(b Pöchlarn, Lower Austria, 1 March 1886; d Montreux, 22
Feb 1980).
Austrian painter, printmaker and writer. He revolutionized the art of the
turn of the century, adopting a radical approach to art, which was for him
essential to the human condition and politically engaged. Kokoschka
promoted a new visual effect in painting, related to making visible the
immaterial forces active behind the external appearance of things, in
which the object was a living, moving substance that revealed its inner
essence to the eye. This applied to the portraits as well as to the
townscapes. The art-historical basis for his work lies in the painting
tradition of Austrian late Baroque and especially in the colourfully
expressive visions of Franz Anton Maulbertsch. As was true of many artists
of his generation, Kokoschka’s creative urge was also expressed in
literature and showed a clear inclination towards music and theatre.
