position the following
year. However, the equally anarchic and provoca-
tive Rainer continues to paint over photographs
such as ‘‘Giottouebermalung,’’ 1998. In this new
series,Schleierbilder(Veil pictures), the paint la-
yers are semi-transparent, allowing the photograph
below to shimmer through as the surfaces below
and above merge.
Rainer taught in Vienna from 1981 to 1995, and
in Stockholm and Berlin after 1981. He has partici-
pated in many solo and group exhibitions in public
and private venues around the world. In 1971, he
was invited to represent Austria in the Sa ̃o Paulo
Biennial. The following year, he participated in
Documenta V in Kassel, West Germany and then
participated in Documentas 6 and 7, 1972–1983
(after having participated in Documenta II in
1959). In 1978, he took part in the 38th Venice
Biennial. Among his most recent exhibitions were
his one-man shows in 1989 at the Solomon
R. Guggenheim in New York as well as the 23rd
Sa ̃o Paulo Biennial in 1996. In the year 2000,
his work was the subject of a major exhibition
in Amsterdam and Vienna celebrating his seven-
tieth birthday.
ChristianGerstheimer
Seealso:Aktionismus, Wiener; Body Art; Export,
Valie; Photography in Germany and AustriaBiography
Born in Baden (near Vienna), Austria, 1929. Studied at the
Villach School of Arts and Crafts, 1947–1949; attended
School of Applied Arts, Vienna, 1949; attended the
Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, 1950. 5th International
Hallmark Award, New York, USA, 1960; Participation
in Documenta 5–7 in Kassel, West Germany, 1972–1983;
Großer O ̈sterreichischer Staatspreis, 1978; Austrian
representative Venice Biennial, 1978. Faculty member at
the Berlin Academy of Art, 1981; Professor at Academy
of Applied Arts, Vienna, 1981–1995; Max Beckmann
prize of Frankfurt, 1981; Bavarian Television producesRAINER, ARNULF