Franz Skarbina (24 February 1849 - 18 May 1910) was a German impressionist painter, draftsman,

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and illustrator.

Life

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, he was the son of a goldsmith from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. From 1865 to 1869, he studied at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

. After graduation, he spent two years as a tutor to the daughters of Count , during which time he travelled to Dresden, Vienna, Venice, Munich, Nuremberg and

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

. In 1877, he had acquired the funds to make a year-long study trip to the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where he came under the influence of impressionism. He became an assistant teacher at the Prussian Academy in 1878 and, in 1881, he taught anatomical drawing at the

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin __NOTOC__ The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). The collection is split between t ...

. The following year, he returned to Paris and exhibited at the Salon. From 1885 to 1886, he was in Paris again, with side trips to Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. This is considered to be one of his most productive periods. In 1888, he was appointed a Professor at the Prussian Academy and, in 1892, became a full member there. A year later, however, he resigned his teaching position due to disagreements with the Academy's Director, Anton von Werner. The problem stemmed from his participation in the "Group of Eleven", an association of artists dedicated to promoting their own exhibitions of what was then considered "radical" art, free of the Academy's influence. This eventually (in 1898) led to the establishment of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

, of which Skarbina was a co-founder. In 1895, he became a Supervisory Board member for the magazine '' Pan''. In 1898, he served as one of the judges in a contest held by Ludwig Stollwerck to select the artists for a new series of trading cards. He died at his home in Berlin, from an acute kidney ailment, and is buried in the Old Cemetery of St. Jacobkirche. All of the items in his estate were destroyed during World War II.

Selected paintings

File:Franz Skarbina Hof im Schnee.jpg, Courtyard in the Snow File:Franz Skarbina Friedrichstraße an einem regnerischen Abend 1902.jpg,

Friedrichstraße The Friedrichstraße () (lit. ''Frederick Street'') is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin, forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße station. It runs from the northern pa ...

on a Rainy Evening File:Franz Skarbina Der verliebte Schmied.jpg, The Smith in Love File:Franz Skarbina Abendandacht c1890.jpg, Evening Prayer File:Franz Skarbina - Alte Frau am Ofen - BG-M 12101^14 - Berlinische Galerie.jpg, Old Woman
at the Oven

Nazi-looted art

In 2016 Skarbina's ''Nach Hause'' was the object of a lawsuit filed by a Holocaust victim's son who was trying to locate the painting. David Toren requested that the Berlin auction house Villa Grisebach reveal the buyers of the Skarbina as well as two works by Beckmann.

References

External links

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Works by Franz Skarbina
at Bürgertum {{DEFAULTSORT:Skarbina, Franz 1849 births 1910 deaths Impressionism Artists from Berlin Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists

Life

Selected paintings

Nazi-looted art

References

Further reading

External links