ERWIN STOLZ* (Kyselka 1896 - 1987 Vienna)

ERWIN STOLZ*
(Kyselka 1896 - 1987 ...

ERWIN STOLZ*
(Kyselka 1896 - 1987 Vienna)
Young man at Pond
indian ink/paper, 25,5 x 19,4 cm
Provenance: estate of the artist, private property Vienna

ESTIMATE °€ 800 - 1.500

Austrian painter and graphic artist of the 20th century. Started painting after World War I as a self-taught sign painter and industrial graphic artist. Maintained contacts with Gustav Kurt Beck, Erich Mallina, George Kenner, Alexander Rothaug and the artists of the Hagenbund. He was friends with Josef Matthiaus Hauser from the circle of Arnold Schönberg. Stylistically to be assigned to Art Nouveau and Symbolism, interest in mysticism, mythology and theosophy. Clear influences of Max Klinger and Gustav Klimt. Created mystical scenes and fairy-tale motifs, depictions of man and nature in harmony, male nudes bathing.

The present pen and ink drawings are particularly impressive and effective, in which Stolz completely discarded the coloring in favor of a radical black-and-white aesthetic. The leaves are characterized by their ornamental-decorative appeal and their mystical-symbolic depth. The thought arises that the artist was inspired by material from the world of legends or mythology in the design of this group of works with an apparently narrative character, which deals with an archer conceived as a naked youth and a swan in a dreamlike, strange Arcadian landscape.