gerhart frankl - restless

Masterpieces in Focus
GERHART FRANKL - RESTLESS
Upper Belvedere
18 November 2015 to 3 April 2016
Gerhart Frankl
Bergphantasie (Fantastic depiction) IX – Dolomites, 1963
Pastel and gouache on paper
40.4 x 54.3 cm
© Belvedere, Vienna – Bequest of Peter Parzer, Vienna
Masterpieces in Focus
GERHART FRANKL - RESTLESS
The Belvedere is devoting the thirteenth Masterpieces in Focus exhibition to the
Viennese artist Gerhart Frankl (1901–1965), who, like his idol Paul Cézanne, sought to
create something of lasting significance. In 1925 Frankl wrote to his future wife: “I don’t
want to be a ‘famous’ man. […] But I do want to be a truly great person. Totally and
utterly responsible. That is essential. […] I don’t want to be a firework, but at every
moment to have a clear conscience.” Although largely self-taught – only studying with
Anton Kolig in Nötsch during the summers from 1920 to 1922 – he produced a
tremendously varied and fascinating oeuvre, with many shifts in style and subject matter.
His immaterial representations of the Alps from his late career are some of the highlights
in his art. From 18 November 2015 to 3 April 2016 the exhibition Gerhart Frankl Restless at the Upper Belvedere will focus on the evolution of his landscapes that
culminated in his form-dissolving Mountain Fantasies. The show also explores the artist’s
close ties with the Belvedere. On returning from exile in London, Frankl and his wife lived
in the Lower Belvedere from 1947 and he also worked in the museum’s conservation
studios. The artist’s exploration of the Baroque setting surrounding the two palaces and
the view over Vienna found expression in a series he created between 1947 and 1949.
“The special occasion behind this exhibition is the gift of a large group of ninety-two works by
Gerhart Frankl from the Peter Parzer collection to the Belvedere. This bequest from 2012 is the
greatest addition to the collection in the history of the Second Republic to date, especially as
the two oil paintings by Gustav Klimt Sunflower (1907) and Family (1909/10) are an invaluable
enrichment to the Belvedere’s holdings,” Director of the Belvedere and 21er Haus
Agnes Husslein-Arco expresses her gratitude to the Viennese art dealer who died in 2010.
Even as a student Peter Parzer was interested in the work of Gerhart Frankl, an artist who
never opted for the path of least resistance and was his own harshest critic. In addition to
Cézanne, Old Masters such as Titian and Rubens all loomed large in Frankl’s art. Yet his work
also contains Expressionist and Cubist elements and both abstract and naturalistic studies.
Approximately two-thirds of his oeuvre comprises works on paper, one of Frankl’s favourite
mediums that provided him with a platform for free expression. Frankl developed his own
mixed media of pastels, gouache and sometimes charcoal to capture his personal experiences
in the mountains. “The essentially unrepresentable nature of the Alps’ monumentality, mass,
sublimity, and vastness as well as the light in the mountains, which tested the limits of painting,
were resolved by Frankl through dispensing with the representational to create imagery that
dissolved form and was non-figurative, almost transcendental,” is how curator Kerstin Jesse
describes Frankl’s striking depictions of the mountains.
Landscapes and views of the Alps appear in Frankl’s early work and form an almost consistent
thread through his oeuvre. With their distance from daily life, detachment from space and
time, and sense of freedom, the mountains were a magical paradise in the artist’s eyes. A
passionate motorcyclist and alpinist, he toured the Dolomites on his BMW with his future wife
Christine Büringer, who was the niece of the painter Sebastian Isepp from the Nötsch Circle.
From 1949, they would set out from London on a Triumph Contessa. This sense of freedom on
two wheels, zooming along winding Alpine roads surrounded by magnificent and sublime
nature shines through especially in his late images of mountains.
Frankl and the Belvedere – An interlude in Vienna
The couple were forced to flee to London in July 1938 because of Gerhart Frankl’s Jewish
roots. After nine years of deprivation and uncertainty, they returned to Vienna in 1947. This
was by no means easy, as Frankl was tormented by the loss of his parents. “You will
understand that I still cannot say anything about the horrors that occurred that I was unable to
prevent,” he wrote in January 1946 to the art historian Fritz Novotny (provisional director of the
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere from 1945 to 1947).
On returning to Vienna, they first had to stay with their friend Charles W. Baty as their own
apartment had been unlawfully rented out. This was followed by weeks and months of traipsing
from one official to the next and all the bureaucratic bullying this entailed as well as viewing a
succession of apartments they ultimately could not afford to rent. Finally Fritz Novotny and
Karl Garzarolli-Thurnlackh, Director of the Österreichische Galerie from 1947 to 1959,
intervened and found accommodation for the Frankls in the Lower Belvedere for one year. The
Belvedere therefore came to assume great significance for the artist – both in terms of his new
job as conservator at the Österreichische Galerie and also as a major source of inspiration in
his art. Frankl was determined to become reestablished in Vienna again and rekindled his
social network both in his professional and personal life. He held lectures, applied for the post
of professor at the academy, became a member of the advisory or exchange commission at
the Österreichische Galerie and acted as artistic director of the Fourth International Summer
Seminar of the Austrian College Society in Alpbach in 1948. In spite of his busy schedule and
all the bureaucratic hurdles to contend with, Frankl was very prolific during these sixteen
months in Vienna. His Belvedere series in particular stands out on account of its diversity in
form and style. This Baroque setting fired Frankl’s imagination and inspired an intensive
creative process. The series comprises six canvases and over forty studies, drawings, and
watercolours with prominent emphasis given to the view over Vienna and sculptural subjects.
In this series Frankl also made an intensive study of the cubist and constructivist elements
culminating in his painting Vienna III.
Gerhart Frankl’s position within the spectrum of modernism
Positioning Gerhart Frankl’s oeuvre, so varied in both style and subject matter, within the
history of modernism raises questions that lead beyond traditional art categories and painter
roles. Both an artist and an art historian, Frankl was impressed neither by the art worlds in
Austria and Britain nor the artists who conformed to the mainstream. For him, authenticity and
permanence were paramount.
From today’s perspective, Frankl’s work was pioneering in many disciplines. Although in his
own art he did not fall in line with modern trends, he analysed them and aspired to combine
tradition and modernism in his work. He made an intensive study of art theory, gave lectures
at the universities of Vienna, London and Cambridge, and at adult education centres. Based on
the wide scope of his artistic, technical, psychological and cultural-historical studies, and his
“belated” interest in the Old Masters, he questioned the current avant-garde ideal of returning
art to the praxis of life. This ideal had evolved since 1900 as a reaction to the alienation and
specialization brought about by the industrial age. Exploring what painting could and should
achieve in the modern world was one of the main issues for Frankl. With its conservative art
market, few painters of his generation had dared to grapple with this fundamental question in
Austria. Frankl became a respected artist with his work occupying a space somewhere
between the Nötsch painters, Oskar Kokoschka, Herbert Boeckl, Fauvism and an independent
response to Cézanne. Instrumental in answering his question were his war experiences,
frequent travels, and a close circle of friends including the art historians Klaus Demus, Fritz
Novotny, Kenneth Clark, and Ernst Gombrich.
Frankl never aimed to use his painting to promote a certain categorical way of thinking, or to
create a religious sphere, as can be found in the work of Max Weiler. Frankl belonged to a
positivist, sceptical generation. He represented the elements that move the viewer in a pared
down and natural way. “He did not dream of a better person but by means of a highly developed
style of painting conveyed what the existing person can see,” stated the art theorist Matthias
Boeckl. He tackled the subject of the Holocaust and its unrepresentable horrors in a similar
way. Frankl, whose parents died in concentration camps, again chose a non-speculative
translation using genuinely artistic means. It is only in hindsight, with today’s knowledge, that
we can understand this essentially modern method with all its origins and effects and give
these achievements due recognition.
By presenting Gerhart Frankl’s accomplishments as a painter, art historian, and theorist in the
show and in the catalogue essay by Brigitte Borchhardt-Birbaumer, this exhibition represents a
long-overdue tribute to this artist.
Gerhart Frankl Memorial Trust, London
In October 2015, the Gerhart Frankl Memorial Trust (with Julian Sofaer as trustee) was
dissolved in keeping with the wishes and will of Christine Frankl. The works on paper were
given to the Albertina and the paintings to the Belvedere. The Belvedere greatly appreciates
this outstanding acquisition and now holds the largest collection of canvases by the artist as a
result. Although during his lifetime Gerhart Frankl was deprived of resettling in his home city
Vienna after the war, he is now returning in the form of his oeuvre.
Masterpieces in Focus
The Belvedere has been staging the exhibition series Masterpieces in Focus since 2009, in
keeping with the main tasks and strengths of a museum (the collection and its preservation,
presentation, expansion, and communication). Twice a year this series showcases special
aspects of Austrian art, spotlighting a particular topic, an artist or key masterpieces in the
collection. Integrated but also highlighted within the permanent displays at the Upper
Belvedere, the presentations concentrate on the significance of selected works in the context
of the collection and in relation to the art and culture of their times. The series of books
published in conjunction with these exhibitions use interdisciplinary analyses and the latest
research to present the artworks from unusual perspectives.
Exhibitions held within the series Masterpieces in Focus are made possible through the
generous support of the Dorotheum.
A PDF of the catalogue is available for download at:
www.belvedere.at/press (login: pr2015)
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Gerhart Frankl
1901
Gerhart Frankl is born on 12 May, the son of the lawyer (Hof- und Gerichtsadvokat) Emil Frankl
and Else Frankl, née Kohn, in Vienna.
1919
Matura (school-leaving certificate) with distinction from the Schottengymnasium in Vienna. In
1919/20 Frankl studies Technical Chemistry at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna and
attends courses in drawing in the evenings. First surviving portrait studies of Else Frankl.
1920
Anton Kolig discovers Frankl’s talent when he draws him taking a midday nap at Emil Frankl’s
house. Frankl spends the summer months from 1920 to 1922 in Nötsch with Kolig, who is
delighted to have “such a talented student”.
1921
Frankl is expelled from Vienna’s School of Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule) on 3 February.
He wants to learn to paint from scratch and independently starts to study art history’s
masterpieces in Vienna’s museums. He meets the bank employee Christine Katharina Büringer
(1897–1985), daughter of Franz Büringer (builder) and Christina Isepp (sister of Sebastian
Isepp, painter and conservator). Frankl paints his first still lifes.
1922
Frankl’s last summer with Kolig in Nötsch where the two artists clash and have frequent
differences in opinion. This is followed by an intensive study of the Old Masters.
1923
In June the Österreichische Galerie writes Frankl letters of recommendation for the German,
French and Belgian authorities. It is likely that Frankl needed the letter for his stay in Tunisia,
where by his own account he joined the Foreign Legion.
1924
In August, Gerhart and Christine travel to the Falzarego Pass in the Dolomites in South Tyrol. In
ensuing years the couple keep returning to the mountains of this region.
Trips to France and Germany. Frankl visits the Louvre and the collection of Auguste Pellerin
(1853–1929) with its many works by Cézanne. In Frankfurt he meets Max Beckmann, “a
surprisingly likeable person”. In this year Frankl also joins the Austrian artist group Bund
österreichischer Künstler (Kunstschau) and starts contributing to their exhibitions.
1927
Frankl explores etching as a medium, focusing his attention on prints until 1931.
1928
The Österreichische Galerie acquires the painting Still Life with Clay Pipe for 750 Schilling.
Gerhart Frankl’s first solo exhibition is held from January to February at Galerie Caspari in
Munich.
1929
Frankl’s first sculptural works; he is inspired by his friend Béni Ferenczy (1890–1967).
1930
The first monograph about Frankl is published in conjunction with the exhibition at the Neue
Galerie Vienna. The author is Hans Tietze who had followed Frankl’s artistic career from the
start.
1934–1936
In autumn/winter 1934 Frankl probably meets one of his most important supporters and
friends Fritz Novotny. He marries Christine Büringer on 16 April 1936 in Vienna’s Votivkirche.
The art historian Johannes (János) Wilde and Sebastian Isepp are the witnesses.
1938
The annexation of Austria and subsequent persecution of the Jews present a mounting threat
to Frankl. Gerhart and Christine burn the letters written by his mother, who is in close contact
with people from the anti-fascist camp. The couple know they have to leave Austria without
delay. Sadly, Frankl’s parents cannot be persuaded to emigrate with them. Gerhart and
Christine go into exile in London; they are registered as leaving Vienna on 28 July.
1939
In Britain Gerhart Frankl is allowed to continue with his art but cannot take a job unless
authorized by the Secretary of State.
1942–1944
Frankl’s parents are deported to Theresienstadt on 20 August 1942. Emil Frankl dies in the
concentration camp on 8 June 1943. On 16 May 1944, Else Frankl is transferred to the
extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau and murdered.
1945
At the recommendation of Fritz Novotny, Gerhart Frankl applies for a teaching post at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, headed by Herbert Boeckl on 2 December. He gains support
from Charles W. Baty from the British mission who had met Frankl in Chester.
1946
Frankl’s appointment is considered at professorial council meetings that take account of the
support from the British occupying authorities. In November, Frankl visits Vienna for the first
time since emigrating.
1947
Gerhart and Christine Frankl return to Vienna on 20 September. On 5 December they move
into rooms in the Lower Belvedere.
1948
In early January, Director Bruno Garzarolli-Thurnlackh informs the Ministry of Education that
Frankl will check the collections of the Österreichische Galerie for damaged pieces. On 21
February Frankl is appointed to the exchange commission for the Österreichische Galerie.
1949
Finding it impossible to settle in Austria, Gerhart and Christine Frankl return to London in
January.
1950
On 17 May, Frankl attains British citizenship. Gerhart and Christine Frankl spend their
summers travelling through the Alps (mainly in the Dolomites and the Tyrol) on a Vespa
scooter and later a Triumph Contessa.
1954
Gerhart Frankl meets the architect Julian Sofaer, a great supporter and the future trustee of his
estate.
1959
Frankl’s preferred medium is watercolour and mixed media composed of gouache and pastels.
He starts working on his Mountain Fantasies.
1962
The first museum retrospective in Austria is shown at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
from January to April.
1963
In May, Gerhart Frankl is awarded the City of Vienna’s prize for painting amounting to 20,000
Schilling.
1965
Gerhart Frankl dies unexpectedly of a heart attack on 25 July in Vienna in one of the
Kunsthistorisches Museum’s guest rooms. He had been elected to the academy in 1962 but
lengthy negotiations and bureaucratic complications had drawn out the process, now rendered
tragically obsolete. Frankl is buried in a grave of honour designed by Fritz Wotruba at Vienna’s
Central Cemetery.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Exhibition Title
Masterpieces in Focus
Gerhart Frankl - Restless
Exhibition Duration
18 November 2015 to 3 April 2016
Venue
Upper Belvedere
Exhibits
50
Artist
Gerhart Frankl, Béni Ferenczy (1 work)
Curator
Kerstin Jesse
Catalogue
Gerhart Frankl - Rastlos (German version)
Editors.: Agnes Husslein-Arco, Kerstin Jesse
Belvedere, 176 pages, 19.5 x 25 cm, hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-902805-92-8, € 21
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