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Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

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Oskar Kokoschka

Romana Kokoschka (Die Mutter des Künstlers) (Portrait of the Artist's Mother)

1917

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Caught up in the euphoria and patriotism of the onset of World War I, Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka voluntarily enlisted in the military and served a brief period at the Russian front before being wounded. In July 1916, after recovering from his wound, he returned to action on the Isonzo front as an official war artist in the "Kriegspressequartier" (War Press Section), the Austro-Hungarian central military propaganda unit assigned to document events taking place on the battlefields of the war. Severely shell-shocked after a bridge near him exploded, he was sent to a hospital in Dresden to recover. This portrait was made during or soon after one of his mother’s visits in 1917. The quick, expressive strokes and high contrast shading evoke a sense of internal turmoil and melancholy. [Exhibition label, 2015]

  • Artist Oskar Kokoschka (Austrian, 1886–1980)
  • Title Romana Kokoschka (Die Mutter des Künstlers) (Portrait of the Artist's Mother)
  • Date 1917
  • Medium Lithograph
  • Dimensions unframed | 20 3/8 x 16 3/8 in.
  • Credit line University purchase, Kende Sale Fund, 1946
  • Object number WU 3801

World War I: War of Images, Images of War
Getty Research Institute, 11/18/2014 - 04/19/2015
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 09/11/2015 - 01/04/2016
Musée Würth France Erstein, 09/27/2016 - 01/08/2017

Opening Exhibition of Mark C. Steinberg Memorial Hall
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 04/29/1960

Inscription [LR:] Mutter d. Kunstlers Oskar Kokoschka

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Opening Exhibition of Mark C. Steinberg Memorial Hall page
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Exhibitions

Opening Exhibition of Mark C. Steinberg Memorial Hall

April 29, 1960
go to World War I: War of Images, Images of War page
no image
Exhibitions

World War I: War of Images, Images of War

November 18, 2014 - January 08, 2017

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