Self-Portrait of a Degenerate Artist
About this artwork
Eight of Kokschka's paintings were included in the exhibition of Degenerate 'Art' organised by the Nazis to pour scorn on modern art. The artist altered the position of his arms in this painting, to make them defiantly crossed, in response his inclusion in the exhibition. The background shows the woods behind the house belonging to his future wife's grandparents, where he had begun the painting. A deer can be seen on the right and a running figure on the left. It has been suggested that both of these elements refer to flight or pursuit and to the artist as a hunted man.
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title:Self-Portrait of a Degenerate Artist
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accession number:GML 285
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materials:Oil on canvas
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date created:1937
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measurements:110.00 x 85.00 cm (framed: 135.30 x 101.40 x 10.00 cm)
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credit line:On loan from a private collection
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copyright:© Fondation Oskar Kokoschka/ DACS 2018.
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photographer:Antonia Reeve
Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka
Kokoschka studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Vienna from 1905 to 1909, where he also worked for the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops). Although his early work was part of the 'art nouveau' movement in Vienna, he soon developed into Austria's leading expressionist painter, specialising in disturbing…