Alfred Hrdlicka* (Vienna 1928 - 2009 Vienna)
Alfred Hrdlicka* (Vienna 1928 - 2009 Vienna)
Othello very Brutally, 1971
linocut/paper 64,8 x 50 cm
signed Hrdlicka, dated 1971
numbered 41/69
SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE °€ 150 - 300
STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE °€ 150
Alfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, painter, draftsman, printmaker, chess player, and writer. The Munich-based jazz musician Franz "Litschie" Hrdli?ka is a cousin of his. Powerlessness—whether in history or the present, or in the contexts of war, violence, and fascism—was a recurring theme in his artistic work; rather than following the prevailing trend toward abstraction, he consistently developed his own figurative-expressionist style, which remained fundamentally committed to realism. Hrdlicka studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef Dobrowsky before switching to sculpture under Fritz Wotruba, thereby placing himself at the heart of post-war Viennese sculpture and the city's stonemasonry tradition. From 1955 onwards, Hrdlicka ran a lithography workshop in Vienna alongside Georg Eisler, Fritz Martinz, and Rudolf Schönwald; in 1960, he held his first exhibition—titled "Sculpture, Painting, and Graphic Art"—at the Zedlitzhalle in Vienna with Martinz. He achieved international renown in 1964 when he represented Austria at the 32nd Venice Biennale alongside Herbert Boeckl. In 1967, he created a bust of Federal President Karl Renner for the City of Vienna; its installation was met with fierce protests from the "League Against Degenerate Art"—an early example of his politically charged sculpture. Hrdlicka held professorships at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, the University of the Arts Berlin, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna; his work sits within the context of figurative and expressive sculpture alongside artists such as Joannis Avramidis and Bruno Gironcoli, while connections to Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, and Käthe Kollwitz are evident within the broader, politically charged artistic landscape. As a graphic artist, Hrdlicka first attracted attention in the mid-1960s with his etching cycle "Roll over Mondrian," in which he engaged formally with Piet Mondrian and explored the relationship between figurative expression and Constructivist modernism. In Berlin, he created the "Plötzensee Dance of Death" for the memorial to victims of National Socialism; in Wuppertal, the sculpture of Friedrich Engels ("The Strong Left"); and he regarded the Monument against War and Fascism—unveiled at Albertinaplatz in Vienna—as his most important work. These pieces represent key contributions to the culture of anti-fascist memorials and to post-war political sculpture. Hrdlicka was friends with the German socialist Oskar Lafontaine; together with Peter Turrini and Manfred Deix, he created a monumental horse—several meters high—during the 1986 Waldheim affair, a work that also serves as a piece of political art and monumental sculpture.
PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.
Alfred Hrdlicka* (Vienna 1928 - 2009 Vienna)
Othello very Brutally, 1971
linocut/paper 64,8 x 50 cm
signed Hrdlicka, dated 1971
numbered 41/69
SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE °€ 150 - 300
STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE °€ 150
Alfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, painter, draftsman, printmaker, chess player, and writer. The Munich-based jazz musician Franz "Litschie" Hrdli?ka is a cousin of his. Powerlessness—whether in history or the present, or in the contexts of war, violence, and fascism—was a recurring theme in his artistic work; rather than following the prevailing trend toward abstraction, he consistently developed his own figurative-expressionist style, which remained fundamentally committed to realism. Hrdlicka studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef Dobrowsky before switching to sculpture under Fritz Wotruba, thereby placing himself at the heart of post-war Viennese sculpture and the city's stonemasonry tradition. From 1955 onwards, Hrdlicka ran a lithography workshop in Vienna alongside Georg Eisler, Fritz Martinz, and Rudolf Schönwald; in 1960, he held his first exhibition—titled "Sculpture, Painting, and Graphic Art"—at the Zedlitzhalle in Vienna with Martinz. He achieved international renown in 1964 when he represented Austria at the 32nd Venice Biennale alongside Herbert Boeckl. In 1967, he created a bust of Federal President Karl Renner for the City of Vienna; its installation was met with fierce protests from the "League Against Degenerate Art"—an early example of his politically charged sculpture. Hrdlicka held professorships at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, the University of the Arts Berlin, and the University of Applied Arts Vienna; his work sits within the context of figurative and expressive sculpture alongside artists such as Joannis Avramidis and Bruno Gironcoli, while connections to Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, and Käthe Kollwitz are evident within the broader, politically charged artistic landscape. As a graphic artist, Hrdlicka first attracted attention in the mid-1960s with his etching cycle "Roll over Mondrian," in which he engaged formally with Piet Mondrian and explored the relationship between figurative expression and Constructivist modernism. In Berlin, he created the "Plötzensee Dance of Death" for the memorial to victims of National Socialism; in Wuppertal, the sculpture of Friedrich Engels ("The Strong Left"); and he regarded the Monument against War and Fascism—unveiled at Albertinaplatz in Vienna—as his most important work. These pieces represent key contributions to the culture of anti-fascist memorials and to post-war political sculpture. Hrdlicka was friends with the German socialist Oskar Lafontaine; together with Peter Turrini and Manfred Deix, he created a monumental horse—several meters high—during the 1986 Waldheim affair, a work that also serves as a piece of political art and monumental sculpture.
PLEASE NOTE:
The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.
